Developing a Policy and Guidelines
Building guidelines and policies surrounding the usage of social media for your organization can protect you. You will never fully control everything that's posted, but setting boundaries will help your organization control your image and most importantly, keep you out of legal trouble.
Before you begin, it is important to understand what a guideline and policy entail. Guidelines are not set in stone and are not mandatory like policies. They are used to make the actions of employees more predictable. Think of a guideline as a walking trail at your local park. The trail guides and leads you to where you want to go, but the trail itself doesn't demand you stay on it. Policies on the other hand, are like the signs posted on the trail that tell you to steer clear from rocks or a cliff. Those signs are to be followed by everyone on the trail, and are enforceable.
As you can see, setting these guidelines and policies is something very important for your business to do, not only to protect you and your employees but your customers and members as well. Below you will find a sample social media policy and links to help you better understand all the information pertaining to writing a good policy and staying out of legal trouble.
Additional Resources:
Checklist for Employee Social Media Policy
Your Social Media Strategy- 5 Ways to Stay Out of Legal Trouble
Social Media Governance
Download: Sample Social Media Policy
Download: Sample Social Media Guidelines
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