How to Develop a Social Media Policy

Social media use by employees can actually be a good thing, for employees are often your organization's most loyal and vocal advocates in public, the very individuals who strengthen an organization's ties to and place within the community. However, they MUST be educated about what is appropriate to say about the organization in social media, and what is not.  Otherwise, it is a very real possibility that they could unintentionally reveal confidential information or get you into legal hot water.  Every organization should have a written social media policy that includes the following points:

• Define what you mean by social media - for most, social media means an online forum for two-way communication - and list examples of the various types of forums (profile sites like Facebook, micro-conversation sites like Twitter, video sites like YouTube, blogs like Huffington Post).
• Clarify who will own work product created on social media sites
• Spell out the type of information considered proprietary or confidential (customer details, company financial data, etc.), and say that it should never be shared on these sites.
• Spell out the type of potentially damaging information that should never be shared on these sites (offensive comments, libelous statements, illegal activity, etc.)
• Determine which employees should be contributing to social media sites on behalf of the company and what activities these individuals should be engaged in. You should to have someone - or multiple someones - in the communications department monitoring what is being said in social media - both from an internal and external perspective.  It is the same thing as having a staff member monitor what is said in the press.  The conversation will take place with or without you and it's always best to be informed.  It's not as easy to dictate your image as it used to be, but strategic social media monitoring and participation can help you shape it.

Many organizations are providing organized training to ensure that employees not only understand these guidelines, but also comprehend the consequences of not following the guidelines (for example, they could create serious negative publicity for the company, their job could be in jeopardy). 

You don't want to talk down to your employees, but you should ensure that they are aware of the instantaneous nature of social media - once something is said, it can't be taken back - so usage related to work and the company must be thoughtful and carefully considered ahead of time.

Comments

[Ed Han]

This subject is really gaining mindshare in the last few days, judging from my Twitter stream & questions I see on LinkedIn. These guidelines are sensible. That last admonition about not taking down to the team & impact of statements is so important.

[Tee Dub]

It is disappointing to see that most of the commentary appearing on "social media policy" is really more about employee codes of conduct. Organisations with decent codes of conduct, statements of ethics etc are not getting much out the current discussions. What people really want to see is much more commentary on leveraging social media. I am currently working on a major community engagement for my organisation (local government) and would really like to hear about initiatives and experiences that are relevant to this.

[Alexandra Levit]

@Ed: I kept getting asked, so I decided to do a post. Glad you found it helpful!

@Tee: I agree with you. I think that the immediacy and potential danger of social media just gives the traditional guidelines a greater sense of urgency.