Social Media Policy, Do you need one?

What defines an acceptable social media policy for a company of any size can depend on its needs and the number of employees involved.

The nice thing is the short answer to this is a resounding YES!

Let me break it down for you.

A:) A standard corporate social media plan would include:

1. A way to defend a firm that would protect against legal issues, no matter the size, is better to be proactive than reactive. (will be explained in next post)
2. You have to empower your staff and give them direction on the social media topic.
3. It can protect the brand.

B:) Occurrences that a policy can help control.

1. Sharing proprietary or confidential company information.
2. Posting defamatory, derogatory, or inflammatory contact

C:) Who is supposed to speak for the company? Generally, you want this to be as few people as possible. One example of this would be a small business with approximately 25 employees; It should be officers of the company or a public relations professional trained on company procedure.

Lower-level office employees are not authorized to speak on behalf of the company. These office employees refer those calls and inquiries to those previously mentioned immediately. The repercussions of this depend on the original corporate policy set for employment or contract work, otherwise face reprimand, including termination of employment or contract agreement.

D:) Brand Guidelines- How to talk about company products, services, or company as an entity.

1. Always look for ways to present the company and associated affiliates of the company.
2. Address negative issues proactively head-on.

E:) Potential plans for dealing with said issues.

1. Crisis Response
2. Message approval
3. Proactive customer service.
4. Public Relations management
5. Social engagement

F:) Design a policy that includes personal account guidelines in your social media policy.

G:) Considering any potential legal risks for the business

H:) Keeping employees and brand safe

1. Protect Information
2. Be transparent and disclose proactively
3. Follow the law and the rule of conduct
4. Be responsible
5. Be nice, have fun with it and connect with your customers and followers regularly.

I:) Rules of engagement:

1. Disclose what’s appropriate and protect what you need to for business success.
2. Use common sense (imagine that!)

However, most importantly, Implementing your social media plan after the right parties have approved it.

If you need help with deciding how to get started, Contact us at Schoder Media and get to know what we can do for you.