Unless there’s only one person who will be handling your social media efforts you should set some guidelines in place. Now, by this I don’t mean you have to write a huge document that limits any hint of spontaneity from your team. Quite the opposite. A company policy lets them know what they need to know to communicate the company message effectively, and what they should and should not do.
People are more comfortable knowing the rules
There are people who are simply terrified of social media. Where to start? What to say? How to use the tools and would they get in trouble? A little guidance and training and they will be just fine. Use your social media engagement policy as a way to show them the ropes and give them models to follow.
Three good reasons for a social media company policy.
1) Set branding standards for communication
Clearly you can’t have people making up their own logos and color schemes for your company. If you have a style guide, put the best bits in your company policy document. It saves everybody a lot of headaches if they can create a profile with an approved logo and a color scheme that reflects the company without guessing. Make the resources they need available and they’ll be more likely to dive in and you won’t have to assign a hall monitor.
2) Educate your team
What terms do you use to describe your product? Are there particular industry or work related terms you need to have associated with the product? Are there terms you NEVER want used with your product? Here’s where you educate the team.
3) Set expectations for behavior
Again, if people know the rules and what is expected from them they are less likely to make mistakes. State clearly what standards of performance you expect. A little personal responsibility and some common sense goes a long way. This also sets the company nay-sayers a bit more at ease.
What goes into a typical company social media policy doc?
Rather than blather on, here are some examples to learn from. Scan a few and you’ll get the idea. Then adapt to fit your own needs.
- Intel did a fabulous job with their social media guidelines. It’s clear what they expect and the whole thing is in clear easy to understand language.
- Cisco’s policy is a little cryptic, but it does outline employee responsibilities on social sites both corporate owned and external networks.
- D.M. Scott posted an overview of the social media efforts of the U.S. Air Force on his blog, complete with flow charts for responding to a blog comment that are as detailed as one might expect from the government.
- GM’s blogging policy is short and to the point and then references Charlene Li’s recommendations for more information.
- Sun’s “Guidelines on Public Disclosure” are much like Intel’s. Simple, to the point and all about transparency.
- Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center blogging guidelines clearly state the goals of the Walker’s blogs, with advice on finding images, responding to comments and refers to the EFF’s legal guide for bloggers.
- The BBC has a hands-off approach to personal blogs as long as the writer does not identify themselves with the BBC on their personal blog. Staff are allowed to talk about programs, etc, but are required to include a disclaimer for personal editorial comments on blogs.
- Here’s what HP says in their “Blogging Code of Conduct”:
Great Information Lisa, Really helpful to me. Thank you so much.
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