Why you need a social media policy

Why you need a social media policy – and a good one

By Meghan Attreed on November 23, 2010

While social media isn’t a new concept to most, many organizations have been hesitant to really push social media best practices internally. There has also been a hesitation to provide employees with social media policies or guidelines, for the simple fact of wanting to better understand the nuances of the networks before putting anything in place to govern them. Recently however, controversy has started to brew over how social media activity impacts a person’s job, and for PR (and PR pros like me) this controversy highlights the fact that most companies really do need a social media policy – and they need it now.

In the age of user-generated content, everyone’s opinion about practically anything is visible to all, which can be a very scary thought for many brands. In the past, if a company had unhappy employees or customers, it was easier to shield others from that, but now with social media networks this information is hard to hide. This is one of the reasons we work so hard with our clients to both educate them about social media and help them develop guidelines and policies to educate their employees. As most legal teams will tell you, it’s difficult to impose policies that strictly govern people’s personal activities, and most won’t be legal or appreciated by employees. But it is still important to empower employees with information about social media forums.

There are a number of important questions to ask (many more than I can address here!) but here’s a couple almost every client asks:

As a representative of your company what guidelines should employees follow on Facebook and Twitter?

I’ve worked with many clients, both at Breakaway and in the past, to develop social media guidelines for their companies. I think it’s smart for every company to have a policy in place. Consider that while many younger employees have grown up with social networking forums, or were at least introduced more recently, most organizations have at least a few employees who aren’t as savvy in the social-sphere. For basic guidelines we tend to avoid any language around legal enforcement, and just want to outline best practices to make employees more comfortable. Past social media guidelines I’ve developed for companies are all about three things: transparency, participation and asking for help when it’s needed. I always encourage clients and their employees to make their company affiliation known. I recommend being active and communicative without over-sharing – you wouldn’t want your competitor to know you were meeting with a prospective client would you? And lastly, the staple of every social media policy I’ve ever drafted – if you’re in doubt about what to do, ask the communications team :)

Should these networks be leveraged for work, or kept private and protected?

Personally, I don’t think it’s smart to mix your personal life with work. The way you would hesitate about dating a co-worker (and how that might be frowned upon), lends itself to the new-age version of that, which is probably friend-ing your boss on Facebook. That’s not to say I’m not friends with the people I work with on Facebook (I mean, could the Breakaway team BE any cooler? I don’t think so.), but it’s important to be smart about this. I maintain Twitter as a professional network – I boast about my clients, post industry articles and chat with reporters there. Facebook is much more personal for me – but I think there’s bound to be a little overlap for a lot of people. I’m friends with some reporters, clients and co-workers on Facebook, but it means that I’m cognizant of what I post. Regardless of what you choose, the number one rule is to think about EVERY social network as if it’s an e-mail blast or a billboard above Times Square – assume that anyone will see what you post

I think it will be interesting to see how social networks continue to evolve over time, and how they’ll influence business, personal lives and the overlap between the two. And in the meantime, I’m enjoying being part of a smart team that gets to help guide our clients through that maze.

Tags: Evolution of PR, Social Media

Patty Oien
11/23/2010 11:10:53 AM

Very thought-provoking post, thanks Meghan. One interesting aspect, that I think speaks to different generations' views of social media, is that you view guidelines, in part, as a way to encourage less tech-savvy workers to participate and share. Not that this is entirely age-driven, of course, but I think older generations often view guidelines as ways to stem the over-sharing of information and show what is appropriate in the work setting. Totally speaks to the natural openness of upcoming generations, something both companies and communicators need to be award of and embrace . . .

Meghan Attreed
11/23/2010 1:34:16 PM

That's interesting feedback, thanks Patty! I definitely think that social media in general has brought many differences between generations in business to light. I suppose my POV is that many people are more afraid of the things they don't understand and are more hesitant to get involved - but by providing them with some education, they can gain a confidence to try something and see the potential benefits.

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Why you need a social media policy – and a good one

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