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Soc ia l Media Po l i cy

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

Writ ing a Socia l Media Pol icy: Protect your business, your brand and your employees.Have one of these questions ever crossed your mind?

• CanIbefiredifItweetarantaboutacustomer?

• Ismypersonalblogmyemployer’sbusiness?

• DoIhaveto“friend”myboss?

Ifyouareanemployee,youmayhaveaskedyourselfoneof

thesequestions,orahundredothersrelatedtothewayyouuse

socialmedia.(Andifyouhaven’taskedyourselfthesekindsof

questions,youmaywanttoconsiderhowcarefullyyouapproach

yoursocialmediaactivities.)Employersmayaskthemselves

different,butequallysticky,questions:

• Howcanweprotectourclientconfidentialitywhen

employeestweetwhateverisontheirminds?

• WhatcanIdoaboutanemployeewhoblogshisextremepoliticalpositions

whileidentifyingourcompanyashisemployer?

• Canweenforceemployeesocialmediaruleswithcontractors

andfreelancers?

There’snodoubtaboutit:Employersandemployeestodayfacelegaland

ethicalquestionswhentheyusesocialmediaforpersonaland

professionalpurposesthatwouldhavebeenunimaginableevena

fewyearsago.Mostcompaniestodayengageinsomelevelofsocial

mediamarketing.Andvirtuallyallcompanieshaveatleastsome

employeeswhousesocialmediaforpersonalpursuits.Butasurvey

conductedinAugustandSeptemberof2011byGrantThornton

LLPSMandFinancialExecutivesResearchFoundationInc.revealed

thatlessthanaquarterofsurveyedcompanieshadclearlydefined

socialmediapolicies.1

Asocialmediapolicyisacorporatecodeofconductthatprovides

guidancetoemployeeswhoengageinsocialmediaactivitiesfor

eitherpersonalorprofessionalreasons.Theoverallgoalofmost

policiesistoprotectthecompanyfromlegalproblemsorembarrassmentthat

couldresultfromemployees’onlineactivities.Ifyourcompanyhasn’tintroduced

asocialmediapolicy,nowisthetimetoexplorewhatkindofapolicyyouneed

1 Thompson Jr., Thomas, Jan Hertzberg, and Mark Sullivan. Social Media and Its Associated Risks. Grant Thornton LLP and Financial Executives Research Foundation, 2011. PDF.

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toprotectyourbusinessandbrandwhileencouragingyouremployeestobe

yourbestambassadors.Ifyouareamongthefractionofcompaniesthathas

introducedapolicy,congratulations!But,whenwasthelasttimeyoureviewed

it?Socialmediaisevolvingatsuchastunningratethatapolicywrittenayearago

mayalreadybeout-of-date.Newsitesandcapabilitiesswellinpopularitywhile

othersrecede,employeesraiseissuesthatthepolicydoesn’tcoverandlawsslowly

attempttocatchuptotechnology.

ThisBluePaper™isa“how-to”forwritingand

implementingsocialmediapoliciesintheworkplace.

We’llexplorethevalueofasocialmediapolicyfor

bothemployeesandemployers,thekindsofactivities

apolicymaycover,theformatsthatapolicymay

takeandpossibilitiesfortrainingandfollow-up.But

beforewegoanyfurther,let’saddacaveattothe

discussion:Employersocialmediapoliciestouchon

issuesoffreespeech,laborrelations,copyright,trade

secretsandprivacy.Therefore,youmustreviewany

socialmediapolicyyouplantointroducewithyour

company’sattorneyfirst.

Why every company needs a pol icy—or maybe two!Ifyouareover35,youmayrememberatimewhensomeemployerstriedto

restrictInternetaccessduringtheworkdayforfearofemployeeswastinghours

surfingtheInternet.Obviously,thispracticefellbythewaysideasmoreand

morejobsrequiredInternetaccess.Socialmediapresentsasimilarchallenge

toemployersandemployees.Whileit’seasytowastealottimepostingand

tweeting,socialmediaisanindispensabletooltobuildbrandsandboostsales.

Inaddition,simplyrestrictingaccesstosocialmediaduringtheworkdayfails

tosolvetheproblemofemployeesusingitduringtheiroff-hoursinwaysthat

cannegativelyaffectacompany’sreputation.Absentaclearandcommonsense

policy,overlyconscientiousemployeesmaybeafraidtousesocialmediainany

wayrelatedtotheiremployer,nomatterhowpositive,whilecarelessemployees

mayblogorpostdetrimentalcommentswithoutconsideringtheconsequencesof

theiractions.

LandO’Lakes®chiefinformationofficer,BarryLibenson,facedtherestriction

conundrumwhenhejoinedtheMinnesota-baseddairycooperativein2010.At

thattime,duetobothproductivityconcernsandbandwidthissues,thecompany’s

9,000employeeswerenotallowedaccesstoFacebook®andYouTube®

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intheworkplace.InjustoneexamplethatconfoundedLibenson,acompany

subsidiarylaunchedaFacebookPagethatnoonecouldaccessfromwork.“I

immediatelywentintothemodeof‘weneedtomoveintothe21stcentury,’”

Libensonsharedwith“CIOJournal.”“Ourcustomersuse[Facebook],it’satool

weshouldbeleveraging.Andwe’reatadeficitfornotusingit.”2Agroupof

10seniormanagersspentthreemonthshammeringoutasocialmediapolicy

thatwasapprovedbytheCEO.Withthepolicyinplace,allemployeescannow

accesssocialnetworkingsitesfromwork,withmarketingstaffandotherselect

employeesrepresentingthecompanyonsocialmediasites.Libensonreportsthat

thenewpolicyimprovedmorale,withemployeesviewingthecompanyasbeing

moreprogressive.3

TheLandO’Lakesexampleofdesignatingspecificemployeestorepresentthe

companyinsocialmediaendeavorsbringsuponeofthe“best

practices”ofwritingasocialmediapolicy.Ifacompanyengages

insocialmediamarketing,itactuallyneedstwosocialmedia

policies:oneforemployeeswhousesocialmediaintheir

personallivesonly,andoneforemployeeswhouseitaspart

oftheirjobs.Thefirstpolicywillcovertheboilerplateissues

ofanysocialmediapolicyalongwithindustryspecifics.The

second,moredetailedpolicyiswovenintoacompany’soverall

socialmediastrategy.Bothpolicies,however,shouldfocus

onencouragingemployeestousesocialmediainwaysthat

promoteandprotectthecompany.

MaddieGrant,co-authorof“OpenCommunityandHumanize:

HowPeople-CentricOrganizationsSucceedinaSocialWorld,”

emphasizesthatsocialmediapoliciesareaboutempoweringaction,notstopping

it.“Inmyworkwithmanyorganizations,thelackofsocialmediapolicieswas

ahurdlewehadtopushthroughbeforewecouldevengetstartedwiththe

workofsocialmediamanagement,”shesays.“Thiswastruefromboththe

managementsideandtheemployeeside.Managersworriedabouthaving

policiestomakesuretheirstaffwouldnotdoanythingbad,butstaffwere

equallyworriedaboutnotknowingexactlyhowtonavigatethingslikethe

blurringboundarybetweentheirpersonalandprofessionalpersonasonline.But

oncewehadourpoliciesinplace?Bam!Theywereoffandrunninganddoing

greatthingsusingsocialmedia.”4

2 Boulton, Clint. “How Land O’Lakes’ CIO Freed Facebook at Work.” CIO Journal. Dow Jones and Co. Inc., 7 May 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/05/07/how-land-o-lakes-cio-freed-facebook-at-work/.

3 Ibid.4 Grant, Maddie. “76% of Companies Do Not Have a Social Media Policy.” Social Business News. Social Business

News, 4 Jan. 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.socialbusinessnews.com/76-of-companies-do-not-have-a-social-media-policy/.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

The do’s and don’ts of wr i t ing a pol icyAsocialmediapolicythatempowersemployeesratherthanhamperingthemwill

containmoredo’sthandon’ts.Dobeauthentic.Doberesponsive.Dobestrategic.

Don’tdisparageotherpeople.

Butlet’sbackupabit.Ifyouexpectemployeestogetonboardwithanewsocial

mediapolicy,thefirststepistoformawell-roundedteamtobothwritethe

policyandencourageadoptionofthepolicythroughoutthecompany.Thereis

nothing“topdown”aboutsocialmedia,anda“topdown”policywillfeelstifling

insteadofempowering.Teammembersmayincludeamemberoftheexecutive

team,anHRrepresentative,anITstaffmember,amarketingteammemberand/

orsocialmediastrategist,representativesfromdivisionsthatuseorwanttouse

socialmediaasapartoftheirstrategy,legalcounselandatleastonedigital

native.

Onceformed,theteamwillwanttodefinethegoalsofthepolicybeforejumping

inwithspecificdo’sanddon’ts.Howwillthepolicyservethecompany’s

overallsocialmediastrategy?Howcanthepolicyencourageemployees

tobuildourbrand?Whatspecificprotectionsarerequiredduetoour

particularindustryorbusinesssituation?Howdowebalancethose

protectionswiththeleastrestrictivepolicypossibleforouremployees?

Withthosegoalsinminds,thepolicyteammayuseasatemplateany

ofthehundredsofexamplesofsocialmediapoliciesthatcanbefound

online.(Manycompaniesposttheirinternalsocialmediapoliciesonline

asapartoftheirsocialmediastrategy,publicallydemonstratinghowthe

companyengagesinsocialmedia.Butbeaware,justbecauseapolicy

ispostedonlinedoesn’tensurethatithasbeenvettedbylegalcounsel

orthatitcoversallofthebases.)Policiesfromsimilarbusinessesinyour

industrywillbethemosthelpful.Apolicyshould,intheend,beuniquetoan

organization.Asolidsocialmediapolicy:

• Explainswhythecompanyanditsemployeesneedthepolicy.Inparticular,

what’sinitforemployeeswhousesocialmediaforpersonalreasonsonly?

• Explainswhatsocialmediais(socialmediaismorethanFacebook

andTwitter®).

• Explainswhothepolicyisfor.Thismayincludeemployeeswhousesocial

mediafortheirjoband/oremployeeswhouseitonlyforpersonalreasons.

Youmayalsoneedtoincludecontractorsandfreelancers.

• Definesthetermsusedinthepolicy.

• Identifiessocialmediasitesthecompanyusesandwherethosesitescan

befound.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

• Providesspecificexamplesofhowemployeesmayengageinsocialmedia

thatinvolvethecompany.

• Identifieswhocananswerquestionsaboutthepolicyorrespondtospecific

issuesrelatedtosocialmediause.

• Followsallapplicablelaws.

Inadditiontocomponentsdiscussedabove,mostsocialmediapoliciesalsoinclude

someversionofthefollowingguidelines.Here’swherethedo’sanddon’ts

comein:

1) Do follow all other company policies when using social media.For

example,employeesandstudentsoftheMayoClinicSM“mustfollow

allapplicableMayoClinicpolicies.Forexample,youmustnotshare

confidentialorproprietaryinformationaboutMayoClinicandyoumust

maintainpatientprivacy.Amongthepoliciesmostpertinenttothis

discussionarethoseconcerningpatientconfidentiality,governmentaffairs,

mutualrespect,politicalactivity,Computer,E-mail&InternetUse,the

MayoClinicIntegrityProgram,photographyandvideo,andreleaseof

patientinformationtomedia.”5(Ontheissueofothercompanypolicies,

theteamwritingthesocialmediapolicymayalsobechargedwith

reviewingtheentireemployeehandbooktodetermineifotherpolicies

needtobeupdatedtoreflectsocialmediausebyemployees.)

2) Do speak as an individual.Intel®Corp.’ssocialmediaguidelinesadvise

employeestobetransparent(“Useyourrealname,identifythatyouwork

forIntel,beclearaboutyourrole.”),betruthful(“Ifyouhaveavested

interestinsomethingyouarediscussing,bethefirsttopointitoutand

bespecificaboutwhatitis.”),andbeyourself(“Sticktoyourareaof

expertise;writewhatyouknow.IfyoupublishawebsiteoutsideIntel,

pleaseuseadisclaimersuchasthis:‘Thepostingsonthissitearemyown

anddon’tnecessarilyrepresentIntel’spositions,strategiesoropinions.’”).6

3) Do think before you post.We’veallheardthewarnings:Doyouwantyour

mom,oryourboss,toreadorseethis?Forsomepeople,thosewarnings

seemtohavelittleeffect.Anddigitalnativeshaveaverydifferentopinion

aboutwhatinformationtoshareandhowtoshareitcomparedtoolder

generations.KristinJudge,directorofpartnerengagementforCenterfor

InternetSecurity—Multi-StateInformationSharingandAnalysisCenterSM,

recommendsthatanyonewhoengagesinsocialmediaaskthreequick

questionsbeforepostinganything:Whowillseeit?Whatcantheydo

5 “For Mayo Clinic Employees.” Sharing Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 16 May 2012. http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/guidelines/for-mayo-clinic-employees/.

6 “Intel Social Media Guidelines.” Intel. Intel Corp. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/legal/intel-social-media-guidelines.html.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

withit?WhydoIwantorneedtoshareit?7Thisisaguidelineforwhich

employeescouldespeciallybenefitfromspecificexamplesofwork-related

informationtoshareandinformationtonottoshare.

4) Do respect copyright and fair use.TheIBM®SocialComputingGuidelines,

consideredbysometobethegoldstandardofsocialmediapolicies,advise

“forIBM’sprotectionaswellasyourown,itiscriticalthatyoushowproper

respectforthelawsgoverningcopyrightandfairuseofcopyrighted

materialownedbyothers,includingIBM’sowncopyrightsand

brands.Youshouldneverquotemorethanshortexcerptsof

someoneelse’swork.Anditisgoodgeneralbloggingpractice

tolinktoothers’work.Keepinmindthatlawswillbedifferent

dependingonwhereyouliveandwork.”8

5) Do protect confidential and proprietary information.Protecting

thesecretrecipeforCoca-Cola®isobvious.Otheractionsmay

notbe.Anemployeewho“checksin”viaalocationappata

potentialclient’sheadquartersrisksgivingawayinformation

aboutcompanyactivitiesandstrategy,aswellastheclient’s

activities.

6) Don’t “friend” employees, managers, colleagues and clients if an online

relationship is potentially uncomfortable for one the parties.Awkward

privacyissuescanberaisedwhenprofessionalsattempttofriend,

follow,likeorlinktoeachotherorclientsorcustomers.Thisisespecially

truewhentherelationshipisunequal.MayoClinic’spolicy“strongly

discourages‘friending’ofpatientsonsocialmediawebsites.Staffin

patientcarerolesgenerallyshouldnotinitiateoracceptfriendrequests

exceptinunusualcircumstancessuchasthesituationwhereanin-person

friendshippre-datesthetreatmentrelationship.”Similarly,“MayoClinic

discouragesstaffinmanagement/supervisoryrolesfrominitiating‘friend’

requestswithemployeestheymanage. Managers/supervisorsmayaccept

friendrequestsifinitiatedbytheemployee,andifthemanager/supervisor

doesnotbelieveitwillnegativelyimpacttheworkrelationship.”9

7 Judge, Kristin. “Online Safety: Think before You Post and Don’t Overshare Information on Social Networking Sites.” Heritage.com. Heritage Newspapers, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/04/15/opinion/doc4f8b313a81267903902050.txt?viewmode=2.

8 “IBM Social Computing Guidelines.” IBM. IBM. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html.

9 “For Mayo Clinic Employees.” Sharing Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 16 May 2012. http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/guidelines/for-mayo-clinic-employees/.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

7) Do manage your time wisely.Thisiswhereanemployerconcernedabout

employeeswhilingthedayawayonFacebookcanadvisethatduringwork

hours,socialmediashouldnotgetinthewayofworkresponsibilities.

Inadditiontoaddressingthesestandardissues,theteam

shouldconsiderwhetherornotsite-specificpoliciesare

necessary.SitessuchasFacebookandTwitteraresopopular

thatsomebusinesseschoosetowritepoliciesspecifically

relatedtotheuseofthosesites.Thedrawbacktosite-specific

policiesisthat,withsocialmediaevolvingatsuchafastpace,

thesekindsofpoliciescanbecomequicklyoutdated.However,

therearesituationsthatwarrantsuchpolicies.Ifyourcompany

usesaspecificsiteinitssocialmediastrategy,employeeswho

don’tusesocialmediaintheirjobswillwanttounderstand

howtheymayandmaynotinteractwiththesite.Forexample,

Walmart®SocialMediaGuidelinesexplainthatanemployee

maynotparticipateinlocation-basedpromotionssuchasFoursquare™atthe

storewheretheemployeeisanassociate.Walmartassociatesmayhowever

participateinsuchpromotionsatstoreswheretheydon’twork.10

Alloftheguidelinesinasocialmediapolicyforageneralemployeepopulation

applytothosewhousesocialmediaonbehalfofthecompany.Butthose

employeeswhorepresentthecompanypublicallybenefitfromanadditional,

morespecificpolicy.Thispolicywillbewovenintoacompany’soverallsocial

mediastrategy,andmayinvolveguidelinesforcompanyblogs,websitecomments

andquestions,postingtoofficialcompanyFacebookandPinterestSMpages,

videos,podcastsandmore.Apolicyforemployeesinvolvedinacompany’ssocial

mediastrategywillanswerthesekindsofquestions:

• Whoisdesignatedasthe“face”ofthecompanyandisresponsiblefor

speakingforthecompanyonaday-to-daybasisonsocialmediasites?

• Howoftenarepostsmadetothesocialnetworkingsitesweuse?Whatare

thegoalsforposting?Whattonedowesetonourofficialpages?

• Whendopostsneedtobecleared,andwhencananemployeewho

engagesinsocialmediaonbehalfofthecompanygoaheadandmakea

postwithoutclearance?

• Whodeterminestopicsforpostsonourofficialblog?

• Whorespondstocommentsandquestionsonthecompany’swebsite?How

quicklyshouldresponsesbeposted?

10 “Walmart Social Media Guidelines.” Walmart Corporate. Walmart. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.walmartstores.com/socialguidelines/.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

• Inacrisissituation,whorepresentsthecompanyonsocialmedia,and

whatplatformswillbeusedtodisseminateinformation?

Finally,asocialmediapolicyshouldsetatoneforpositiveonlineengagement.

Theexpertsat123SocialMedia,acorporatesocialmediatrainingpartner,

promotethesegeneralprinciplesforsocialmediapolicies:

• Treatothersasyouwouldliketobetreated.

• Addvaluetoyourconsumers,yourindustryandyourbusiness.

• Berespectful,professionalandcourteous.

• Provideinsight,expertiseandrelevantconversation.

• Communicateethicallyandmorallyinsupportofyourprofessionalgoals.11

Ifyourcompanydoesn’thavein-houselegalcounseltocontributetotheteam,

besuretohavethepolicyreviewedbyoutsidelegalcounsel

beforeintroducingafinaldrafttoemployees.Balancingthe

rightsofemployeeswiththerightsofanemployertripsupmany

companiesthatadoptsocialmediapolicies.InJanuary2012,the

NationalLaborRelationsBoard(NLRB)releasedareporton14

recentcasesreviewedbytheNLRBthatinvolvedemployersocial

mediapoliciesorfiringsduetoFacebookpostings.Oftheseven

casesthatinvolvedemployersocialmediapolicies,fivepolicies

werefoundtobeoverlybroad,onewasfoundtobelawfuland

onewasfoundtobelawfulafteritwasrevised.Ofthecasesthat

involvedthefiringofemployeesduetoFacebookcomments,

“severaldischargeswerefoundtobeunlawfulbecausethey

flowedfromunlawfulpolicies,”accordingtotheNLRB.“Butin

onecase,thedischargewasuphelddespiteanunlawfulpolicy

becausetheemployee’spostingwasnotwork-related.”12 The

NLRBemphasizesthesepoints:

• Employerpoliciesshouldnotbesosweepingthattheyprohibitthekinds

ofactivityprotectedbyfederallaborlaw,suchasthediscussionofwages

orworkingconditionsamongemployees.

• Anemployee’scommentsonsocialmediaaregenerallynot

protectediftheyaremeregripesnotmadeinrelationtogroup

activityamongemployees.13

11 “Social Media Policy.” 123 Social Media. 123 Social Media. Web. 16 May 2012. http://123socialmedia.com/social-media-policy/.

12 “Acting General Counsel Issues Second Social Media Report.” National Labor Relations Board. National Labor Relations Board, 25 Jan. 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.nlrb.gov/news/acting-general-counsel-issues-second-social-media-report.

13 Ibid.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

Whilethelegalsign-offonanysocialmediapolicyisnecessary,theteamshould

ensurethatthepolicyitselfiswrittenineverydaylanguage.“Legaleseconfounds

interpretation,”saysCarolRozwellofGartnerInc.SM“It’ssimilartohowsome

peoplerespondtomathproblems.Throwsome‘heretofore,’‘affectedparty’and

‘aforementioned’statementsintoadocumentandotherwiseliteratepeople’s

eyesglazeover.Thelanguageusedinthesocialmediapolicyneedstobeprecise

butnotstilted.Remember,inmostsizableorganizations,Englishwillnotbe

everyone’sprimarylanguage.”14

Gett ing employees on boardWithalloftheinformationforacompany-specificpolicygathered,theteam’s

nextstepistoconsiderhowtopresenttheguidelines.Itisn’tenoughtohavea

policy.Likeanyotherworkplacepractice,thewayapolicyispresentedandthe

approachtotrainingemployeeswilldeterminehowwellthepolicyisaccepted

andfollowed.Thinkaboutthewayyouremployeesabsorbinformationand

adoptnewhabits,andwritethepolicyinaformatthatwilltake

advantageofthoselearningstyles.Hereareafewapproaches:

Short and sweet (or, short and tweet!):Zappos®,theonlineshoe

andapparelretailer,isreportedtohaveTwitterguidelinesshort

enoughtotweet:“Berealanduseyourbestjudgment.”While

thatpolicymaynotbeabroadenoughformostemployers,ithas

workedforZapposasasocialmarketingstrategy:With400-plus

employeestweeting,Zapposhit$1billioninannualsalesin200815

beforebeingacquiredbyAmazon®.

General guidelines, then details:Aspreviouslynoted,IBMhasbeen

acorporateleaderonthetopicofsocialmediaguidelines.Initspolicy,

afteranintroduction,IBMlists12fairlyshortguidelinesfollowedby

amoredetailedexplanationoftheguidelines.Theirmostcurrentpolicy

(it’sreviewedandupdatedperiodically)canbefoundbydoinganInternet

searchfor“IBMSocialComputingGuidelines.”

Chart format:ThesocialmediapolicyadoptedbyelectronicsretailerBest

Buy®beginswiththetagline,“Besmart.Berespectful.Behuman.”Thebulkof

thepolicyispresentedinachartheadedwithtwocolumns:“Whatyoushould

14 Rozwell, Carol. “Why Social Media Policies Should Focus on the Do’s Rather than the Don’ts.” Forbes. Forbes.com LLC, 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gartnergroup/2012/02/27/why-social-media-policies-should-focus-on-the-dos-rather-than-the-donts/.

15 Mitchell, Dan. “Shoe Seller’s Secret of Success.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 May 2008. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/technology/24online.html?_r=1.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

do”and“Whatyoushouldneverdisclose.”Thepolicyendswithawarningof

whatcouldhappentoanemployeewhoignoresorforgetstheguidelines:Get

fired.GetBestBuyinlegaltroublewithcustomersorinvestors.CostBestBuythe

abilitytogetandkeepcustomers.Andfinally,itconcludeswithanothertagline:

“Remember:protectthebrand,protectyourself.”16

A Q&A approach:Ifthepolicyteamcollectedquestionsfromemployeesinthe

processofgatheringinformation,aQ&Aapproachthatanswersthosequestions

canbeahelpfulformatforclearlycommunicatingthepolicytoemployees.

Onceapolicyisapprovedandformatted,thesocialmediapolicyteamisready

tointroducethepolicythroughtraining.Thisisakeystepinencouraging

employeestobeambassadorsofabrand.Nonprofitandsmallbusinessstrategy

consultantJenniferAmandaJonesrecommendsatwo-trackapproach:onetrack

foremployeeswhowillengageinsocialmediaonbehalfofthecompany,and

asecondtrackthateducatesallemployeesonInternetsafety,

cybercrimeandhowtoestablishandprotectonlinereputations.

Throughaskill-buildingapproach,asopposedtothedictationof

anewpolicy,employersofferabenefittoemployeesonanissue

thatnearlyeveryonestruggleswithonpersonaland

professionallevels.

“AsIreadthecourtcasesthatcomeoutaboutsocialmedia,it

seemstomethatmanyofthecasesariseoutofignorance,not

malice,onthepartoftheemployee,”Joneswritesin“Social

MediaExaminer”SM,anonlinesocialmediamagazine.“Many

employeeshaven’tfullythoughtthroughtheconsequencesof

theircyberbehavior.Byprovidingcyber-safetyeducationtotheirstaff,employers

arepreventingproblemsbeforetheystart.”17

Ifyourpolicycoverscontractorsandfreelancers,ensurethattheyhavean

opportunitytoreviewthepolicyaswell.Thisisanothertrickyarea.DawnLomer

ofcasemanagementsoftwareprovideri-Sight®saysthatthere’snotmuchaction

acompanycantakeagainstanerranttweetbyafreelancerorcontractor,other

thantoendthebusinessrelationship.“Intermsofprevention,it’sbesttohave

everycontractorreadyourpolicy,whichshouldincludeasectionthatdealswith

identificationofthefirminprofilesandcomments,”shesays.“Bestbet:Before

usingafreelancerorcontractor,talktohimorheraboutyourexpectations

16 “Best Buy Social Media Policy.” BestBuy.com. BBY Solutions Inc., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 May 2012. http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Welcome-News/Best-Buy-Social-Media-Policy/td-p/20492.

17 Jones, Jennifer Amanda. “10 Tips for Creating a Social Media Policy for Your Business.” Social Media Examiner. Social Media Examiner, 9 Feb. 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/10-tips-for-creating-a-social-media-policy-for-your-business/.

© 2012 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

4imprintservesmorethan100,000businesseswithinnovativepromotionalitemsthroughouttheUnitedStates,

Canada,UnitedKingdomandIreland.Itsproductofferingsincludegiveaways,businessgifts,personalizedgifts,

embroideredapparel,promotionalpens,travelmugs,totebags,waterbottles,Post-itNotes,customcalendars,

and many other promotionalitems.Foradditionalinformation,logontowww.4imprint.com.

aroundsocialmediaandmakeitclearthatyouexpectthemtofollowthesame

standardsasregularemployees.”18

Finally,thisisnotapolicytostickintheemployeehandbookandforgetabout.

Socialmediaisconstantlychanging,withnewservicesandcapabilitiesbecoming

availableeveryday.Thesocialmediapolicyteamshouldplantomeettoreview

thepolicyatleastonceeverysixmonths.Isanythinginthepolicyoutdatedorno

longerinthecompany’sbestinterest?Hasthecompany’ssocialmediastrategy

changed?Whatnewissuesorquestionshavearisen?Havecourtdecisions

orlegislationaffectedtherightsofemployersandemployeeswhoengage

socialmedia?Whatkindofnewtrainingorreviewmightthecompanyoffer

employees?

ToparaphrasetheBestBuySocialMediaPolicy,employersandemployeesneedto

continuallymonitorhowtheyprotectthebrandandprotectthemselves.

18 Wisniewski, Dan. “Answers to Tricky HR Questions: Does Our Social Media Policy Apply to Contractors.” HR Morning.comsm. PBP Media, 1 May 2012. Web. 16 May 2012. http://www.hrmorning.com/answers-to-tricky-hr-questions-does-our-social-media-policy-apply-to-contractors/.