Social media is everywhere in our lives. Sometimes it’s great! Sometimes it’s a friggin’ nightmare 🙂 Social media managers question their livelihoods often, and it’s usually because of the weird curveballs sent their way.
Game plans are your best friend. Having your social media policies in the bag is the best way to stay ahead of any sucker punches and stressors. This is especially true for your brand’s employees and handling anything negative.
Where to Start:
- Create a central library: Gather your evergreen, already approved content and keep it on lock. This way anyone has a set standard for posting.
- Assemble a team: Get the whole gang in on it. Senior leadership, HR, legal, marketing, communications, and IT don’t all need to be in the muck of it, but need to be up to snuff on social media in general.
- Bake it in: Make sure everyone knows what’s what when it comes to your policy from the get go. Especially new starts. Your policy should be in your employee handbook and called out as important.
What to include:
- Acceptable conduct and content: What can and can’t your employees post online? Think about how they should be interacting when representing your brand. Make sure they know what breaks regulations, what is legally restricted or sensitive information.
- Response for conflict or crisis: What should your employees do in sticky situations? Who should they reach out to? Canned responses are something you should develop for different use cases as well.
- Call to action for participation: Get the whole squad on board with supporting company culture and messaging. Getting their input is actually a great way for UGC!
SHRM goes into much more detail of the shifting world of social media and how to handle social issues with it as well. See the full article to see if your policies could use an adjustment.
