A complete set of considerations and practical advice on how to build and implement a comprehensive Social Media Policy, by Katy Howell.

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THE
SOCIAL MEDIA
POLICY
WORKBOOK
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2. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Social media is
everywhere
and it’s leaky
The rapid growth of social media means that everyone
is connected. Not just your marketing department and
customers. But your employees, your shareholders, your
suppliers and vendors too.
And they do love to talk.
Not everyone associated with your business is aware of the
damage they can do to your brand. Bar a few malicious folk,
most social media mistakes are innocent: posted by people
that are, for the most part, unaware of the risks.
Now is the time to get good social media governance in
place. And that starts with a robust policy.
Survey says ...
We ran a survey earlier this year on social media and the
law. We asked 183 large brands whether they had a social
media policy in place. 19% didn’t have one at all!
download
You can download the full survey at
http://bit.ly/IFSocMedLaw
76
of companies consider
disclosure of confidential
information to be a serious
social media legal risk
yet
61
of companies are not confident
that sensitive or confidential
information is protected on
social media platforms
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3. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Not sure what
a social media
policy is
A social media policy does a
whole lot more than just set
out your rules for social
media engagement.
It protects your company against liability caused by
your workforce
It focuses your attention on the distinction between
private and professional social media usage
It makes sure your business complies with the law
and regulations
It sets out your expectations, defines standards and
identifies responsibilities
Before and
AFTER
Policies are preventative. They help
you protect your business before an
ugly situation arises.
But you might want to think about
afterwards too. Take a look at your
insurance, professional indemnity,
general liability cover and crisis plans.
It mitigates reputational risk and plugs the gaps in
your vulnerabilities
Not convinced you need a policy
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4. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Peek at what has happened in
real situations and you might
think otherwise…
HMV might have preferred that those hearing about
redundancies didn’t make their feelings quite so well known
on Twitter http://bit.ly/V4rtjU
Wetherspoons successfully won its case to dismiss an
employee because they had a social media policy in place
http://bit.ly/160GQfF
Paris Brown steps down as the UK’s first Youth Police
and Crime Commissioner six days after being appointed,
leaving the Kent Police reputation in tatters
http://bit.ly/11nAdAd
A policy can support your case in an employment tribunal
http://bit.ly/15v28Se
You HAVE to find the time!
The trouble with any policy is that you never appreciate the
value of it until something goes wrong. It’s only when you’re
in the throes of defence during an employment tribunal, or
battling with a tsunami of reputation damaging tweets, that
you fully appreciate the brilliance of a well-thought through
social media policy.
So what are you waiting
for, shall we get started
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5. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Lots and lots of checklists
Actually it’s mostly lots of questions. Questions that will
help you create a social media policy to be proud of!
Take it
from
the top
Your policy is business critical
You need to look at the BIG PICTURE first to determine
the business impact and plug all the vulnerabilities
You might like to print the rest of this workbook out
So you can scribble down your thoughts. By the end you will have a
framework for your policy – Whoop! Job done.
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6. The Social Media Policy Workbook
A policy with
purpose
Your policy needs to strike the right
balance between setting out the rules;
educating and defining boundaries; and
communicating simply.
What broad issues do you want to address with your policy?
Consider all your potential
stakeholders
Employees
Ex employees
IT / Tech
Legal
Who is your policy for?
Marketing
Unions
Tele / Home workers
Casual & temporary staff
Volunteers
Suppliers
How are you already active in social media?
Vendors / Partners
Shareholders
Other?
Gather the detail
Get buy-in
If your policy is going to succeed then you need buy-in from the top
and across critical departments. Think about who you might want on
a policy team and who might champion your efforts
Before putting pen to paper
you need to hoover up all the
relevant policies and documents
from across your business.
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7. The Social Media Policy Workbook
your social media policy will
need to fit with your current
practices.
Identify existing documents that will integrate and impact
your social media policy, including:
Existing crisis documentation
Think
stylishly
Whilst you review all your
documents, you can also note
down the tone, format and design
style – to keep your social policy
in line with your corporate identity.
Compliance and regulatory documents
Advertising or promotional guidelines
Current company policies
Grievance, harassment and disciplinary procedures
Standard employment contracts
Business continuity plans
Prevalent restrictive covenants
Employee Handbook
Maybe a
revision
or two
You might actually want to also
amend some of your current
policies whilst you are revisiting
practices. Make them current for
the social media age
Platform terms of use
IT & electronic communications (email) policy
Privacy and data protection policy
Recruitment policy
Sensitive information and security policies
Copyright and IP policy
Current policies
might include these
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8. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Ask and you shall
uncover the insights that tailor your policy to
your company. There are two we recommend…
1. A vulnerability audit
Conduct
interview
Helps you
identify and
plug the gaps
Talking to executives across
the disciplines helps you
unearth the potential issues.
Ask the right questions
and you may find potential
vulnerabilities your senior
team may not even be
aware of
Identify loose cannons
Imagine scenarios
Examine the weaknesses in
company communications
and operations. Consider
what might happen if you lose
the internet or get hacked
Brainstorm the differing
issues and anticipate the
outcomes. Plan for each
situation
Always conduct your
interviews in confidence
Brainstorming across
disciplines makes certain
that you consider all the risks
2. Skills and capabilities
How in depth will you need to explain terms and social platforms in your policy? Well, it depends
on the skills and capabilities of your workforce. Think about the questions you might ask in the
following categories …
Social media knowledge
Involvement in social media for the company
Usage of social media platforms
Tools used for social communication
In our humble opinion
Early consultation with your co-workers and stakeholders will bring you greater buy-in later down the line when you are ready to
publish your policy. This bit does take time, but it is phenomenal for raising awareness.
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9. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Enough assimilating information, let ’s
get on with drafting the darn thing
Now for
the social
media
Of course you must follow the policy model of your
organisation, but the following guidelines will help
you consider all the elements
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10. The Social Media Policy Workbook
POLICY
TEMPLATE
Make a statement
Set your scene and
manage expectations
Kick start your policy by defining
your terms, the level of guidance and
how it applies to your other policies
Position and define
What is the purpose of your social media policy?
(Tell those reading what this will help them do; how it applies to them; and how it fits with the company
brand, ethos and culture)
Tell them which other company policies this supplements
Who does this apply to?
(Which personnel and which departments?)
You might need a separate policy for those that communicate on behalf of the company through social
media – something more in-depth and platform specific.
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11. The Social Media Policy Workbook
*!
Which media
matter
it
Ge t a bi t
expl i c
! *# !
Social media is always evolving
so your definitions should
include the major platforms,
and also future proof for
networks yet to launch
Don’t be tempted to write
detailed clauses to cover
every single platform or
eventuality – it will make
your policy too long to be
intelligible
Platforms to consider and add to:
Facebook
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Forums
Social bookmarking sites
(Diigo, StumbleUpon)
Blogs
Community sites
Ning
Pinterest
MySpace
Flickr
Instagram
Tumblr
Other
Wikipedia
Google+
Create a definitive list of approved social media platforms for company engagement
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12. The Social Media Policy Workbook
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Social
security
A safe start. From the tools you use, to the
passwords you set, outline what can and
cannot be used – and who takes responsibility
Securing your network
Who has permission to set up a company profile and where will passwords be stored?
How can employees gain permission to access or set up company social profiles?
Authorised tools to use for work communications
Monitoring tools
•
• Social media engagement / customer service tools
• Measurement and analytics tools linked to profiles
You might also want to
consider a tool that allows
you to store all your posts
and tweets, securely.
We use Social Safe
http://bit.ly/savesocial
Responsibilities
Who has overall responsibility for this policy?
•
• Who will monitor, review and escalate issues if need be?
• Which employees have permission to engage in social media on behalf
of the company?

13. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Spell it out
Outline acceptable behaviour: Clear
and unequivocal guidelines work, but
so does letting your employees take
responsibility. Empower your staff,
and you’ll get better results
Identify elements for a code of conduct
You might want to include:
What is acceptable behaviour – honesty and responsibility?
Fair use during working hours
What’s appropriate when sharing information internally and protecting
personal reputations?
The guidelines for external use – representing the company views and
protecting the company reputation
Confidentiality, copyright and IP and gaining authorisation
Competitions, promotions and endorsements
Acceptable use of third party content and links
Knowledge of social platform terms of use
Consideration of colleagues and privacy - avoiding gossip or heated debates
Some general tips and advice for being safe in social media
A good policy starts
from a position of trust your people want to do the
right thing, so you need to
create a safe framework of
practical information
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14. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Make it yours
and theirs too
Try and keep the rules
minimal and positive more DO than DON’T!
Tailor to you and your staff: Make it
personal and include examples. It helps to
make everything crystal clear and relevant
Which elements will you tailor to your audience with clear explanations?
For some staff, you may
need to show examples
of defamation, libel or
copyright infringement
in social media
What is your expectation of personal social media activity?
Are there current
policies they must still
adhere to outside of
working hours, such as
bullying, harassment
and data protection?
Draw a line between
work and home life–but
make clear when work
cannot leak into private
lives / or in many cases
today, personal usage
on a mobile device
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15. The Social Media Policy Workbook
You need to set
some rules
A code of conduct and tailored guidelines
set the framework. But you will still need
to have some clear rules. Hard stops that
unequivocally tell readers what you expect.
What do you consider
social media misconduct
or misuse?
Make clear the company
position on abusive, obscene,
discriminatory, harassing,
derogatory or defamatory content
What do you consider
to be confidential
information?
Detail what is sensitive,
anti-competitive, private or
confidential
What regulatory and
legal compliances
must be adhered to?
Get the lawyers in!
Sure it can be expensive.
But then litigation can be
more expensive
Want to swot up on social media law?
Have a look at our ‘social media and the law’ best practice paper. Written in plain English
and designed for those not legally minded, it highlights the laws you should be aware of
and the steps you can take to prevent litigation. http://bit.ly/LegalSocial
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16. The Social Media Policy Workbook
What to do
If things get ugly or difficult,
what do you want your
stakeholders to do? Consider
how best to share difficult
situations and how personnel
can take preventative steps
What to do if someone makes a mistake on a social network, who should be told and how
might it be redressed?
• How will you escalate an
issue if it gets out of hand?
Disclaimers to use on personal social networks
• Pre-prepared statements
might make it easier for
some of your employees
who are active on social
networks
How will you help stakeholders keep safe? List some of the areas worth explaining such as:
• How to set privacy
settings on networks
(and when is private
not really private!)
• Where to find ‘terms
of use’ for the popular
platforms. How to be
safe online.
How to raise a grievance if you have been harassed, bullied or offended by material
posted by a colleague on social media
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17. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Action and
consequences
Ultimately, breach of rules can have wider
consequences for both the individual
and the company. You need to inform
stakeholders of the action you will take.
What and how the company may monitor employees?
Ensuring you adhere to the law and are not excessively nosey!
Watch out as the laws
on permissible employee
monitoring vary between
country and in the USA,
between States
What is your disciplinary procedure?
Will your steps to disciplinary action differ from your normal policy?
Explain potential staff legal liability
You may need to spell out where there are legal consequences
to the individual.
Employers can be held vicariously
liable for the actions of employees
on social networking sites.
There is a useful explanation
on http://bit.ly/14a3d0i
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18. The Social Media Policy Workbook
OMG there is
a lot to do
Developing a rounded and fully inclusive policy
can seem pretty daunting. It certainly takes
time and can involve a number of key disciplines
Advice from people who
are immersed in social
media every single day.
A revi ew to pl ug the gaps but
ce,
a policy in pla
You might already have
p you
ering a review. IF will hel
are now consid
dance.
f your gui
update and future-proo
immediate future has helped a number
of well-known brands create robust and
valuable social media policies.
Let’s be straight, we are not lawyers. But using
our hands-on experience in social, we work with
companies to deliver pragmatic advice on what
needs to be included in a social media policy. We
can quickly identify your social vulnerabilities and
the practical solutions that will still keep you talking
to your customers!
Create a policy from scratch
The immediate future framework
Drawing on best practice across multiple functions,
disciplines and industry sectors, IF considers:
development
Guiding your company through the
work closely with all
of a policy, the IF team will
your stakeholders.
• Nuances gleaned from using social media daily
(including the challenges of working with media
not always designed for enterprise)
• Use of integrated multichannel social media
and cross functional requirements
• Capabilities of staff and policy guidance that
makes clear expectations
• Fit with the brand – tone of voice, image uses, etc.
• Uncover and address vulnerabilities and
reputation risk to the brand
• Highlight which laws need to be considered
and where you should involve legal teams, HR
and regulatory bodies
• Potential crisis scenarios, including what to do
if your profile is hacked
• Technology considerations from NFC to
platform changes
• Potential conflicts or inconsistencies that might
arise in the future
• Ensuring clauses fit with social networks’ Terms • Future management of social media information
of Use
and storage of data for disclosure
• Using plain language definitions to make the
document understandable to all employees
• Awareness of upcoming legislation such as
changes to EU identity and privacy laws
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19. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Expect your draft to be an iterative
process involving people across the
company to refine and develop it further
Now you
can start
drafting
your own
policy
But that isn’t the end of it. There is a lot more to
do to communicate your policy and ensure that it will
stand up in a tribunal too
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20. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Next stop is
communication
and training
Once the policy is on the page you need to get it off the page! And
quickly. Your employees and stakeholders need to understand your
policy. But more importantly you need to show that you have trained
and communicated if you are to avoid litigation.
What steps will you take to train employees?
When Apple faced a tribunal
hearing it was able to win its
case because it could show
that it had trained its staff and
communicated the policy
http://bit.ly/ZhYc8i
Who do you need to train? How often will you train?
Will the course be on or offline or a combination of both?
66
of employees are not
very aware of social
platform terms of use
Don’t forget to include
some real life examples
What essential elements will the training courses include?
Consider whether to tailor the
training to differing audiences
and their responsibilities within
the organisation
Thinking about outsourcing
your training? Then give Katy a
call on 0845 408 2031
She trains for the IDM, CiPR
and CIM too.
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21. The Social Media Policy Workbook
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Keep on
communicating
Beyond training and making sure your teams
are all delivering best practice social
media, you need to keep social media front
of mind. Get together with internal comms,
think campaigns and start a programme to
keep your policy front of mind
Which elements of the policy will you bring to life with
internal communications campaigns?
What on-going programmes will drip feed information
and encourage feedback and questions?
Need help to devise
creative communications
from video through to
desktop reminders?
Then give the IF team
a shout – we are quite
good at this stuff
How will you future proof your policy and adopt policies
arising from employee and stakeholder feedback?
Do consider how you
will future proof. Who
needs to be part of an
on-going policy team
and how often should
you meet and review?

22. The Social Media Policy Workbook
Be smart and
consider crisis
Things go wrong. Even with a belt
and braces policy, you cannot
legislate for every damaging
eventuality. Create a crisis plan.
A social media crisis plan
Adam Lewis, MD and crisis
expert at IF, suggests that
developing your crisis
plans alongside your policy
ensures you plug all the
vulnerability gaps.
There is a lot to consider when creating a crisis plan …
What constitutes a crisis?
How will you monitor and manage a crisis?
What scenarios are likely
(gleaned from your vulnerability audit)?
How will you communicate with those
not at the coalface of a crisis?
What will be your escalation process?
More?
Who will take responsibility, and who
needs to be involved?
More?
Yes, there is a lot more to a crisis plan. We could create another
20 pages. But now you have got this far, why don’t you talk to us at
immediate future – we can do it for you.
And once the plan is in place, we can help you run a crisis simulation,
which puts your team under the same crisis pressures as real life, but in a
secure and safe environment where you can all learn.
We even use a
clever social media
simulation tool that
lets participants tweet,
blog, write news stories
and behave just as they
would in social media.
But behind your firewall
– safe and protected
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23. The Social Media Policy Workbook
23
A helicopter
view
1
Set goals and
define audiences
5
2
Outline responsibilities,
tools and authorities
Vulnerability audit and
survey staff capabilities
6
Explain how to
take action and
the consequences
of misuse
3
Gather information
Your social
media policy
7
4
Make clear the purpose
and define the media
Make clear the purpose
and define the media
8
Train and communicate
In our experience creating a
policy is actually incredibly
rewarding.
You get to talk to people across
your organisation. You get to
develop something for a new
communications age. And
you get to enhance your own
knowledge.
9
Now go develop
your crisis plan
Enjoy it!
We do!

24. The Social Media Policy Workbook
24
Wanting more
If you like the workbook then you might want to download (for free)….
Risky Business: How to stay legal when using social media
With social media litigation increasing, now is the time to get better
informed. Download the immediate future social media law guide
to discover:
What laws and regulations are relevant to social media
Guidelines to help you protect confidential information
The steps you can take to ensure your competitions and
promotions comply with ASA regulations and gaming laws
How you might protect ownership of your social media profiles?
What content you can share and curate without breaking
copyright or IP?
How social activity impacts employment law?
Why don’t we connect?
We would be delighted to meet
you, or you can call us on
0845 408 2031
Shall we
be social
You can also chat to us anytime:
IF on Twitter (@iftweeter)
IF on Google+
IF on LinkedIn
Katy Howell on Twitter (@katyhowell)
Katy Howell on LinkedIn
Oh! And if you like this workbook, please
share on social, comment on our blog or
just tell everyone you know!