You’re a small to mid-size business with only a few employees. You may think you don’t need policies or handbooks. You don’t pay much attention to social media or what your employees are posting or reading on social media. That attitude towards social media is exactly why you absolutely need a social media policy. In today’s world every business needs one, no matter the size or how many employees!

 A social media policy can be your first line of defense to mitigate risk for both you as the employer and for your employees. Imagine if a disgruntled employee who is upset with you or your business decides to post private information like passwords or other damaging information about your firm online. The results could be disastrous on many levels! Even if you’re not active on social media, odds are that your employees and clients/customers are. Social media in regard to employee use, as well as functioning as a communication and/or marketing tool for companies is here to stay and is growing all the time. Twitter, X, Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, Google, YouTube, Yelp, Instagram, etc. can either help or hurt you depending upon what is being posted at any given moment.

If you already have a confidentiality agreement and an employee handbook you are already one step ahead. However, while it might seem OK to just clarify that the confidentiality agreement covers employee interactions on social media sites, it is best from a business, security and legal standpoint to create a separate social media policy.

 Don’t put if off because you are not sure what information or how detailed it needs to be. The very act of writing it forces you to think about what you want to achieve and how you’re going to do it. A good social media policy answers internal questions about purpose, defines ethical and responsible behavior and spells out how management and oversight will function. It should also define commenting and interaction guidelines for staff as well as how to deal with public comments.

When writing your social media policy, it should define how your social media efforts will work, tie into your marketing strategy and efforts, include rules on any personal interaction, and be compatible with your online presence. Be sure to include how social media will support your website and other social media sites you may be active on. Construct your policy for easy reference and be sure to include best practices and clarify rules and any punishments for breaking the rules.

Here are some tips to use when developing your social media policy, be sure to include the following:

• Define social media and what types of platforms are included, i.e. Facebook, YouTube, X, etc.
• Define what these social media sites can be used for and what they cannot be used for.
• Clearly state what your staff may write about. Be sure to include blogging as well as the social media sites.
• Clearly state when your employees may be online while at work and what they can and cannot do, including any social media sites you won’t allow.SS
• Include a strong company password policy.
• Define your policy on social media training and include who will provide it.
• Define who in your company will oversee your social media efforts and who will collect analytical data and statistics.
• Think about how social media fits into your organizational structure.
• Consider any legal considerations you may have regarding free speech, record retention, privacy, etc. If needed, consult an attorney or an outside consultant.
• An important element to consider is the balance between transparency and security.
• Lastly, have a plan for what to do if things go wrong and you face a crisis situation. Plan in advance for how you handle a negative public forum.

 Your goal should be to have an engaging and appealing web presence that showcases and represents the best of what you offer.

Timothy A Dimoff, CPP, Founder and President of SACS Consulting and Training Center, is a nationally recognized expert in corporate security and HR issues, with over 40 years of experience in workplace security, labor and human resource consulting to corporations, associations, religious entities, educational facilities, non-profit organizations and others.  He consults, trains and develops solutions for workplace issues including substance abuse, management training, sexual harassment, documentation procedures, liability reduction, hiring/firing, pre-employment screening, employee motivation, workplace violence, bullying, corporate investigations, internal theft, security analysis/vulnerability assessment and security measures. He provides commentary and profiling analysis for television, radio and print media worldwide.

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