To make monitoring easier, many orgs now use AI-powered tools to automatically flag high-risk language, misinformation, complaints, or unapproved claims in real time. The result was a lot of extra work that could have been avoided if the company caught the claims before the DRSCC got involved. For example, as the campaign hashtag “#ShareaCoke” for Coca Cola was created to encourage the sharing of Coca Cola bottles.
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. Dell’s social media policy is digestible, yet still meets the requirements of the company’s needs. Your social media crisis plan should align with your social media policy. For example, the policy can designate which teams are responsible for handling a PR crisis. Consult with your legal counsel and outline a list of do’s and don’ts for the company to follow. These rules of thumb will help ensure the organization and contractors are compliant with laws, reducing the risk of legal action against the company.
Consider creating a survey to gauge how your staff currently uses social media, their understanding of existing guidelines (if any) and any concerns they may have. Hold follow-up meetings to brainstorm, debate and piece together the policy. Remember, this policy affects everyone in the organization, so all voices must be heard. In other words, how employees should conduct themselves on social channels.
Social Media Brand Guidelines: Create Consistent Voice & Visuals
Since young children and the elderly are less likely to use these platforms, the proportion of working adults who are on social media is likely higher than 72.5%. Here’s a rundown of core sections you should include in your social media guidelines. Introduce the Social Media Policy on day one, and reinforce it regularly through training refreshers, internal newsletters, or compliance workshops.
A social media policy for employees outlines clear, concise guidelines about how they should behave online, and it can cover both their personal and professional activities. Social media connects individuals and businesses through content sharing. Users can engage with each other, read customer opinions and expand their professional networks. The most important function of a social media employment policy is to safeguard the company’s image and encourage employees to behave responsibly when posting online. Define the tone of voice and messaging style that best represents your brand’s personality and resonates with your target audience.
Account-generated postsBe mindful that all content posted on OUSMAs affect the image and reputation of the University. Never post content that contains profanity, hate speech, personal attacks against others or slurs. Posts should not disparage anyone, particularly the University, University System office or trustees, University employees or students, or other institutions.
Avoid making disparaging remarks about the organization, its products, or its employees. Negative or controversial posts can undermine the company’s reputation, especially if they are viewed by potential clients, job candidates, or current employees. These guidelines identify who runs your company’s social media account.
What Should A Comprehensive Social Media Policy Include?
Planable offers a multi-layered approval system that prevents any post that shouldn’t be published, well, getting published. By using it, teams ensure that the right people (whether clients or managers) have the chance to take a peek at the post and screen it for any brand/inclusivity inconsistencies. This section should include guidelines and resources that educate on how to deal with trolls or bullies. Aspects such as who to report it to, how to react, how to identify trolls and bullies (sometimes they’re just angry customers who are being jerks), when to ban, when to block, and so on and so forth.
A social media policy template is a set of guidelines designed to help employees represent the company professionally on social media platforms. These policies are crucial for protecting the brand’s security, privacy, and legal interests. With 45% of companies lacking a social media policy, the risk of reputational damage and legal issues is significant. Your employees own their social media profiles, so what they post there can’t be restricted by your organization. As far as your own company’s social media accounts are concerned, you’re entitled to set the rules of posting. Start by ensuring that everyone involved in managing your social media accounts is familiar with the contents of the style guide.
LinkedIn’s community guidelines promote users to foster a professional, respectful, and inclusive environment that encourages networking, learning, and opportunity. Similar to Facebook, Pinterest follows a basic community guideline structure and they also include more information on how they enforce these guidelines in their biannual transparency report. Pinterest’s community guidelines focus on a safe, positive and inclusive environment where people can discover and save creative ideas. Twitter’s community guidelines, or as they call them “Twitter Rules”, are centered around promoting conversations and interactions while keeping the platform respectful.