Why your business needs a Social Media Policy

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If you are in business there are many reasons why you might need a social media policy – even if you are not currently using social media.   Just for starters consider the following;

  • Social media is here to stay, do not make the mistake of thinking that just because you are not interested in using social media you can just ignore it
  • It is increasingly likely that your employees, colleagues and clients will be on social media – and they will expect you to be as well.
  • A compelling on-line presence it necessary for most businesses and it takes more than just a website to attain this; social media is an ideal addition to your on-line presence
  • If you employ people it is good practice to include social media use in your HR policies, so that you can set expectations for your employees
  • Your Social media profile is a public representation of your business brand or ‘persona’; it is vital to ensure that it conveys the right image.
  • Social media is a great source of market research and customer service: it is vital to LISTEN.

When drafting your policy think about

  • Your strategy – like other areas in business, social media needs a strategy to ensure that your activity contributes towards what you wish to achieve
  • Weighing the benefits and risks of engaging with social media, your social media policy can help minimise the risks and enhance the benefits
  • Your social media profile – Your social media is a very public face of your business and needs to be carefully cultivated and safeguarded.
  • The level of involvement of all parts of your business and differentiating between personal and business use
  • goals – How will you measure success?

A social media policy could include include

  • Purpose – your social media strategy and how you expect to achieve your goals
  • Standards for security, privacy, quality, confidentiality
  • Roles and responsibilities, including ownership of profiles and associated data
  • Relevant compliance issues – professional and legal
  • Expectations for business use. Set guidelines for your social media activities (e.g. processes, who can post, platforms used etc)
    When representing the business specify guidelines for which platforms are required/permitted, how profiles are defined, content posted, quality. frequency
  • Expectations for the personal use of social media. You can not stop employees using social media in their personal lives but you can give guidelines as to acceptable behaviour and how this reflects on you and your business/brand
  • Review; particularly important due to the pace of change in social media so frequent reviews of all aspects should be written into the policy

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