12 Essential Social Media Guidelines for Employees

So what is the difference between a social media policy and social media guidelines?

There’s definitely some overlap, but they’re not exactly the same thing.

For most companies, a social media policy tends to be a more formal document, providing specific rules regarding social media.

For regulated industries, social media policies will include things like specific laws and regulations employees must adhere to. It often also includes consequences for breaking the policy.

The purpose is to mitigate the risks involved when it comes to employee activity on social media.

However, many companies have modernized their social media policies, to be less ‘scary’, and more encouraging.

It’s especially important to make your policy easy to understand. If yours needs a refresh, try our social media policy template!

On the other hand, social media guidelines are a way for companies to let employees know how they’d like them to act online, covering things like social media etiquette.

You can also use your guidelines to encourage things like tagging your company in their social media bios, and reminding them to check any photos taken at work before sharing them. It’s more general advice and best practices, rather than ‘rules’.

So why would you need both?

Well, if you’re in an industry like law, pharmaceuticals, or finance… You’re still going to need the ‘serious’ social media policy, for legal purposes, and to ensure compliance.

But that doesn’t mean your social media guidelines have to be 20 pages long.

Instead, make sure employees have access to your detailed policy, but also provide a shorter document that covers best practices for being professional on social media in the workplace.

Client lists, financial information, business strategies… you get it. These things can’t be shared on social media.

Be especially careful when taking photos at work. Check to see if anything confidential is in the background, e.g. on a whiteboard or on your computer screen.

Remember that you represent our company on social media. Don’t post anything hateful, or engage with trolls. Essentially, don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your boss to see.

Think before posting. Is the post you’re sharing educational, topical, or informative? If not, reconsider. There’s no point sharing content for the sake of it.

Especially when using AI writing assistants, be sure that any statistics you share on social media are correct.

We want to build a thriving community of employees on social, so please do follow and engage with our content! Support your colleagues’ content too.

For example, you might put “Marketing Manager @DSMN8” on Twitter. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile says what you do and where you work.

When creating content about our company, be sure to follow our brand style guide. This lets you know which fonts, colors, and assets to use. You can find it here: [link to your style guide]. 

Keep in mind that some of your colleagues might not want you to share a photo of them on social media. Respect their boundaries. The same goes with sending messages late at night – leave it until the next working day!

Unless you’re a social media manager!

Social media is a fun place, but it can be easy to lose time scrolling. Consider blocking out a set time for managing your professional social channels each day. Don’t let it take over your day.

Always use strong passwords and 2-factor authentication. It sounds obvious, but don’t share your password with anyone.

If you’re not sure about something, get in touch with your manager, the social media / marketing team, or IT. Don’t feel embarrassed. We’d always rather you question something than say nothing!

Whether online or in the office, we expect all employees to adhere to our code of conduct, and represent our company values.

Providing employees with social media guidelines is a great place to start, but it doesn’t end there!

Remember that every employee has a different level of experience with social media, and different skillsets.

The best way to get everyone on the same page is to provide training, and resources. Take out the guesswork! Luckily, we’ve got an employee advocacy training plan for you to use.

If you really want to make the most out of having active employees on social media, this training should be ongoing. That way you’ll ensure that all new recruits understand that your company has a positive approach to social media, and how they can participate.

Your marketing team should be the first point-of-call for putting together things like brand guidelines, assets, and best practices for employees when talking about your company online. They could even create social media cover image templates, so employees have matching LinkedIn and Twitter headers!

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

The very first thing you’ll need to do is create a space online for employees to find all of these assets, and of course, content to share. Images, social media posts, articles… There’s no use encouraging them to be active if they can’t find the resources they need.

Create a SharePoint or Google Drive folder, and make sure everyone knows where to find it. This should also be the place to house your social media policy, guidelines, and brand style guide.

We’ve created a bunch of resources and templates to help get your employees more active on social media.

Whether you’re just launching an employee advocacy program, or you’ve been managing one for a while, you’ll find something helpful in our Resource Hub and Templates Gallery.

Here are some top picks you’ll find helpful:

• The Ultimate Social Media Policy Template
• Employee Social Media Survey Template
• Social Media Training Plan for Employees

So, you’ve got your employees active on social media.

But what next? Wondering how to take it to the next level?

A fully-scaled employee advocacy program is the answer.

We can help with that! 👋

Book Your Demo