The Importance of Social Media Guidelines for Employees

Social Media PoliciesThere is a myriad of benefits associated with the management of corporate social media accounts:

Humanization of your brand. Be it an individual customer or B2B vertical, social media accounts can be used to forge authentic and credible partnerships with third parties. By using social media to build a brand image, companies can not only use, but also maintain their unique voice.

Increased sales. The internet is one of the first places potential customers will use to introduce themselves to your business. One of the best ways to improve sales is by engaging with this tentative demographic who are interested in your products, but apprehensive.

However, when it comes to social media, it is very hard to create a positive image online, yet easy for it to be destroyed. In the past year, we have seen businesses and organizations drop the ball when it comes to their social media presence, with long-lasting ramifications.

Social Media Guidelines for Employees

A social media policy is a set of guidelines that advises how employees should conduct themselves online. It’s designed to safeguard the brand’s image and encourage employees to use their accounts responsibly. A social media policy defends against legal trouble, empowers employees, and creates consistency across all channels. A social media policy has three main parts: regulations, roles, and accountability.

The policy should flesh out the rules of social media engagement. This section might include guidelines on how to talk about the company and its products, etiquette, and defining what company information should and should not be shared online.

It should also define who is responsible for different media tasks. For larger corporations, it makes sense to have a dedicated team with many moving parts. Potential posts should go through a multi-layered approval process that includes message approval, crisis response, security concerns, and social engagement.

Value Of Social Media Policy

In an effort to grow their network and audiences, companies are looking to their employees to share their news and promotions on social media. This form of employee advocacy is taking on more importance as it gets harder and harder to get anyone to read social media posts. A well thought out social media policy encourages positive interactions, preventing posts that will disrupt business. This requires that HR departments take a measured approach.

About PER Human Resources

PER Human Resources assists with designing social media policies, translate the litany of legalese to avoid legal pitfalls, as well as offering administrative relief. To learn more, contact us.

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