Does My Business Really Need A Social Media Policy?

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Even if your brand is not active on social media, your employees are!

Not paying attention to social media can cost your business money and lead to government investigations. Whether you are just starting out or are well-established, you should consider developing a social media policy for both personal and professional employee posts.

An effective social media policy will:

• Educate employees about social media;
• Provide reminders on the blurring of personal and professional image;
• Teach employees to present views in a professional manner;
• Teach respect for professional boundaries;
• Reduce potential legal risks and comply with relevant laws and regulations;
• Train employees on confidentiality, including confidential and proprietary information;
• Prevent sensitive information from being shared publicly;
• Clarify whose “voice” is being used; and
• Help employees understand when they represent the business online.

The written policy needs to conform with SEC, FTC, FDA, HIPAA, and National Labor Relations Act guidelines, including avoiding pitfalls with soliciting and sharing online reviews.

Social Media Policy Dos and Don’ts:

• Do have a written social media policy.
• Don’t take adverse employment action without consulting your compliance officer or an attorney – you could inadvertently infringe on employee rights as defined by the National Labor Relations Act.
• Don’t enforce policies inconsistently – you could expose yourself to claims of discrimination, wrongful termination, or harassment leading to an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
• Don’t assume employees are the only ones who can violate the rules – managers and even family members can share and expose confidential information. Address confidentiality and any nondisclosure agreements in place in your written policy and training.

Employees and officers of the company need to understand where their responsibilities begin and end, and when even personal social media activity can violate regulatory restrictions and cause reputational damage.

Review & Update Your Social Media Usage Policy

Regulations that govern the use of social media continue to evolve. As such, your social media policy should be reviewed and updated at least annually to reflect changes in the business, regulations, technology, and social media best practices.

Additionally, significant changes in the social media landscape, the company's use of social media, or a negative incident (either with your social media presence or one reported in the news) should trigger a review and update of the policy.

Employee Training on Social Media

As a part of the onboarding process, new employees should be trained on social media best practices, including what to avoid for legal, compliance, and branding reasons. In addition, social media compliance should be an integral part of your business’s ongoing compliance training program.

Employees should receive social media training on:

• The company’s social media policy, ethical behavior, and the potential risks and consequences associated with their use of social media in the workplace;
• Purpose and goals of a social media policy;
• Best practices for social media use, such as privacy settings, avoiding sharing confidential information, and maintaining professional conduct;
• Guidelines for representing the company on social media, such as avoiding posting discriminatory or offensive content and not speaking on behalf of the company without authorization; ?
• Laws and regulations that restrict or guide social media communications within your industry;
• Consequences for non-compliance with social media policies and procedures; and
• Procedures for reporting violations of social media policies;

Lack of training could not only result in negative press for your company; it can also result in a human resources and compliance nightmare, especially if government regulations were violated. Countless man-hours can be spent to address a situation that could have potentially been avoided with sufficient and adequate training.

Without a clear social media policy, a business runs the risk of harming its brand and running afoul of regulatory guidelines which limit corporate speech or require certain disclosures.

Employees and officers of the company need to understand where their responsibilities begin and end, and when even personal social media activity can violate regulatory restrictions and cause reputational damage.

To read more about social media law –?including regulatory compliance and protecting intellectual property –?go to the Hendershot Cowart website, where you'll find more concise, practical advice for protecting your business from legal risks.