Every business should have a social media policies. That’s true even if your business isn’t on social media. Reason number one? Your employees are active on social media. And what they say and do there can have a positive or negative impact on your brand.
Social media guidelines set some rules. In some cases, these rules are required by law or serve as legal protection. But they are not designed to control your employees.
Well-designed policies give employees the information they need to make the right decisions on social media—both for themselves and for the company. You can even turn team members into invaluable ambassadors for your brand.
What is Social Media?
The term Digital Commerce Service refers to sites, platforms and networks referred to on the Internet on which users can network and post opinions, experiences, reports, and photos. Also, users can publish/share videos and lots of other information.
Example:
- Social networks such as Facebook, Google+, XING, StudiVZ, LinkedIn
- Microblogs like Twitter, Yammer, Blogger
- Image and video sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Sevenload
- Review portals such as Ciao, Qype, Idealo
- Bookmarking portals such as del.icio.us, Mister Wong, Digg
Although often used interchangeably, a social media policy and social media guidelines are not quite the same things.
A social media policy is a comprehensive document that describes in detail how the company and its employees use social media. This policy is designed to protect a brand from legal risks and protect its reputation on social media.
While a social media policy lays out the rules and consequences for violations, social media guidelines are more instructive. Think of it as a kind of employee handbook for social media best practices. These policies should outline how to behave on social media in a way that has a positive and beneficial impact on the company, employees, and customers. They may also include etiquette tips, helpful tools, and links to important resources.
Also, social media guidelines are not to be confused with a social media style guide. A style guide provides guidelines on brand voice, as well as visual and other elements. Corporate content producers often use this to ensure their posts are on-brand.
Social media guidelines also differ from community guidelines, which set the rules for public engagement with your account or group. To combat online abuse, the British royal family published its own community guidelines in 2019.
Yes, social media can be a minefield—especially when it comes to the legal side of social media policies. But you don’t want to completely discourage your employees from using social media.
Remember: every employee is a potential brand ambassador. Social media policies should give people the tools they need to engage positively, respectfully, and inclusively.
With the help of social media guidelines, you can:
- Motivate employees to follow your official accounts.
- Share your company’s social media strategy.
- Empower your employees to engage positively.
- Learn about social media best practices.
- Protect your employees from social media harassment.
- Protect your business from cyber security risks.
- Improve your brand’s reputation on social media.
Social media policies are typically created for employees. But they can also be shared with influencers, corporate partners, creative agencies, and other people who can benefit from them.
Do’s and don’ts
Do’s and don’ts ensure clarity. Some things may seem obvious, but maybe not for everyone.
Here are a few dos and don’ts you might want to include:
- DO: List the company as your employer in your social media bio (if you wish).
- Don’t: Do not interact inappropriately with competitors.
- DO: Share company posts, events, and stories.
- Don’t: Do not engage in negative reporting or commenting.
- DO: Express your own opinion. When doing so, be sure not to speak on behalf of the company.
- Don’t: Do not comment on legal matters affecting the Company.
- DO: Report any harassment you have experienced or noticed.
Alternatively, or in addition, you can include a FAQ section—particularly if you’re frequently asked certain questions. If you didn’t receive any questions, ask your staff to ask them.
Tips for employees:
Always be careful what you post
- Use social media with common sense and prudence!
- Be aware that the Internet is a public space and that you may have endless viewers and readers to have.
- Under certain circumstances, thoughtless and unprotected opinions are published over the years and saved over and over again. Such data is only very “in-house work” on the net hard to erase.
Be polite
- Communicate online the same way you interact with one another face-to-face. Treating each other with respect and courtesy is important.
- Avoid embarrassment, insults, or provocations.
- Remain level-headed and objective, even in heated discussions.
- Critical voices with a cool head.
- Having a little pause before sending a reply often worked miracles.
Speak for yourself
- Separate your personal opinion from the facts in a way that is clear and visible to others.
- Do not do anything that might give the impression that you are speaking “on behalf of the association”.
- To identify yourself as a private person, use the “I” form instead of “the association” or “we”.
- Official statements from authorized companies are only issued by authorized employees.
Be honest
- Do not spread untruths or intentionally misleading statements. This includes also deliberate omission that falsifies facts.
- Remember that information on the internet is checked quickly and saves yourself embarrassing moments.
- Be careful with funny ones too or ironic remarks – without direct personal contact, misunderstandings can easily arise.
Keep confidential information to yourself
- Confidential documents or internal information and agreements do not belong in the public domain.
- This also applies to a club. If you are unsure, it is better to ask your fellow athletes, trainers, or the sports office.
- The data protection guidelines valid in many areas apply of course also to Social Media Marketing Service.
No data piracy
- Even in the private sphere the copying of content or documents that are forbidden.
- To be on the safe side, only post content, images, and videos that you have created yourself.
- Always obtain consent for the use of third-party materials or refer to them via a link.
- Identify your sources and clearly label citations. For example, you need the consent of all shown persons when publishing pictures and videos.
Your privacy is important
- Familiarize yourself with the setting options of the various social media for privacy and use them.
The Internet is not a legal vacuum.
- Sometimes one can get the impression of a lawless Internet – but it is not!
- First, it is the terms of use that you accept with your registration for almost all social media and that contain many of the points mentioned above – accepted by you as legally binding!
- In addition, some laws apply online as well as offline, including the laws of others.
- Countries may affect you.
First and foremost, copyright is important, but so is that trademark and name rights, data protection, or the “right to your own image” affect you as a publisher on the Internet. A violation can result in expensive warnings, claims for damages, or even result in criminal proceedings. Grow your business on social media in a positive way
