The digital platform of social media is a thriving world of its own, with 2.46 billion users. It’s multi-functional too — use it to waste a few hours scrolling through cat video or use it to boost your business awareness. The latter is important, but at the same time, might not mix well with your employees’ outside-of-work manner or use of language.
Enter the social media policy. Actually, enter two social media policies, as there’s two types to be aware of. We’ll explore both below:
Different types of policy
There are two key areas for social media policies to cover. You’ll require a social media policy for your brand and another for your employees – they are similar in structure but targeted differently. It’s vital that any social media policy you have in place as a business is enforced with strict measures so that your company is never in a vulnerable position. We’re in a digital world that is constantly changing this is a good incentive for business owners to continuously review their policies and make any necessary changes that will continue to have the best interests of the company at heart.
Not sure what your policy should cover? Let’s start things off with…
Set out rules and regulations
Essentially, this is your company’s code of conduct. It will outline the expectations you have for your employees in terms of their behaviour on social media. On personal social media, if a person has tagged their workplace in their profile, and are not private, they are representing the company to the wider public. This means that you need to restrict the use of profanities and stay away from controversial topics that could impact the company.
Let employees know if/when the information they are in contact with at the company is strictly confidential. They should not discuss this across social media platforms.
If your company has a business profile on Facebook or Twitter, make sure the employees with access to it know what the guidelines of use are. How do you want your company represented? This includes how you want your employees to respond to any mentions of your brand – whether these are positive or negative comments. It’s also important to outline how you want your staff to talk about your services or your products.
Platform roles and responsibilities
Consider the different roles and responsibilities for your social media channels. This can vary depending on the platform, as each will have their own specific needs. Depending on the skillset and training you give to the teams on social media channels, you might require someone who can approve messages, deal with security and legal concerns and create content that will be posted. It’s important to outline who can and can’t use the social media channels in the business.
Avoiding legal risks
Make sure you’re aware of any compliance and legal measures you need to hit. When it comes to social media, you need to make sure that you’re crediting your source with any content you are using, an example of this would be repurposing an image for your own business gain. It also needs to be discussed about what can and can’t be shared – making sure that everything gets approved by a senior staff member.
If an employee’s personal account is linked in any way to your business, make sure they state their opinions and views are their own.
Security measures
The news has been filled with reports on cyber-attacks and data breaches. This means that companies must be aware and know how to handle any potential threats. To reduce the threat of phishing scams and even ransomware attacks companies must create secure passwords, avoid phishing emails, spam, scams and any malware threats and know how to respond in the event of a breach.
A good set of social media policies will help a company run their social media smoothly and securely. This will ensure that your business is not negatively impacted by social media.
This article was researched and created by print management software supplier, United Carlton.
