How to Write a Social Media Policy

An office worker was fired after her employer discovered her sex blog.  A waitress was fired for venting about a customer on Facebook.  A woman lost a job offer at Cisco because of something she said on Twitter.  These incidents illustrate why it might be wise to create a social media policy for your employees.

“I would say it is absolutely crucial for any size business with employees to have a social media policy,” said Vivienne Storey, general manager of BlandsLaw, a boutique law firm outside of Sydney, Australia, that specializes in employment law.  Storey also writes for the firm’s blog on social-media policy issues. “If you don’t, how do you manage and monitor what is being said about the company and how social media is used?”

A social media policy outlines for employees the corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the online world.  Do you need an explicit social media policy? We’ll outline steps to make that decision, as well as what to include and how to implement the new policy.