How can you improve your organization's social media policy?

Regularly revisiting your current social media policy is crucial. Begin by dissecting its applicability across evolving platforms and ensuring its alignment with organizational goals. Are there any regulatory changes in your sector that the policy hasn't accounted for? It's equally vital to ensure the policy provides lucid guidelines for employees, covering all potential risk factors. Regular updates, based on technology's dynamic nature and internal feedback, will keep the policy relevant.

Top Tip: The one area where most social media policies are lacking includes the 'potential risks and crises' section. I recommend drafting a crisis management section that lays out several stages and levels of crisis and how the marketing team should manage each level. The document should also include examples of when to escalate the threat to higher-up management. Doing this before the first crisis happens will alleviate a lot of potential problems and errors.

Improving your organization's social media policy should be a consistent, ongoing process. Scheduling the time periodically to review the policy is important. At *minimum* once per year, but optimally once per quarter among key leaders (CMO, Social Media Director, Lead Social Media Managers and sometimes others). Good times to take a look at the policy and make edits are: * New department leadership * New social media department employees * Organizational changes that involve marketing * Major platform changes by big social platforms There may be a time whem something happens the policy didn't cover. Immediately approach and edit, involving legal advisors if needed.

Your social media policy should act as a compass, directing all activities towards achieving overarching organizational goals. Ensure that the policy is embedded with clear objectives, whether it's about fortifying brand image or minimizing potential PR crises. Utilize the SMART criteria for metrics, ensuring they resonate with the broader vision and offer a tangible measure of the policy's effectiveness.

A successful social media policy thrives on inclusivity. Engaging diverse stakeholders ensures a comprehensive, grounded approach. Whether it's employees who'll be its primary users, or partners whose operations may be influenced by it, gather feedback. This not only enhances policy efficacy but also fosters an environment where all stakeholders feel valued and heard, boosting overall compliance.

Drafting the policy with utmost clarity and precision is fundamental. While it should encapsulate essential elements like scope, behavioral guidelines, and ethical considerations, the language should be lucid and free from jargon. The policy should serve as a roadmap for even the most novice social media user in your organization. Also, having a dedicated segment on crisis management and frequent policy reviews ensures the organization is always prepared, come what may.

When you are drafting a social media policy for your organization, involve key stakeholders within the organization. Maybe you are starting with a dusty version of your own, or an example from another organization. If so, reference those as a place to start. From there, define roles within your ranks for how the document will be compiled: Leader, contributor, approvals, etc. as well as goal dates. Google Docs is a great mode of collaborative composition. This allows all involved to improve the policy and assures details will not be forgotten. A final version can then be put into handbooks, PDFs for online use, and sent over to your website developer for the official policy page.

Your revised social media policy should be available everywhere users will interact with your brand on or about social media. * Website * Organization online forums * Facebook Groups * Handbooks Informing employees and customers can be done via email, newsletters, memos and video, as appropriate. Training should be done by a marketing department leader in a face-to-face setting to afford for questions and answers. Every new employee and volunteer should be trained, and re-trained, periodically. Some companies have training video programs - If this is something your organization does, adding a video on social media policy and expectations is key.

It is essential to assign ultimate responsibility for your social media policy to one specific role within your organization. It should be part of their schedule of duties, and part of their employee review to assure investment in successful social media policy execution. Additionally, that individual can work with crisis planning personnel to best connect all of those guidelines together. In doing this, your organization is more likely to follow the policy without conflict or adversity and be a brand people clamor to on social media.