Your main brand guidelines are like the constitution for your entire brand. They cover absolutely everything—your mission, your logo, your typography, your color palette, how you show up in print ads, on your website, everywhere. Not every comment will be a glowing review, and that’s perfectly fine.

Removes Any Confusion About Potential Legal Issues

You’re personally responsible for any online activity you conduct using your company email address or company device. You may also be held responsible for posts made from a personal account or device if you represent yourself as a member of the company thereon. That provides some protection for the company if an employee violates your rules.

Social Media Guidelines For Public And Academic Libraries

After the takeover, analyze the results using your social media management tools. Look at metrics like reach, engagement rates, and follower growth to measure success. Start by setting clear goals for the takeover – whether it’s increasing followers, boosting engagement, or promoting a new product. Choose a guest who aligns with your brand values and has a relevant audience. Social media takeovers are a powerful tool in a brand’s social media strategy. It’s one thing to read a policy’s legalese; it’s quite another to see examples of compliance or violation.

However, GaggleAMP gives them the tools they need to start posting their own content on social media. Social media guidelines exist to help employees clearly understand what they should not post so that they can confidently publish relevant content. In fact, your brand will benefit if your employees have a strong social media presence and frequently discuss the brand’s mission and latest updates. Many people still fail to comprehend the public nature of social media, that anything you post, at any time, could be potentially seen by millions of people if the algorithm gods choose to do so.

All OUSMAs must adhere to the Social Media Policy that was adopted in September 2023. Download these workplace social media policy templates to help guide employees in presenting themselves and reflecting company values online. Clarify that violations of your policy can have serious consequences. This should not create an atmosphere of fear but rather protect your brand’s integrity. Also, ensure everyone knows what social media behavior is acceptable and what isn’t.

Ultimately, the rules and regulations you choose to include in your policy should reflect your own brand’s values, messaging, and tone. It also recognizes how essential social media is to its position as a credible house of journalism, making that very clear in its social media policy. A PDF of “Ford Motor Company’s Digital Participation Guidelines” is also circulating online, but it is over 14 years old and includes several rebranded social media networks. Ford focuses solely on its Facebook page in its most current social media policy version. Best Buy has a social media policy in place that preemptively addresses privacy concerns that could arise using social media.

Disclaimers For Personal Opinions

A crisis management plan is crucial for effectively handling unexpected social media situations. A well-structured crisis communication plan should include pre-determined roles and guidelines for team members, allowing for swift and coordinated responses to protect the company’s online reputation. Social media monitoring can help brands detect potential crises early and respond promptly. Positive engagement on social media benefits both the company and its employees.

That’s a powerful skill you’ve developed, which you can use to create a new social media policy from scratch, improve an existing policy, or edit a template. You might think it’s cheesy or out of place to include something so emotional in a social media policy. But it’s precisely because connection is so important that it deserves its place in this particular social media policy.

Importantly, the policy must apply uniformly across all organizational levels, from entry-level staff to senior executives. Ensuring that everyone is aware of and understands their responsibilities in maintaining a positive and respectful online presence is crucial for the policy’s effectiveness. If you want your employees to respect your social media policy, they must be aware that there are consequences for violating it, including termination of employment. As Alex mentioned, employees should be mindful of what they post, and with a social media policy, your employees will know what they can and can’t do on social media.

As an expert in creative strategy and emerging technology, Stephanie helps brands navigate the evolving landscape of digital content, ensuring their campaigns are both impactful and future-proof. She also shares her insights on marketing and AI as a guest author here on the Emphasis blog and Knowledge Hub. Good social media guidelines explain the do’s and don’ts but also explain why you should make that choice.