Social Media Policy & Guidelines Managing the risks and the conversation Lance Kissler Director of Marketing, Pacific University @lkissler

Social Media Policy & Guidelines

Managing the risksand the conversation

Lance KisslerDirector of Marketing, Pacific University@lkissler

15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler

Who am I?

• Twitter• @pacificu• @prsapdxmetro• @pdxcommconf• @case8• @inhs• @CHERSpokane• @NWMedStar• @stlukesrehab

• Facebook• Pacific University• Portland PRSA• CASE District VIII• Inland Northwest

Health Service• CHERSpokane• Northwest MedStar• St. Luke’s

Rehabilitation Inst.


Why policies & guidelines?

• Protects the organization• Protects the employees, volunteers

and other constituents• Establishes criteria for evaluating and

engaging activity• Demonstrates commitment to social

media—focus on the positive


Recommendations

• Develop a policy• Gather input from various sources• Review policies from similar organizations

• Develop guidelines• Blend between the policy and the strategy

• Develop a strategy• Measure and revisit frequently


Policies

• Set parameters for employees who use social media at work• Personal use• Professional use

• Provide for disciplinary action if needed


Guidelines

• Provide more specific details for usage:• How to engage constituents• How often to post/update• What content is suitable for posting• Approval chain, if required• Conventions to be used• Consider HIPPA & other requirements


Best Practices

• Create at least two policies:• One policy that sets expectations and

boundaries for all employees, including any relevant limitations or suggestions for the personal use of social media.

• Operational guidelines for employees working in social media as part of their job.

• Create and post a social media use policy for the public


Best Practices

• Determine valuable opportunities to leverage your employees as ambassadors in your markets, then provide guidance that helps your employees to achieve greater impact and value in their social media interactions.

• It’s not just Twitter and Facebook…


Best Practices

• Support your employees and let them know where your boundaries are:• Can they use social media for personal or

professional use at work?• Can they identify themselves as being

with the organization?• Can they use logos, etc.?• Don’t leave them guessing.


Best Practices

• Provide the right information to the right people at the right times. Create distinct documents with specific purposes that your employees are likely to consume.• Help employees understand the benefits of the

document, then post the document where it can easily be found.

• Consider posting the policy publicly.


Best Practices

• Connect your social media policy to all relevant policies. Make it easy for your employees to find additional information as required:• Points of contact• Guidelines• Other resources


Motivations

• What are you focusing on?• Reactive/Risks• Neutral/Known• Proactive/Lead by Example

• Study: Only one-third of sampled organizations portray social media as a positive opportunity for their employees and their organization.


Social Media Policies

• Employee• Code of Conduct• Code of Conduct

Representing the Organization

• Blogging Disclosure• Facebook, Blog,

Twitter, LinkedIn and other Social Network

• Organizational• Blogging (use, post

approval, commenting)

• Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

• Passwords


Developing a Policy

1. Remind employees to familiarize themselves with the employment agreement and policies included in the employee handbook.

2. State that the policy applies to multi-media, social networking websites, blogs and wikis for both professional and personal use.


Developing a Policy

3. Internet postings should not disclose any information that is confidential or proprietary to the organization or to any third party that has disclosed information to the organization.

4. If an employee comments on any aspect of the organization’s business, they must clearly identify themselves as an employee and include a disclaimer.


Developing a Policy

5. Example disclaimer:The views expressed are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Optometric Association.

6. Internet postings should not include organizational logos or trademarks unless permission is asked for and granted.


Developing a Policy

7. Internet postings must respect copyright, privacy, fair use, financial disclosure, HIPPA and other applicable laws.

8. Employees should neither claim nor imply that they are speaking on the organization’s behalf.


Developing a Policy

9. Organizational blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc., could require approval when the employee is posting about the organization and the industry.

10. The organization reserves the right to request that certain subjects are avoided, certain posts withdrawn and remove inappropriate comments.


Next Steps

• Review policies and guidelines of similar organizations.

• Develop a policy that incorporates:• Best practices• Elements from other policies• The culture of the organization• Disciplinary action


Next Steps

• Develop guidelines that:• Establish a strong brand• Are easy to understand

• Provide training for your employees, volunteers and constituents

• Make the documents accessible


Sources

• http://socialmediagovernance.com/downloads/download-social-media-policy-study.shtml

• http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/writing-a-social-media-policy.html


Resources

• http://socialmediagovernance.com• Currently contains policies from 17

healthcare organizations

• http://blogs.cisco.com/news/comments/ciscos_internet_postings_policy/

• http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html


Resources

• http://www.intel.com/sites/sitewide/en_us/social-media.htm

• http://www.razorfish.com/img/content/RazorfishSIMguideWebJuly2009.pdf

• http://www.socialmediatoday.com/davefleet/151761/57-social-media-policy-examples-and-resources


Connect

• Lance Kissler• @lkissler / @someprtips• [email protected]• someprtips.wordpress.com• linkedin.com/in/lkissler• 503-329-9145

Documents

Social Media Policy & Guidelines Managing the risks and the conversation Lance Kissler Director of Marketing, Pacific University @lkissler