You wouldn’t expect a frontline worker to post like a Co-founder, and your social media policy should reflect that. Social media in the workplace is manageable—you just need to dedicate time and effort into developing a social media policy that works. The retail company states that no employee outside of the Walmart social team should answer customer complaints or questions directed toward the company. This kind of rule might seem restrictive, but it’s often best for larger companies to err on the side of caution. According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index, 21% of consumers follow brands on social because their values align with their own. If your employees use business equipment for personal reasons, this section should also explain how they should use it to avoid security breaches.
Especially employees like guides, personal trainers, and other public-facing staff. They are most likely to have customers follow them on social channels. Get a free, customizable social media policy template to quickly and easily create guidelines for your company and employees. Finally, social media guidelines should help maintain a positive online reputation by offering employees guidelines to stay on the right side of appropriateness and avoid ever looking insensitive.
Compliance With Other Company Policies
In fact, it should make them feel more comfortable amplifying your social media messages since they’ll know exactly what will or won’t be beneficial. Brands in the healthcare and wellness industries have a complicated set of regulations to navigate on social media. This policy narrows in on the compliance requirements around confidentiality. It also specifies the limits on social media relationships with clients and patients.
Social Media Guidelines For Nurses
Another important part of your policy is advice for protecting your company’s social media accounts. That’s why your policy should include tips for creating strong passwords, using two-factor authentication, and spotting phishing scams. It’s also helpful to explain what employees should do if they notice any suspicious activity. Looking at social media policy examples from well-known companies can provide valuable insights. Coca-Cola sets an example with its comprehensive social media policy, which includes distinct guidelines for private individuals versus company spokespeople.
It offers insights into the content that resonates with your audience, the social media channels that yield the most engagement, and even certain behaviors that need curbing. Moreover, an audit paints a clear picture of the brand’s online voice, ensuring that any new guidelines refine and enhance it. A social media policy is a company’s blueprint for how its employees should conduct themselves online. Think of it as a rulebook, offering guidance on what is and isn’t appropriate to post, share, or even like. As the online realm expanded, so did the urgency for a roadmap—a set of guidelines ensuring our interactions remain both consistent and secure. More than just a list of do’s and don’ts, it’s our North Star in the vast digital landscape—and we’ll explore why below.
On the flip side, Patagonia’s voice is passionate and purpose-driven, tying every post back to their core mission. Defining your voice isn’t about handcuffing your team with rigid rules. It’s about creating a character so vivid that anyone can step into its shoes and speak with confidence.
Protect Your Brand From Privacy And Security Risks
Individual Cronkite courses also may require students to adhere to these social media standards and practices. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) covers financial institutions. They recently teamed up with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to create an infographic. It helps guide influencers considering promoting financial products on social media.
7.1 Lamar University recognizes that many employees make use of social media in a personal capacity. While they are not acting on behalf of the university, employees should be aware that they can appear to represent Lamar University if they are recognized as an employee. 4.3 Use of personal devices, such as laptops, tablets and mobile telephones, to access social media websites while at work is governed by policies set forth by the Office of Human Resources. 2.2 There are many more forms of social media than could be listed here as this is a constantly changing area. Employees and students must follow these guidelines in relation to any university-affiliated social media that they use. This step notifies employees that they are responsible for monitoring comments on their posts and deleting forbidden ones, such as sexual or political comments.
This helps the reader understand the importance of the choice and makes them more likely to remember it. ‘Involved’ could mean you strive to engage in discussion with followers, share content from other people and brands whose values are aligned with yours and you always reply to comments. If you haven’t decided which social media channels to use yet or haven’t decided a purpose for each channel, this handy guide on how to create a social media strategy might be useful. Social media guidelines are also important for enabling and empowering employees to create great content.
For company accounts, the policy might advise employees to avoid copyrighted images and credit the source of images where appropriate. Employees should also be aware of privacy laws, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the privacy of healthcare records. Some companies might go as far as to prohibit employees from mentioning them on social media, while others might encourage employees to advocate for their brand.
Use role-play exercises, short quizzes, or interactive modules to help employees understand the policy in action. A single inappropriate post from an employee or customer service mishandling can go viral within minutes. In fact, 59% of consumers say they will unfollow a brand after a single negative experience online.
You’re personally responsible for any online activity you conduct using your company email address or company device. You may also be held responsible for posts made from a personal account or device if you represent yourself as a member of the company thereon. That provides some protection for the company if an employee violates your rules.
Social media presents an opportunity for libraries to engage with users and to make significant contributions to shared knowledge. This robust civic engagement leads to an informed citizenry and a healthy society, while also demonstrating the great value of our institutions. Similarly, your corporate SM guidelines should also state the standards for devising names for your social media posts, as well as the images posted by your employees.