Why your company needs a social media policy

You see people online every day, walking down the street, on public transport and yes even in the office.

Most of these people are checking their Twitter stream or updating Facebook or posting pictures on Instagram.

So just why does your company need a social media policy?  Social Media has taken the world by storm and just about everyone in your office is probably sending out a tweet as you are reading this article.

What’s in the tweet they sent out?  Do you know? Do you care? Some of them might be taking a picture of their friends in the office and perhaps a few business documents might be in the shot but who cares about that right?  Perhaps those documents have confidential details of a huge business deal between your company and another company.

Perhaps someone from another company sees that picture on Instagram and decides to offer the other company a better deal and just like that you lose $1 billion dollars.

What you see there is a worst case scenario and it has already happened to some companies.  How can your company protect itself?  This is why you need a simple social media policy drawn up. Each staff member should get a copy and read it and sign it when they join your company.

So what should your social media policy contain?  At the very least it should cover the basics like:

·         What can a staff member post on social media while they are at the office

·         What are staff members allowed to post and what are they not allowed to post

·         If a staff member uses the social media account of the company what are they allowed to post

·         What images are staff members allowed to put out there

·         What blog posts are staff members allowed to write

·         What can staff members post and what can’t they post in their profile

·         Remember that a staff member represents your company and the brand so remind them of that before they post on social media

·         Have a disclaimer that protects your company from what people post on your social media pages

For a more detailed social media policy do not hesitate to contact Falconscove to set up an appointment to discuss your needs.

Fred Felton - Falconscove

Email: falconscove@gmail.com