Social Media Policy - Detailing the Concept

Social Media is a concept; it is efficient, effective and far reaching. Yet, it is just a tool in our hands. Using social media to advance your prospects or connect with your friends and family is the expected use of the tool. However, many enthusiasts go overboard with the idea and in turn reduce the standards of social media networking. In a professional context, this problem can take arbitrary proportions.

The solution is to draft a social media policy for your establishment and make sure it includes all the major points that might prove to be an issue for your work ethics in the future. Considering, not all the details regarding such an elaborate task are easy; you might require some assessment to finish writing a social media policy appropriately.

There are two ways that you can handle this issue. You can either set an evolutionary tone for your social media policy. In this sense, your policy will be flexible to accommodate new changes and adjustments to the social media-networking scene. Another way to go about this is to state all your policy objectives in clear terms from the very beginning of the policy
drafting.

The policy should focus on the positives of the process. This is dependent on how clear your policy is on what exactly people should do and expect. If you focus on the aspects that the employees are allowed to do, you will save a lot of time than if your employees have to sift through the policy negatives. The information should always be up front and stated simply.

Authenticity is important and so is responsibility. The policy should clearly state that the employees have to take responsibility for the words and thoughts that they post online. They also have to take responsibility for their posts and photos that give undue information that might indirectly pose a threat or harm the company’s interests.

Assess your posts and re-evaluate all information in the light that your target audience might include potential customers and existing customers too. If your posts are not in accord with a certain standard or portray unreliable or obscene content, it will directly affect your establishment. It is prudent to utilize the power of social media sites to portray a picture of your establishment as an interesting but professional work culture.

Your establishment will monitor your posts, comments, photos, and videos. This is just one of the reasons why you have to exercise your own judgment on exactly what theme and tone you are comfortable in having in your social media profile. Arranging these elements to a subtle taste will work for your professional persona.

Plagiarism is a possibility and an offense even in social media sites. As such, always double check that you have to right to use some information without naming any credits. However, where necessary, do give proper credits and attribution.

When it comes to information closely related to your projects with the establishment, you have to be aware of what should or should not be shared. If you are writing a social media policy for your establishment, mention some examples and clear terms of what can be considered fair share and what can put the employee in a professional jeopardy.