The social media landscape is vast, and what people say out there about your brand can have implications for your business.
Understandably, companies want to manage their brand’s reputation online. A social media policy can give your team helpful guidance to reduce the risk of them doing something online that could damage their personal or professional brand or paint your business in a negative light.
Contents
What is a social media policy?
A social media policy is a document written by your organization to provide guidance to employees about their actions and behaviors online.
The policy is not only applicable to people posting on behalf of your brand. In fact, there should be an additional, separate guide for social media managers and anyone else with the passwords to your business’s social accounts. Your social media policy will speak to your entire team so that no one makes a mistake that could damage your brand’s reputation.
At the end of the day, anyone who works for your business represents your brand, and how they behave online can impact the public’s perception of your business.
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Why do I need a social media policy?
Bad online etiquette and actions can reflect poorly on the individual and the business they work for, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to lay some ground rules.
A social media policy can help your business:
- Avoid potential crises: From bad PR to the inadvertent release of privileged information, a rogue employee on social exposes your business to all sorts of risks.
- Create brand advocates: When you give your team clear guidelines about your business’s social media policies, they may feel more comfortable posting positive things about your brand, knowing it’s allowed and encouraged.
- Facilitate brand cohesion: Clear written policies help create consistency in your brand’s portrayal online across channels. A social media policy can work in conjunction with your brand kit and social media marketing guide to help you keep everything consistent.
An unhappy former NBA employee retained login credentials to the brand’s Facebook account and posted this scathing rebuke of the league. A section of your social media policy should cover how to offboard former employees.
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What to include in a social media policy
Now that you see its value, let’s talk about what to include in your social media policy.
Clear language outlining expectations
Any great policy makes it easy for people to understand what the document is asking of them. To ensure your social media policy effectively communicates your expectations, answer the six journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
- Who does this policy apply to? Does it apply to your entire team or only to certain members? Do the guidelines differ by role?
- What are the specifics of the policy? Clearly spell out your expectations for behaviors and the consequences for acting outside of them.
- When does this policy apply? It’s worth noting that you can’t tell your employees they must post something specific on their own social media accounts. It’s technically their personal property. However, you can call out certain behaviors that your company won’t tolerate (i.e., sharing nonpublic company information, posting hate speech, getting into public fights with customers).
- Where does your social media policy apply? Call out a list of the included social media channels and highlight any that may be specifically excluded.
- Why do you have a social media policy? If people don’t know why the policy exists, they might not feel compelled to follow it. Discuss why the policy is mutually beneficial in gaining team buy-in.
- How does the policy work? Are there specific steps your employees should take before engaging with your brand online (i.e., should they connect with your marketing team before posting certain things about your business)? What tools or outreach channels should they use to discuss policy questions or clarifications with their manager or HR?
A delineation of expectations based on relevant factors
Your social media policy may not be universally applicable. Your CEO, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as the company’s leader, should be held to a different standard than the private Instagram of a cashier.
You wouldn’t expect a frontline worker to post like a Co-founder, and your social media policy should reflect that.
In your social media policy document, you’ll want to clarify expectations based on relevant factors, which may include:
- The employee’s role: You may have different expectations for people in leadership roles versus more junior employees.
- The social platform: Guidelines may vary for platforms where someone is a “private citizen” (i.e., a personal TikTok account) versus one where they are explicitly connected to your brand (i.e., a LinkedIn that lists their role at your company).
- The content of the post: Someone posting a photo of their dog on Instagram? It’s probably not something an employer should comment on. An employee posting a tirade about their manager on TikTok and tagging your company in it? It is a poor reflection of your brand and something you have a vested interest in preventing.
- The employee’s association with the company: Is the content an employee shared their own opinion, or are they being asked to post as an official spokesperson for the business? Asking employees to clarify the capacity in which they’re posting may be something you include in your social media policy.
- Specific regulatory guidelines: If you work in a highly regulated industry (healthcare, finance, gaming, etc.), the agency that regulates your sector may have specific parameters about what you can and cannot do on social media. Include relevant regulatory guidance in your social media policy.
Sample dos and dont’s
It’s one thing to read a policy’s legalese; it’s quite another to see examples of compliance or violation. Providing employees with hypothetical examples of what is and isn’t allowed can help them better understand the policy in action.
Sharing examples of improper social media posts, like this one that landed Elon Musk in hot water, can help employees understand your social media policy.
Of course, you don’t only need to share worst-case-scenario don’ts. You can also provide helpful guidance on social media specifics, like picking a great headshot or listing your role and responsibilities on LinkedIn. These dos not only paint your company in a good light; they also help your team look approachable and professional.
Social media policy examples we love
Are you starting to think about what your social media policy might look like in action? Take a look at these real-life examples for inspiration as you begin to draft your own.
It’s also worth noting: We are marketing people, not legal experts. Before distributing any formal employee policy, get input from relevant professionals, like your HR leader and attorney, to ensure you’re not violating labor law or otherwise overstepping your bounds.
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mass General Hospital (MGH) is one of the most respected medical institutions in the country, so reputation management is important to the brand. Plus, its employees have access to sensitive information about patients’ health diagnoses and treatment plans, which they’re obligated to keep confidential.
The MGH social media policy uses clear language and provides concrete guidance to help employees draw lines between their personal and professional lives online.
It also doesn’t talk down to anyone; it shows trust in employees’ judgment by providing reminders of internet best practices without getting too mired in the details. This is the perfect tone for an environment where most employees are professionals with the intelligence and common sense to make it through nursing or medical school.
Tufts University
Tuft’s social media policy is short and sweet, which is considerate of colleagues’ time.
It acknowledges the reality of our world and doesn’t try to implement draconian limits on when employees can check social at work. It does ask that employees be reasonable about their social media usage while in the office, and it says that anything done on social media from a Tufts device may be monitored. That’s a fair way to address the topic.
As an institution of higher learning, it also calls out employees’ right to academic freedom.
The policy asks that employees draw a clear line between their personal work and what they do for the University. For example, if a professor runs a Substack on their own time, they should note that the thoughts and opinions expressed within it are their own.
They also link out to other related policies at the end of the document so employees can easily find other information they might need.
Information Commissioner’s Office
This policy from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is a bit longer and more explicit. As a government institution in the UK, it makes sense that it would take a formal approach.
What we like about this social media policy is the inclusion of clear consequences for breaching the guidance set forth in the document. It also has a specific section to help those who post to social media on behalf of the ICO or are contacted by the media for comments as representatives of the organization.
Finally, the document closes with some frequently asked questions. This section helps clarify some of the policy’s dos and don’ts, making it easier for employees to understand what’s expected of them.
The New York Times
The New York Times’ social media policy seeks to ensure its team maintains the highest level of journalistic ethics when posting online. The policy recognizes that there is a fuzzy line between public personas and private lives, especially for public figures in the media.
While journalists are entitled to their own feelings in private, anything they post online (even if it’s as a private citizen in a closed or anonymous online community) is likely to be interpreted as either factual reporting or representative of the Times’ opinion.
This policy is especially focused on maintaining a non-partisan presence. Since the Times touts its impartiality as a brand differentiator, asking journalists to protect that neutrality is of the utmost importance.
It’s also nice that the Times consulted with a team of its journalists to devise its policy. Getting their input helps legitimize the guidelines with other colleagues at the paper.
Drafting a reasonable, effective social media policy for your organization
Sharing your company’s expectations for employees’ social media conduct can help all parties avoid pitfalls. It keeps your team and brand looking professional, and it might even inspire your team to confidently advocate for your business, knowing when and how to speak publicly about your company.
Remember, this is a document you should draft and discuss with your HR and legal experts. It’s also something to consider asking your employees about. When you work with a team to create a fair policy, it’s all the more likely to generate the results you want.