Social media guidelines outline how a company’s employees should present themselves online.
In April 2023, 21-year-old Jack Teixeira was arrested for posting confidential documents in two chat rooms on Discord, a social media chat room platform popular with gamers. As a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Teixeira received top security clearance and began sharing top secret documents related to the Russo-Ukrainian war. By posting these leaked documents, Teixeira was trying to show off to other users, often making “hot from the press” posts. However, these documents were a threat to U.S. national security.
According to The Global Statistics, approximately 80.9% of Americans use some form of social media, and most users access social media daily. People use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for social networking to connect with friends, family, and colleagues. These posts go viral in seconds, and the wrong one can damage your reputation.
One example of a social media mishap occurred at the head of social media giant Twitter. Former CFO Anthony Noto accidentally tweeted what was supposed to be a direct message about a potential merger, but the merger was in its early stages and not yet ready to announce at the time. was not completed. Noto quickly deleted the tweet, but several of his followers saved and shared it. Twitter did not mention the tweet.
By creating social media guidelines, companies can empower their employees and help them make the right choices on social media. These guidelines can prevent social media mishaps and can also turn your team members into your online brand ambassadors.
Why you need a corporate social media policy
Companies should not prohibit employees from using social media or discussing their employment. Providing proper guidelines helps remind employees to be considerate, inclusive, and optimistic both inside and outside of work.
Social media offers unique ways to interact with customers, promote content, promote sales, highlight events, recruit talent, and more. It can be a useful marketing tool for your business. Employees who promote their companies can further enhance the potential of social media to reach a wider audience. Every employee can become a brand ambassador and promote the company’s products and services.
9 Social Media Guidelines
When creating guidelines, avoid anything too outrageous. Federal agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board have determined that some policies are restrictive. For example, an overly controlling policy prohibits employees from commenting on working conditions.
Although companies cannot restrict the information posted to personal accounts, employees should use common sense when using social media.
These guidelines should not be written to scare employees. Rather, these guidelines exist to protect your employees and your company. Encourage employees to have fun, stay connected, and be transparent.
Here are some key points that businesses should include in their social media guidelines:
1. Address personal social media use during work hours
Everyone still has a day job and it’s easy to get sucked into social media. Include information about not using social media on company equipment unless it is work-related. When registering an online account for personal use, an employee must not use his company email address except in connection with work.
Employees must maintain decorum when posting on social media, even during private time. Their posts leave a digital footprint, and derogatory or negative comments about their work can influence how others view their employer.
2. Encourage employees to be respectful
Employees should refrain from discriminatory or harassing posts. This guidance should apply to new posts, retweets, shares, and hashtags.
Statements or slurs related to race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender may be considered offensive. Remind your employees that their professional and personal brands are connected. Incorrect comments can land you in court.
Encourage employees to stop and think before posting, especially when they’re angry. Even if someone deletes your post, it may be too late. Companies must also provide employees with examples of harmful posts.
3. Follow social protocols
Most companies have a code of conduct policy that employees sign when hired. This policy outlines how the company expects its employees to behave. Remind employees that this policy also applies online.
4. Prohibition of posting confidential company information
These guidelines should prohibit employees from sharing confidential company information. This prohibition includes information such as:
- customer list
- private finances
- Business strategy
- legal matters
- Marketing and sales planning
Include the consequences for violating this policy.
5. Drive employee engagement
Encourage employees to follow your company’s official social media accounts as a great starting point for engaging with your company’s content. Share news, events, and stories to better understand your company’s social media practices.
Employees should list their employer on their personal account if they wish. This further increases the credibility of the company. People searching for your organization want to know who works there, and they’re likely to see what your employees have to say.
6. Explain copyright and legal issues
Provide an overview of copyright law and make sure employees know there are legal restrictions on the use of images, music, photos, videos, and graphics. Attribute these copyrighted items to their original owners or refrain from using them altogether to avoid legal action.
7. Don’t let employee opinions reflect the company’s opinions
Employees should not express opinions on behalf of the company. However, employees are allowed to express their opinions. Create a disclaimer that highlights the employee’s opinion, and that opinion should always be associated with the employee and not the company. In your social media bio, you can simply state, “The views expressed are my own.”
8. Preventing unauthorized use of company logos
Employees should be able to use the company logo. However, it is important for companies to provide specific examples of when their logo should not be used.
9. Do not respond to negative reviews or comments
It’s easy to get caught up in the social media wars. However, based on company policy, only social media managers are required to respond to negative comments and reviews.
Having the social media manager who oversees all company accounts respond with a positive message shows that the company cares about the issue and wants to address it. It is best for the social media manager to speak with the irate customer via email or phone. This will take this issue out of the spotlight. Your social media manager can escalate the issue if it requires further attention.
Keys to setting social media guidelines
Once you establish guidelines, make sure your employees are aware of them and follow them. Companies must also:
- Provide ongoing training on social media. Continuous education and monitoring ensures that employees understand the requirements. Companies should continually share these guidelines with employees through meetings, lunches, emails, training videos, and other forms of communication to increase awareness and set expectations.
- Get top management support for these guidelines. A social media policy establishes open communication between employees and leaders. Leaders can make employees aware of company expectations and address challenges. When employees hear direction from top management, they are less likely to share or post negative things that affect the company’s brand.
- Appoint a social media manager to handle social media. Assign an employee or third party to oversee content and manage company accounts. Those using corporate social accounts must separately agree that these are not for personal use.
- Determine where these guidelines apply. These guidelines should be included in the employee handbook and in a place that is easily accessible to employees. Keep these guidelines on your intranet, in your internal knowledge base, on a shared drive, or anywhere else employees access for information. Notify us of policy updates.
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