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Social Media Guidelines

Kyle Flaherty

From time to time I’m asked about social media guidelines for a company. Typically the person is putting something together and an executive has quite smartly stated that the employees need some guidelines. Now the original statement they made may have even said the dreaded “r” word, but either way the goal here is pretty straight forward. Or at least it should be. Your ultimate goal in creating social media guidelines is:

To produce a thorough but easily readable document that provides all employees a practical guide on how to interact within the context of social networks realizing that they are employed by said company.

Let’s break those down a bit further.

Thorough

  • The social media guidelines should include as much of what people SHOULD be talking about as what they SHOULD NOT be talking about.
  • The guidelines should take into account all facets of social media ranging from blogging and Twitter to posting online photos, audio clips and geo-location services.
  • The guidelines should have some language approved by your legal department, but it should also be vetted through HR, sales, marketing, PR, exec leadership and others. This is a document for the entire company.

Easily Readable

  • This may read as “short” to you, but that is not necessarily the case. It could also mean it is designed well or broken into well thought out chunks.
  • Social media guidelines should be easily accessible to all employees.
  • You do not have to publish your social media guidelines for the whole world to see. It is not frowned upon, but don’t think you have to reveal everything to everyone.
  • Think about providing your guidelines in other formats such as video, audio or cheat-sheets to tack to cubicle walls.

Practical Guide

  • Be realistic on what you are asking your employees. They should not have to censor themselves for the sake of the company, but they should be willing to be pragmatic when educated on the full impact of stating things online.
  • Social media guidelines will, and should, change on a consistent basis.

    • How to Interact

    • Be respectful
    • Be honest
    • Be helpful

    Social media guidelines are not rocket science, but they should provide people with a clear guide on how to participate in social media.

    Thanks to Jim Storer for the inspiration needed for this post.

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    This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 8:34 pmand is filed under How-To Guide, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    6 Responses to “Social Media Guidelines”

    • Jim Storer Says:
      February 3rd, 2010 at 8:01 am

      I love being able to just come up with the ideas and not write them. Yeah… I’m the Idea Guy! ;-)

      Nice job on the topic. The “easily readable” part is really important. If your eyes glaze over reading it, then it needs to be re-written.

      One comment on social media policies in general. I like it when policies suggest that it’s ok to listen for a while before jumping in and participating. I’ve seen people jump in too soon, before they understood the cadence and culture of a certain community. “You only make a first impression once” applies online too, and it’s ok to take your time before choosing to take that step.

    • Kyle Flaherty Says:
      February 3rd, 2010 at 8:12 am

      Good point Jim, although I would warn people to make sure they don’t wait too long. For example I was speaking at a Military show a few weeks ago and the head of social for the Department of Defense was there and mentioned they had been working on their guidelines for 18 months…wow.

    • Mike P Says:
      February 3rd, 2010 at 8:17 am

      As I recommend when I talk to Community Managers (for external communities) that are asking the same question, develop 2 policies. 1 is the more legal speak as to what can not and should not be done. The other is more of a “How you should” guide to interactions and participation online. We have found that separating the 2 out decreases the confusion. A more proactive and positive approach to “how you should” be doing things seems to work out.

      Mike P

    • Kyle Flaherty Says:
      February 3rd, 2010 at 8:21 am

      Excellent idea Mike, thanks!

    • Jeff Green Says:
      February 3rd, 2010 at 10:30 am

      Great, Kyle. Very timely for what I’m looking for. I particularly like the following:

      “…should include as much of what people SHOULD be talking about as what they SHOULD NOT be talking about.”

      I’d much rather encourage employees to engage than scare them from interacting as reps of the company or in a sense as subject matter experts and brand evangelists.

      Thanks for the advice (and to Mike P and Jim S as well).

    • Anna Barcelos Says:
      February 9th, 2010 at 7:09 pm

      Hi Kyle:
      I like the way you keep it simple with policy guidelines. Sometimes companies’ social media policies can get so technical it leaves those wanting to engage confused as to whether they should or not. Here are a couple cool links regarding SM policies I’ve often referred to that may also help you and your readers. :-)

      http://econsultancy.com/blog/5049-16-social-media-guidelines-used-by-real-companies

      http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

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