Is Your Business’s Social Media Policy Clear?

As business owners, it is vitally important that you have a clear Social Media Policy in place for your team. Making your staff aware of the Do’s and Don’ts of social media within your workplace and setting clear boundaries on the use and misuse of sites makes for a smooth transition for your business into the world of Social Media. In short, it is essential to have a policy, one way or another.

Following are a few tips and thoughts on what you can include in your business’s Social Media Policy:

• Do you allow your staff to use Facebook and other related sites during work hours or is there a “No Facebooking” rule within your business?
• Does your business have a Facebook site that can be accessed by staff or is it governed by the business owner only?
• Do you encourage your staff to use “Professional” social media (LinkedIn) for networking and work related purposes?
• Can staff utilise their work computers for personal purposes during their lunch break – including looking at social media sites?

If you allow your staff to use social media sites it is important you have well defined boundaries set out to minimise the risk of negative comments or confidential information surfacing regarding your business. These comments could be detrimental to your business and have severe ramifications for staff if they are found to have breached your policies.

If you need any assistance in forming a Policy Manual for staff including a Social Media Policy, please contact the staff at JP Smith.