Jobhop Jobhop's blog : What Should Be In Your Social Media Policy
Many companies I speak to still haven’t got a social media policy!
Really people it’s not going away, you should be taking it seriously and get a social media policy.
What if one of your employees posted a photo of themselves in the company uniform drunk outside a pub, or they posted a comment about a client or even another employee?
What if you found that a couple of your employees had posted a video of themselves onto the internet and that video was in bad taste. It happened to Dominos, two of their kitchen staff posted a video to youtube tampering with the food, they put cheese up their nose and served it to customers. Within a day 750,000 people had viewed the video, it affected the company’s sales and share price.
Why did they do it? Were they bored doing a repetitive job? Was it deadly corporate espionage? or just a thoughtless prank?
The employees said they only done it for a giggle, it wasn’t real and they hadn’t realised how many people would watch the video, they definitely didn’t realise the impact it would have and that they’d be fired as a consequence.
You mustn’t let this happen to your company, you must act now.
Your employees have to be educated, they need to understand Social Media, the good and the ugly, it’s your responsibility to train them and you’re responsibility to have a social media policy.
Your social media policy is your first line of defense. Remember, educated users of social media can really build your company brand for you, uneducated users of social media can really damage it for you.
So what should it say ?
- 1)Make sure the policy covers all types of social media..ie social networking, video, blogs, wiki etc
- 2) Include what existing policies it compliments
- 3) Your social media policy should focus on what employees can do rather than cant do.. social media should be a positive experience ..
- 4) Setting up procedures and if there are designated people to assist then name them
- 5) Consider and respect .. Explain that they are not to say anything contradictory or in conflict with your company, also explain the obvious, no offensive comments, insults, obscenities, racist remarks etc..
- 6) Respect copyrights and intellectual property do your employees have the authorisation to publish or share something on social media. Your own branding and logos should be included.
- 7) Use of Disclaimers ..ie Their views are their own
- 8) Include privacy and protecting their own privacy
- 9) Lastly but importantly Enforcement ..Disciplinary action
The above is a basic guide just highlighting some main points.
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Julie Bishop Jobhop.co.uk
In:
- Social media