Social Media Policies

Social Media Policies:Recommendations and Best Practices

By Dena A. LorenziPresident, Faith In [email protected]

January 20, 2015

Why A Social Media Policy?

Policies provide structure – for you and for your colleagues/employees.A good social media policy clearly

outlines: •What the company will and will not

do online.•What employees can and cannot do

online•What members of the public can

and cannot do on company properties.

Think About The Stakeholders

Who needs to be involved in developing your policies?

Official Policy

Identify yourself as an XYZ employee Keep applicable XYZ policies in mind.Do not commit XYZ to any action

unless you have authority to do so.Protect reputation.Do not post confidential or copyrighted

information.

Official Policy

Do not make statements about XYZ financial performance.

Do not post anything that is defamatory, offensive, harassing, or in violation of any applicable law or XYZ policiesDo not engage with the news media to

discuss XYZ strategy and/or business without PR consultation and approval.

Social Media Guidelines

Do not engage in inflammatory or inappropriate discussions about competitors.Be responsible. Be aware of laws (FTC disclosure,

copyrights, trademarks).Be authentic, factual, and respectful.Avoid engaging in online disputes with

your audience.

Social Media Guidelines

Add value.Build relationships.Be mindful of indefinite life of Internet

postings. Review privacy settings of the social

networks you are using.Be aware of global implications.

Social Is Not New

Same behaviors, new channels.Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in

person. No profanity, ethnic slurs, threats, etc.Exercise good judgment.Disclose affiliation.Cite your sources – respect intellectual

property.

Social Is Not New

Don’t bash competitors. Respect colleagues and clients privacy

needs. Listen first, then engage.Focus on relationship, not transaction.

Policy Do’s

Communicate clearly at the beginning of the employment relationship. Review any written social media

policies with a lawyer familiar with employment law.Work with your lawyer to draft a social

media policy that is tailored to your organization’s needs, and does not

violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Policy Don’ts

Ask employees to provide login credentials for their personal social media accountsUse an individual employee’s name as

the account name on any social media account belonging to the organization

Adopt policies that violate the terms of use of applicable social media

platforms or the NLRA

Let’s Look At Some Examples

Shift CommunicationsMayo ClinicYahoo!

Resources

Idealware social media policy development workbook

http://bit.ly/1lwxan3

NLRB-approved sample social media policy

http://gt-us.co/1kuQMIa

Big list of 100 + social media policies

http://bit.ly/1fXQ5na

FTC Disclosure Guidelines

http://1.usa.gov

THANK YOU!