The Building Blocks of a Sound Social Media Policy

Community Ebook / April 2012
The Building Blocks of a Sound Social Media Policy

Community Ebook / September 2012 / www.radian6.com / 1 888 6radian

The Building Blocks of
a Sound Social Media Policy

www.radian6.com
1 888 6RADIAN 1 888 672-3426 / community@radian6.com Copyright © 2012 Salesforce Marketing Cloud Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Copyright © 2012 [1]


Introduction /
Why You Need a Social Media Policy
If you don’t have a social media policy, you’re inviting disaster. If you do, you’re facilitating
opportunities for employees to strengthen customer relationships, exemplify company values,
and draw awareness to your products and services.

You need to support and empower employees by arming them with the information they
need to successfully and appropriately engage on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social
media channels. Specifying rules and guidelines means staff can be confident about engaging
without being afraid of doing lasting damage to your brand.

This book will address all the vital elements of a social media policy, complete with examples
from different companies so you can create or improve your organization’s very own policy.
(Please refer to the appendix for the links to the full version of these publicly-available policies.)

Before we discuss specifics, let’s lay the foundation.

A little disclaimer: this ebook is meant as a helpful introduction and doesn’t constitute legal
advice.

Considerations While Crafting
Identify the Purpose

Be clear about the purpose of the policy, and what the policy does and does not cover.

Nordstrom does this nicely in their policy:

encourage approved employees to use social networking/media (Twitter,
We
Facebook, Nordstrom.com, etc.) as a way to connect with customers and others
during working hours. While social networking is fun and valuable, there are some risks
you should keep in mind when using these tools. In the social media world, the lines are
blurred between what is public or private, personal or professional.

We’ve created these social networking/media guidelines for you to follow when
representing Nordstrom—in the virtual world.

Additionally, a social media policy is very different from a social media usage guide. Although
social network best practices are important for employees, you should refer them to separate
documentation or training materials for specific how-tos.

www.radian6.com
1 888 6RADIAN 1 888 672-3426 / community@radian6.com Copyright © 2012 Salesforce Marketing Cloud [2]


Sync with Established Corporate Values

Your policy should restate company values, and identify how social media can communicate
those values.

Here’s Coca-Cola’s:

The vision of the Company to achieve sustainable growth online and offline is guided by
certain shared values that we live by as an organization and as individuals:

• LEADERSHIP: The courage to shape a better future;
• COLLABORATION: Leveraging our collective genius;
• INTEGRITY: Being real;
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Recognizing that if it is to be, it’s up to me;
• PASSION: Showing commitment in heart and mind;
• DIVERSITY: Being as inclusive as our brands; and
• QUALITY: Ensuring what we do, we do well.

Both Coca-Cola and IBM also clearly state that online behavior is governed by the principles
outlined in their governing Business Conduct Guidelines.

Get Approval from Legal, IT, HR and the Executive Team

Involve and collaborate with everyone who will play a role in enforcing the policy from the very
beginning so all necessary compromises can be made in the early stages.

This includes your in-house lawyers. They’re your very best friends here. Without the help from
your legal team, your social media policy could end up being unhelpfully broad, improperly
narrow, or otherwise unable to protect your company in potential litigation.

Lawyers can also help the company understand the implications of reports like the one
released by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board in August 2011 to ensure your social
media policy does not unlawfully prohibit employees from using social media to self-organize
or discuss wages and working conditions protected under Section 7 of the National Labor
Relations Act (NLRA).

www.radian6.com


There have been two subsequent reports released by the NLRB that explain the outcomes of
multiple cases involving the lawfulness of social media policies in regards to employee working
rights. We highly recommend consulting the Appendix for links to read them in full.

Write in Plain English

Legal jargon and sophisticated vocabulary doesn’t make for a more effective policy. Simplify
the language, and write it as if you were talking to a peer in person. Use memorable shortcuts
like Farris Timimi’s “12-Word Social Media Policy” to help employees remember the rules:

Don’t Lie, Don’t Pry
Don’t Cheat, Can’t Delete
Don’t Steal, Don’t Reveal

Conform to Your Company Culture

Your corporate culture will determine the contents, tone and specificity of your policy. If a
button-down and a tie is the required uniform, the language in your social media policy might
be more formal than a start-up comprised of flip-flop-wearing, Instagram-addicted twenty-
somethings.

Make it as Brief as Possible

The easier it is to consume over a cup of coffee, the more the policy will get read. Use bullet
points and headings to draw readers to the critical parts of the policy like Nordstrom did.

Direct Employees to More Information

Even if your finalized policy addresses every question imaginable, employees may still need
more clarity. Let employees know how to get in contact with the right people if they have
questions or want to make suggestions. Volvo does this well.

In the following chapters, we’ll discuss the various components of an effective social
media policy.

www.radian6.com


Chapter 1 /
Individual Responsibility and Liability

Remind Employees of Responsibility for their Actions
This clause serves as “a reminder that all employees will be held individually responsible for
their posts and actions in the social Web and that if they violate the law online, they and not
the organization are accountable,” notes Chris Barger in The Social Media Strategist (page 125,
Kindle edition).

How IBM words it:

Use your best judgment. Remember that there are always consequences to what
you publish. If you’re about to publish something that makes you even the slightest
bit uncomfortable, review the suggestions above and think about why that is. If you’re
still unsure, and it is related to IBM business, feel free to discuss it with your manager.
Ultimately, however, you have sole responsibility for what you post to your blog or
publish in any form of online social media.

State Possible Consequences for Policy Violation
The purpose of the social media policy is not to scare employees to the point they have no
interest in participating. But employees do need to know the potential impact their online
behavior could have on the well-being of your company as well as their own. Being upfront
about possible consequences will make them take it seriously.

This is a perfect example of when your friends in legal come in handy; they can determine what
your company can and cannot lawfully enforce.

www.radian6.com


Chapter 2 /
Representing the Organization Online and Handling
Media Inquiries

Provide a Stance on the Separation of a Personal and Professional Presence
In some industries, having employees keep their personal and professional lives separate is
important. In the healthcare industry, for example, doctors and nurses are strongly discouraged
from accepting Facebook friend requests from patients.

Make it clear where your company stands, and direct employees to more information about
keeping their personal and professional lives balanced or separated in social media.

How Mayo Clinic words it:

Mayo Clinic strongly discourages “friending” of patients on social media websites. Staff
in patient care roles generally should not initiate or accept friend requests except in
unusual circumstances such as the situation where an in-person friendship pre-dates
the treatment relationship.

How Volvo words it:

The company understands and encourages those employees and associates who
engage in online social media.

Volvo Car Corporation strongly recommends that you use your own name and that
you are transparent with whom you represent when participating, sharing or writing
in all online publishing. In online conversation, as well as in all other conversation, you
are always an ambassador for the company even if you are not acting on behalf of the
company. When you are acting privately, use your own private email-address (gmail,
hotmail etc). If you are acting as an appointed corporate spokesperson, you can use
your corporate (xx@volvocars.com) email address.

you are using social media for private purposes, use the same common sense as you
If
would use for private phone calls, i.e. limit them to necessary activities and try to avoid
such activities during working hours.

www.radian6.com


Encourage a Disclaimer
If employees indicate they work for your company in social media, some people may confuse
employee opinions with those of the company.

Avoid any confusion by encouraging employees to use a disclaimer on their personal blogs
and in their bios on other channels like Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

How salesforce.com words it:

salesforce.com we believe in transparency and openness. This means that you
At
do not contribute anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it’s your company
nickname. You must disclose that you work for salesforce.com. On sites like Twitter
or Blogger, your bio must show your role and affiliation with salesforce.com. You are
representing the company even though you are not serving as an official voice of the
Company. You must include a disclaimer that the views you’re expressing are your own
and not those of salesforce.com.

Explain How to Handle the Media
The policy should also include a statement of how to respond if the media approaches an
employee who is unauthorized to speak on behalf of the organization. This usually involves
directing the media to the authorized personnel.

How Nordstrom words it:

a member of the media or a financial analyst contacts you, as always, refer them
If
to the PR or Investor Relations team through your store operator. If you have any
questions about what is considered confidential, check in with your manager or
Human Resources.

www.radian6.com


Chapter 3 /
Respecting Others
This section of the policy reminds employees to always be respectful to others on social media
channels, especially when communicating with coworkers, talking about competitors, or
conversing with existing or potential customers.

For safety reasons, discourage others’ from sharing your employees personal information such
as current location, schedules, email addresses and phone numbers. Encourage employees to
respect one another by requesting they ask each other permission before posting their picture
or anything about them online.

Let your employees know that it’s okay to disagree with other employees, but encourage them
not to use their personal blogs or other social profiles to express their differences.

Include Prohibitions on Hate Speech and Ethnic Slurs
Hate speech is any communication that threatens, insults or ridicules any person or groups
based on their race, religion, gender, disability, or other characteristic. It’s illegal in many
countries, and can expose employers to criminal or civil penalties.

This section of the policy should strongly discourage employees from using such offensive
language or initiating personal attacks.

However, a heavy-handed squashing of free speech can generate backlash as well, making
your company appear overly controlling. Your employees shouldn’t be forbidden from engaging
in political, religious or social debate, as long as it’s conducted respectfully.

Clearly defining and prohibiting hate speech can prevent discrimination, damage to your
brand’s reputation, and impaired customer relations.

How Salesforce words it:

Respecting others is addressed in this Salesforce social media policy video.

www.radian6.com


Chapter 4 /
Honoring the Confidentiality of Proprietary or
Internal Information

Include Privacy Reminders
In the words of social media strategist and author, Christopher Barger, your social media policy
must include “a privacy reminder that the Internet is forever and that whatever gets posted is
usually searchable and findable by someone, so employees should exercise discretion in what
they post” (Barger 126).

To prevent potential lawsuits, set clear boundaries around what information is private versus
public, and be specific in your definition. In the U.S., any prohibited discussion must make
exceptions for activities protected under Section 7 of the NLRA.

Confidential or private information might include:

• Product releases and updates
• Acquisitions
• Internal financials and forecasts
• Proprietary product knowledge or trade secrets
• Private employee HR information
• Employee and customer contact information
• Ongoing legal cases
How Nordstrom words it:

not publish, post or release information that is considered confidential or not
Do
public. If it seems confidential, it probably is. Online “conversations” are never private!
Do not discuss numbers and other sales figures (non-public financial or operational
information), strategies and forecasts, legal issues or future promotions/activities. Do
not post any merchandise pricing information or comparisons.

www.radian6.com


How Volvo words it:

Volvo Car Corporation’s relationship with our customers, employees and partners is
our most important asset, and it is important that we always protect this relationship.
You cannot cite or disclose customer names without their approval. Protect your
fellow workers and our customers, dealers, and vendors by refraining from sharing
any of their personal information, statements, or photographs unless you have their
written permission to do so. Bringing someone else into the conversation without their
permission can be destructive to relationships, cause misunderstanding, or violate the
law (including privacy and defamation laws), commercial contracts, or confidentiality
agreements.

www.radian6.com
1 888 6RADIAN 1 888 672-3426 / community@radian6.com Copyright © 2012 Salesforce Marketing Cloud [ 10 ]


Chapter 5 /
Obeying Copyright and Fair Use Laws
Remind your employees to look for and understand the copyrights for images, video, music
or documents on the Internet before including in a social media post. Look for images that are
under a Creative Commons license, purchase stock photos with limited use rights, or request
permission from the copyright holder.

It’s additionally important to understand the rights of written content online. Just because you
found it on Google does not make it free. Using short excerpts of content with a link to the
original piece is generally accepted, but it’s a good idea to get permission for long quotes or
excerpts.

How Coca-Cola words it:

Give credit where credit is due and don’t violate others’ rights. DO NOT claim
authorship of something that is not yours. If you are using another party’s content,
make certain that they are credited for it in your post and that they approve of you
utilizing their content. Do not use the copyrights, trademarks, publicity rights, or other
rights of others without the necessary permissions of the rightsholder(s).

Respect of copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, and other third party rights in the
online social media space, including with regard to user generated content (UGC). How
exactly you do this may depend on your particular situation, so work with your cross
functional teams to make informed, appropriate decisions.

www.radian6.com


Chapter 6 /
Industry-Specific Considerations
Your industry may have specific legal or regulatory obligations that your policy must take into
account.

To illustrate:

• Expressing impartiality toward political and religious parties is of utmost importance for
some news publications.

• Protecting patient information in social media is vital for healthcare providers.
• Compliance, record-keeping and security are critical for the finance industry.
• Automakers are required to disclose certain consumer safety information under the
Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act.

How the Affinity Health System words it:

Remember, disclosing confidential patient Protected Health Information (PHI) in an
inappropriate manner is a federal offense. The penalties include significant fines and/
or arrest. Ministry employees should never publicly make comments about the care
of a specific patient, especially online. Even acknowledging the care of a patient is an
unacceptable disclosure of PHI.

How the BBC words it:

Impartiality is a particular concern for those working in News and Current Affairs.
Nothing should appear on their personal blogs or microblogs which undermines the
integrity or impartiality of the BBC. For example, News and Current Affairs staff should
not:

• advocate support for a particular political party;

•
express views for or against any policy which is a matter of current party
political debate;

• advocate any particular position on an issue of current public controversy or debate.

www.radian6.com


Conclusion /
Encouraging Policy Adherence
After working so hard on a company social media policy, you’ll want to take the necessary
steps to make sure it actually gets read and adhered to.

Here are a few tips to help make your social media policy a successful one:

Incorporate it into Employee Training
The policy isn’t effective until understood by all of your employees, and that comes with
training. To minimize unanswered questions, use specific examples to illustrate do’s and don’ts.
Addressing what is acceptable is just as important as demonstrating what’s not going to fly.

Make it Accessible
Post the social media policy to your company intranet or social network, save it to the desktop
of company-issued computers, or place it on your organization’s shared drive. You want the
policy to be easily found when an employee’s in doubt. In the interests of transparency and
accountability, consider sharing it externally by placing it on your website.

Repackage and Remind
Repackaging written excerpts into bite-sized tips, internal blog posts, short videos, or regular
email reminders can keep the social media policy top of mind. The social media team at
Salesforce used video and presentation slides to make the social media policy more interactive,
accessible and shareable.

Humor’s not a bad idea either. To remind our employees how to be respectful, our Senior
Director, Content and Community and Social Strategy, David B. Thomas, wrote a few fictional
tweets and posted them to Chatter, our internal social network.

No: @BigAirline You’ve stranded me again! Why do I keep flying with you?!
Never again!
Yes: @BigAirline I’m stuck in Tuba City and need to get to Pflugerville. Anything you can
do to help?

www.radian6.com


No: @BigRetailer The idiots in your Poughkeepsie store can’t fix my flange arrestor. I
want my money back!
Yes: @BigRetailer My flange arrestor is decombining at 25Mhz. Any suggestions or
online resources?

No: @BigCPGBrand I can’t believe I paid $42 for an electric kazoo and it doesn’t have
a spit valve! What a ripoff!
Yes: @BigCPGBrand You know what would make the XR50 Electric Kazoo perfect? A
spit valve. #thingsthatneedspitvalves

Revise as Needed
Business goals and processes can change. So does the popularity and functionality of social
networks. Your policies should adapt to ensure they continue to cover all the bases.

Regularly Review Employee Accounts for Compliance
Have the social media team in your company keep their eyes and ears on the way employees
are talking about your company online using a social media monitoring tool, and ensure
someone is responsible for occasionally auditing the way company information is listed on
employee social network accounts.

Once you have your social media policy written and adopted, everyone across your company
can stop worrying about accidentally embarrassing the company, and instead feel the freedom
to explore the wonderful world of social media.

www.radian6.com


Appendix /
Additional Resources

Templates
• Eric Schwartzman’s Social Media Policy Template
• WOMMA Social Media Policy Template
• SocialFresh Template

Additional Reading
• 10 Tips for Creating a Social Media Policy for Your Business
• How to Write a Social Media Usage Policy for Your Business
• Writing a Social Media Policy
• Are You Disclosing? What You Need to Know about FTC Rules and Social Media
• Is Your Social Networking Policy Illegal?
• U.S. NLRB Report of the Acting General Counsel Concerning Social Media Cases -
August, 2011
• U.S. NLRB Report of the Acting General Counsel Concerning Social Media Cases -
January, 2012
• U.S. NLRB Report of the Acting General Counsel Concerning Social Media Cases - May, 2012

Social Media Policies
• Salesforce
• Dell
• Clemson University
• Mayo Clinic
• Southwest
• Volvo
• Nordstrom
• BBC
• Coca-Cola

www.radian6.com


Questions, comments or feedback for us? Please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

Find us on the web: www.radian6.com
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com//marketingcloud
Read the Blog: www.radian6.com/blog

Author: Shannon Johnson
Editor: Bart Byl
Designer: Lise Hansen

www.radian6.com

The Building Blocks of a Sound Social Media Policy

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Salesforce Marketing Cloud

More from Salesforce Marketing Cloud (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

The Building Blocks of a Sound Social Media Policy