Does Your Company Need A Social Media Policy?

With more and more employees jumping on to platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn and years of Blogging and Podcasting already water under the bridge, most companies still don’t have any kind of corporate policy or guidelines around Social Media, the company and their employees.

Now is the time to start thinking about one.

The most important concept to remember is that a policy or guidelines around Social Media is not meant to limit what people can do and say, but rather a way to help everyone know what the company considers "fair play" and what is "off limits". This type of document is also a great place for the company to really explain how they deal, interface and respond to their consumers (both the negative and the positive). It can also provide tips of how employees can make the most of their personal brands by understanding some of the generally accepted "rules" about what works (and what doesn’t) in these online channels.

But, where do you begin in terms of putting a document like this together in a cohesive fashion?

Thankfully, the Social Media Governance website has over 105 Social Media policy documents from a wide variety of companies and industries – all available for free: Social Media Governance Database.

Enjoy.

(hat-tip: Lisa)