10 Tips for Developing a Blogging and Social Media Policy

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10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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Copyright © 2014 Regina Reaves, LLC

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10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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Social networking is a great way for nonprofits to tell their stories. Empowering staff as participants in

your communication strategy can benefit their careers and your organization’s marketing goals. A lot can be learned about your organization through the voices of your staff, members, and stakeholders. However, you need a strategy. This medium can get out of control very quickly without careful planning and management. It is important to set clear guidelines.

Senior Human Resources Consultant Michelle Riley Jones offers the following advice when developing your internal social media policy. Use these tips to guide your development of new standards or to update your current policy.

Michelle Riley JonesSr. Human Resources Consultant

Michelle is a Human Resources professional with diverse HR experience for large and small corporate and consulting clients in a variety of industries, including government contracting, non-profit, associations, environmental, real estate development & investment, healthcare communications, publications, and mortgage banking. A business-focused human resources professional, she has provided strategic and creative direction on the full range of HR issues. She has a strong business partner mindset and a demonstrated ability to align human resources with business strategies to impact the bottom line and drive client success.

10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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1Your social media policy should express respect for

the rights of employees to start or maintain a blog or

participate in other social networking activities, as a medium

of self-expression and public conversation. It should not

discourage employees from self-publishing and self-expression

or discriminate against employees who use these media for

personal interests and affiliations or other lawful purposes.

2Your company has the right to protect itself from

unauthorized disclosure of information.

3Bloggers and commenters can be held personally liable

for commentary that is considered defamatory,

obscene, proprietary or libelous by any offended party, not

just the company.

TIP A social

media “action plan” should address “legal

issues from both an employee

and employer perspective.”

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10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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4Employees are generally restricted from speaking on

behalf of the company, unless specifically authorized. This

includes talking about clients, products, employees, or other

work-related matters.

5Whether confidential or not, discussing the company’s

privileged information, copyrighted information, or

company-issued documents outside company-authorized

communications should be prohibited.

6Most company policies inform employees that they should

have no expectations of privacy while using company

equipment or facilities for any purpose, including authorized or

unauthorized blogging.

A recent study on

nonprofit content marketing

in North America reported

that 91% of nonprofit

professionals use Facebook

more than any other social

media platform. Sixty-nine

percent use Twitter, 65%

YouTube and 53% LinkedIn.

2014 Nonprofit Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America

Content Marketing Institute and Blackbaud

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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7Employees should avoid the use of employer-owned

equipment, including computers, company-licensed

software, or other electronic equipment, facilities, or company

time to perform personal blogging or social networking activities.

8Prohibit employees from using blogs or social networking

sites to harass, threaten, belittle, or discriminate against

other employees or anyone associated with or doing business

with the company.

9If an employee identifies him/herself as an employee of

the company, some readers may view the employee as a

“spokesperson” for the company. Therefore, most companies

will ask that the employee clearly states that his/her views

TIP Make your policy easy

to read by limiting use of complex

legal jargon.

10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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expressed in the blog or social networking area are his/her own

and not those of the company, nor of any person or organization

affiliated or doing business with the company.

qDiscourage employees from posting photographs of other

employees, clients, or vendors on their personal blogs

or social networking sites. Employees should avoid posting

photographs of persons engaged in company business or at

company events.

................................................

These tips are a good place to begin developing your own

internal policy. The document should be a collaborative effort

between your HR, marketing, communication, and editorial

departments to ensure all areas of concern are covered. Your

legal advisers should then review it to make sure the policy is

appropriate for your organizational needs and culture.

DEVELOP the policy;

REVIEW it with your

employees and

contracted copy writers;

and ENFORCE it.

10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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More Resources

+ SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES FOR NONPROFITS

Download a sample policy that you

can modify and make your own at

NonprofitMarketingGuide.com.

+ POLICY TOOL FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

This policy generator tool provides a

starting point for developing your own

policies. Before publishing, however, ask

your legal department to review and ensure

the finished document is appropriate for

your organization.

Share Your ThoughtsDoes your organization have a

social media policy? What are

some other clauses readers

should consider? Share your

thoughts and experiences on

my Facebook page.

10 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

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About Regina ReavesAre you looking for meaningful communication strategies for your organization or business? Marketing solutions that inspire and galvanize? Brand experiences that matter?

I am a design strategy consultant and award-winning graphic designer with more than 20 years’ experience developing marketing and communication strategies for non-profits, faith-based organizations and start-up businesses.

I’m also a creative writer and support companies with strategic copy, conceptual ideas and creative presentations for branding campaigns, B2B advertising, capabilities brochures and websites.

These skills allow me to offer an array of services to help you reach your audiences with clear messages through methods they use every day.

I’m committed to helping companies tell their stories. Your corporate identity and brand message should never become lost in the design. The role of design is to visually tell your story in the most effective way possible.

My reputation for careful research and planning, and distinctive, focused design strategies has gained client trust and loyalty. As your creative partner, together we can uncover a unique way to bring your story to life and expand its reach.

Areas of expertise include: strategic design management, communication strategy, creative direction, marketing and branding, print design, web design and development, content management, copy writing and editing, print buying, onsite print management, creative writing, e-mail and social marketing campaigns, alumni relations/engagement.

For more information, visit my website at

www.reginareaves.com

Sign up for BRAND-Lettres, my monthly e-letter on brand storytelling for nonprofits, faith groups, and purpose-driven businesses.

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Thank you for downloading this ebook!

I hope it becomes a handy resource as you develop clear strategies and guidelines for your organization’s online communications. There are more resources to come!

In the meantime, visit www.reginareaves.com and sign up for BRAND-Lettres, my monthly e-letter

on brand storytelling for nonprofits, faith groups, and purpose-driven businesses.