Social Media Usage Policy

Description

The Appropriate Use of Social Media Policy provides language and procedures for how company employees should access and use social media web sites at work.  It covers what types of use the company will allow, such as public relations, marketing, vendor communication and recruitment and the guidelines for such usage.  It also informs employees of inappropriate usage and the consequences that may ensue from such usage.  You may download the entire template in Microsoft Word and customize the language as needed for your specific application.

Read on below for excerpts from the actual policy:

Appropriate Use of Social Media Policy

Scope

This policy applies to all employees who use social media on company time.

Policy

The use of social networks and social media websites for business purposes is increasing.  _COMPANY realizes the benefits of participating in social networks and online communities and as such, we seek to engage our customers in the social web.  The purpose of this document is to provide some general guidelines and procedures for employees to follow when using social websites.  This document does not apply to your own personal social network usage, but to usage at work using company branded social media accounts and usernames.

How Social Media Can Benefit the Company

Before the existence of social networks, companies could benefit from the goodwill and community standing of their employees.  Even though the Internet has enabled the scale and scope of online communities to change, the company can still benefit from the positive online presence of employees.  Therefore, we support and encourage your engagement in social networks.

Acceptable Work Related Uses of Social Networks

Some social networks may automatically be blocked by company IT staff, or by software that we use.  If you need access to a social network for work related reasons, please contact IT.  Below is a list of acceptable uses of your personal social networks at work.

1. Use of public social networks for recruiting purposes.
2. Use of public social networks to monitor public opinion about the company, its products and services, or its competitors.
3. Use of public social networks to create affinity groups, support marketing goals, or obtain testimonials.
4. Use of public social networks for professional networking purposes.

Guidelines for Social Network Use

1. Be responsible for what you write.  Remember that just because you “can” say something doesn’t mean that you should.  Written word is more difficult to interpret than verbal interaction.  Remember that what you say will be a permanent record.  Be careful.  Be smart.
2. Be authentic and use full disclosure.  If you are discussing a company product or that of a competitor, it is in your best interest to disclose that you work for the company.
3. Respect copyrights.  Don’t post text, images or video created by someone else without proper attribution.  If you have questions about copyright law and/or usage of certain media, contact the legal department.
4. Protect confidential and proprietary company information.  Disclosing competitive information or trade secrets is cause for termination.  If you see confidential information posted in a public forum, please notify your supervisor immediately.
5. Remember to be productive.  Occasional use of personal social networks at work is acceptable, particularly when such use benefits the company.  But remember that social networks can be a time sink and can prevent you from completing other work related tasks.  Use good judgment to insure that you have plenty of time to complete all of your regular work.