What are the three components of a social media policy?

Social media represents a vast online community where customers, partners, suppliers, and shareholders come together to share information, promote products and services, and exchange opinions and experiences. [Company name] recognizes the limits and risks of social media, and how it can affect our company's brand, public image, and core values. Therefore, we have created this social media policy to lay out a framework of tested social media guidelines and protocols.

Purpose.

The purpose of this social media policy is to (a) outline the social media guidelines and protocols of the company, (b) define the rules that apply to both corporate and personal social media use, and (c) to explain the company's disciplinary action process for policy violations.

Scope.

This social media policy applies to all [company name] employees, including paid interns, volunteers, contractors, and seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees. [Company name] defines social media as any form of electronic communication or application that enables users to create online communities and share knowledge, opinions, media, and private and public messages.

Corporate Use.

Employees that are responsible for representing the company on social media are required to uphold the company's image, core values, and brand. Subsequently, [company name] expects all employees to remain fair, professional, and polite to any [company name] partners, shareholders, customers, members, and/or suppliers.

Social Media Guidelines:

• Avoid speaking on and/or posting about subjects outside of the company's expertise.
• Reply to all comments in a timely manner.
• Correct or delete incorrect and/or misleading content.
• Adhere to the company's confidentiality agreement and anti-discriminatory policy.
• Avoid posting and/or sharing offensive, discriminatory, and/or false information.

[Company name's] Social Media Manager and Marketing Manager are responsible for setting up an official [weekly/monthly] social media calendar. The social media calendar must be approved by a senior executive or manager at least [number of days] before the start of a new month. In cases where the company is set to announce major news or launch campaigns on social media, the Social Media Manager and Marketing Manager must thoroughly review the content for any misleading or incorrect information.

Personal Use.

To ensure optimal productivity, [company name] allows its employees to access personal social media channels at work for at least [number of hours] per day. We do ask our employees to be responsible with their time and always ensure deadlines and job responsibilities are completed on time.

While [company name] recognizes that we may not prohibit our employees from posting personal opinions and content on private accounts, we do expect our employees to uphold the highest level of respect and adhere to our company's anti-discriminatory and harassment policies.

Furthermore, we ask all [company name] employees to:

• Clearly state that personal opinions and content on employees' social media accounts are not approved or supported by our company.
• Avoid posting intellectual property and confidential company information on personal social media accounts.
• Avoid discussing company-related information with customers on personal social media accounts.
• Avoid sharing abusive, offensive, and/or slanderous content.
• Adhere to financial disclosure laws.

Disciplinary Action.

If a [company name] employee does not follow the guidelines set out in this social media policy, [company name] management will have grounds to take disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Policy violations include:

• Overlooking job obligations and deadlines due to excessive use of social media in the workplace.
• Releasing corporate information on social media channels, both personal and corporate.
• Posting inappropriate content and subject matter on corporate social media channels.
• Posting offensive comments and neglecting to reply to clients online.
• Posting false information and personal opinions on corporate social media channels.

Each offense or policy violation will be thoroughly investigated by the Executive Marketing Manager and a human resource (HR) representative before disciplinary action is finalized. Disciplinary action may include a reprimand, written warning, and/or termination.

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Video Transcript | Intro

A Social Media Strategy contains many key components, which together ensure all facets of your company’s social media presence have been considered, thereby setting your organization up for digital success.

Setting the Foundation

The first, foundational components of a social media strategy are: a Social Media Audit, Social Media Goals and Objectives, and the Budget, Tactics, and Tools required to achieve them. In this foundational stage, you’ll consider not only successes and opportunities on social media, but also create the strategic plan for supporting organizational goals, whether that involves social ads, a business blog, or the creation of an influencer strategy.

Key Social Guides

You’ll also need to incorporate a Content Strategy for the types and amount of posts you’ll share, a clearly defined Brand Persona and Voice, as well as a Calendar of Key Dates for your organization, such as upcoming campaigns, holidays, and reporting periods. These components provide a structure that will enable you to maintain a consistent and engaging social media presence.

Governance

Your Social Media Strategy should also prepare you for staff departures and arrivals, or a social media crisis. These components include your social team’s Roles and Responsibilities, a Social Media Governance plan, as well as a Crisis Management Plan detailing the proper steps to take should a situation arise.

ROI

Finally, your Social Media Strategy should define a Measurement and Reporting plan for determining social ROI. By outlining the ways in which you’ll measure success, your company will be able to view the full impact of your social media strategy, and  iterate based on these results, allowing continual improvement in the months and years to come.

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