Social Media Guidelines
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
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.