Do you have a social media policy for your business? There have been many cases of employees getting fired because of social media.
This could have been avoided if the business owner had a clear cut social networking policy in place and communicated that policy to the staff.
While you might not have a large staff now, it is a good idea to put an online networking policy in place as soon as possible.
Make sure that everyone is aware of the social networking policy when they are first hired.
Here are some things to consider when you are coming up with the social media policy for your company.
What your employees are allowed to say about the company.
I am not suggesting that you totally censor your employees.
However, you do have a certain public image to uphold.
You have to decide early on what you are going to allow your employees to say about the company on social networking sites.
This is definitely something that needs to be outlined in the handbook you create about your company's social media policy.
Is there a particular point person to send media requests to? Your employees may run into members of the media while they are networking.
The journalist may want to ask them some questions about your company.
You have to decide if you want your employees to be able to answer those types of questions themselves or if you want one employee to be the designated spokesperson for the company.
Whatever you decide, make sure to communicate this to all staff so there is no confusion.
What employees are allowed to post on online networking sites.
Once again this is a matter of protecting your company image.
Your employees are a representative of you.
You need to figure out what kind of information you want your employees to post on social media.
Are they allowed to reveal your company name on their personal profiles? Can they post pictures of themselves at work? Is it okay for them to post pictures of themselves drinking alcohol? These might seem trivial, but it is important to let your employees know beforehand what they can post rather than trying to discipline them when they cause bad publicity for the company.
Having a social media policy is important for you and your employees.
It helps your employees to know exactly what they can and can't do with their social media profiles.
It could also protect you from future lawsuits since the policy will be spelled out in black and white.
Now stop reading this article and create a social media policy for your company.