10 Tips for Writing a Social Media Policy for Business

Most business owners know that having a social media presence is important for their businesses. But, while social media presents unthinkable growth opportunity, it also opens a company to risk. 
 
Thus, it is critical for a business owner to create and implement a strong social media policy that gives the company and its employees the freedom to grow through social media, while putting a set of concrete rules and guidelines in place that will keep the troops in line.
 
However, know that no two social media policies will be the same because different organizations each have their own unique environments, it is important to call in the experts. Here are 10 tips to consider when creating your policy.

1. Create a Task Force: Opinions and ethics may vary between different people; it is preferable that all members of upper management be consulted when developing a social media policy so that all reach agreement on policy content.
2. Define Appropriate Internal Use: It is important to outline what is acceptable and what is not to your employees when it comes to using social media platforms in the workplace. How much freedom employees will have when interacting on social media needs to be clarified based on your workplace environment in order to avoid any confusion.
3. Define Appropriate External Use: As we have seen time and time again, one slip on Facebook or Twitter can ruin a career or a business. Thus, it is important to define who will be allowed to communicate with the public and put an approval process in place. 
4. Confidentiality: Content posted on social media platforms need to comply with the organization's confidentiality and disclosure of proprietary data policies.
5. Accountability:
6. Protect Employer Reputation: Employees have the duty to protect their employer's reputation. It would also be useful to make employees aware that competitors might read what they post and thus that sensitive information is not to be disclosed as a consequence.
7. Be Clear on Copyright issues: It is advisable to include a clause dealing with copyright, plagiarism, libel and defamation of character issues.
8. Regularly Review and Update Policy: Regular reviews need to be organized and performed. A policy is not always consistent with what is actually taking place and the company need to pay attention and adjust accordingly to make sure it is a relevant and effective policy that promotes growth and safety.   
9. Work Hard, Play Less: It is important to stress that social networking sites cannot interfere with primary job responsibilities so that employees do not lose perspective
10. To Whom Does it Apply: The social media policy needs to clarify who to treat as internal staff and thus who will follow the social media policy rules when external resources are brought in.

Steve Nicholls is the author of the best-selling Social Media in Business www.socialmediainbusiness.com, an international speaker, and social media strategist who helps business executives implement a winning social media strategy into their organization. Nicholls grows client revenue  with his proven approach that social media needs to be implemented at the senior level and integrated into the DNA of the entire organization.  He tailors social media strategy to help companies maximize benefits while identifying and mitigating risks. Nicholls has  designed and implemented advanced Internet applications for many leading global organizations including British Telecom, Ciena Corp., Capitol One, Arise, GSK, John Laing and NSPCC, among many others.  He has been featured as a social media expert in CNN, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, BBC, among many others.