Ultimately, a strong Social Media Policy safeguards not just your company—but your team. It gives employees the clarity and confidence they need to represent your brand responsibly online, while reducing the risk of mistakes or misunderstandings. Instead of waiting for an issue to arise, smart companies prepare in advance—with a policy that guides action, tone, and decision-making.
Your brand has a personality of its own, consisting of a distinct look, feel, and voice, and this part of the policy helps you nail that every time you post on social media. Whether you post on the company’s official accounts or just mention the company in personal posts, these guidelines ensure everything stays consistent and professional. Social media is a powerful tool for communicating UIS’ message and engaging with audiences on behalf of departments and units. Audiences could include alumni, current students and families, prospective students and families, current colleagues and professional peers.
An academic library may limit its intended audience to university faculty, students, staff, administrators, and alumni. It can be expanded further to include specialized communities outside of the university, such as scholars within a particular discipline, or even the general public. Public libraries may identify their audience as those people residing within their official service area.
Social media guidelines serve as a roadmap for anyone involved in managing your brand’s online presence. They ensure consistency, protect your brand’s reputation, and provide a clear protocol for handling various situations. By setting clear expectations, you can prevent misunderstandings and mishaps that could harm your brand. Employee advocacy, where employee voices amplify the brand, is more crucial than ever. With the rise of AI, organisations can also use this technology to support and monitor social media. In fact, 61% of organisations use AI for social media to reduce staff workload (Hootsuite).The first step is to provide clear guidelines rather than strict rules.
It helps employees recognize that when they engage online, they don’t just represent themselves, but the company as well. A social media policy isn’t merely a set of rules—it’s a foundational guide or disclaimer that helps team members understand the significance of their online interactions. In the event of an emergency, account administrators are asked to share only official information provided by the main CUNY social media accounts and shared in official college messages. This ensures accuracy, a consistent message, and that the latest information is being shared. You will receive guidance directly from the Office of Communications and Marketing in these situations. All Mizzou-branded accounts shall post guidelines for engagement within social media channels where possible.
Ensure you effectively and efficiently develop and apply social media guidelines using Vista Social’s modern social media management platform features. Your clients’ campaigns, audiences, goals, and content can vary across social media platforms. The policies are not meant to control what your employees or team members post on their personal social media pages. The guidelines outline the dos and don’ts, brand messaging, visual style, and tone of voice to ensure that every post accurately reflects the brand.
Lay Out Specific Guidelines For Various Social Media Platforms
Registering your site will allow it to be added to the Lamar University Social Media Directory and recognized as an official Lamar University account. 4.9 Designated employees must maintain an active social media presence on assigned accounts in order to continue to be a Lamar University affiliated page. 3.1 The use of social media must follow all applicable federal and state laws as well as system and university regulations and policies.
Social Media Policy Legal Considerations And Compliance
When creating your social media guidelines, it’s essential to cover all your bases. Here are several key elements to consider when writing any new social media policy. A social media policy may have different applications depending on the company or organization implementing it. A policy for an enterprise often applies to all employees, including executives in the C-suite, but not to partners and clients.
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.
Information shared by patrons on the library’s social media should not be kept by the library or used for other purposes. Library social media policies should also refer users to the privacy policies of the host social media platform and clearly inform users when posts will be publicly available. Librarians and library staff should refer to the Committee on Professional Ethics’ “Ethics and Social Media Q&A” for additional information. A small mistake can land your brand into a massive PR crisis that can seriously damage its reputation.
It’s great when team members proudly mention in their social profiles that they work for you. But to protect you both, it’s a good idea to ask them to clarify that they’re not creating social media posts on behalf of the brand. Include any relevant regulations in your social media guidelines for employees. Add specific examples that make the requirements easy for everyone to understand.
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.
This way, their enthusiasm can be better harnessed with a conversation versus an email request to delete the rogue account. Whether you like it or not, employees will talk about your company on social media, and it’s their federally protected right to do so. I would start with Coca-Cola’s policy as a template, remember to be as specific as you can for your employees’ benefit, and tailor the policy to your company culture and industry standards. The content we share online reflects our school system, and we want people to have positive experiences when interacting with NYC Public Schools.
A social media policy also specifies who is allowed to speak on behalf of the company. In many situations, people may share something on social media and not realize that it could be construed as an official company position. With a social media policy, you force your employees to think before they post, and it makes sure the company’s position is consistent.
This will provide a clear picture of the naming conventions you’ve used for your accounts. If not, now’s the time to choose a style and note it in your style guide. This will make new accounts on new channels more easily discoverable for fans. This includes everything from your brand identity (e.g. your logo and colors), to your tone of voice — and even how you use emojis and hashtags.
Within the CUNY community, social media accounts are typically created to represent programs or offices. Occasionally, there might be a reason to create an official social media account for senior leadership, like a president or a dean. Such accounts do not transfer to the employee’s personal use should they leave the University. The Director of Digital Communications may designate other staff to assist with specific social media communications as deemed necessary for the main brand. Des Moines Public Schools has created this Facebook page to serve as an additional means to share news, provide information, and facilitate communications within our school district community. We thank all of the Facebook users who “like” our page and contribute to our online community.