5 Steps To Implement a Social Media Policy

Social media is everywhere, there is no escaping it! With 74% of adults using social networking sites it’s a safe bet to think that the majority, if not all of your workforce will be using sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

And while social media activity has many advantages, it is important to put in place social media policies that protect you and your business. For many companies having a social media policy is new territory and with ever evolving technology it is important to stay up to date with legislation.

Below are our five steps to implementing an effective social media policy.

1.Talk to your employees

You can’t just implement a social media strategy without talking to your staff first, this will send the wrong message. It may come across like you don’t trust them to be responsible on their own accounts.

It’s best to have an honest conversation explaining how each employee is representing the company when they post online. Clearly, you can’t tell them what they can and cannot write on their personal profiles. However, giving them an understanding to what the company finds acceptable will be a useful exercise.

2.Give clear, specific examples

Giving real life examples is an excellent way to educate staff about what is and isn’t acceptable. Showing employees posts that people have written and have then been disciplined for is a way for employees to understand what they can and cannot say.

3.Understand the legislation

With social media policies being a relatively new issue for businesses the law is constantly changing. Huge companies such as Game and Tesco have fallen foul of laws relating to their social media policies, so it is important to understand the changing legislation.

4.Publish your social media policy to the company

Once you are confident that your policy is watertight and fair to employees publish the policy across the company. When you are pushing the policy out to the business, it is important that the following areas are covered:

• Acceptable behaviour
• Data protection and monitoring
• Business objectives
• Disciplinary procedures

5.Create Brand Ambassadors

Even though social media can be dangerous and damaging for a business, it is important to remember the good that can come from positive social media.

Your staff can be your biggest advocates so it is important to encourage and praise any staff members who are positive and embrace your brand values.

Finally, remember to have fun with social media!

At the end of the day social media is supposed to be engaging and fun, so make sure you set an example to the company as a whole.

Make sure your posts are relevant, entertaining and engaging. If your staff see the right way to post online they will be very likely to follow suit.