10 Rules For Social Media Particpation (For Employees)

Employees want to build their personal brand.  Companies want to encourage that so they have the advantage of as many people touching their customers and partners as possible.  However, the emergence of social media and the convergence of personal/professional brand building with company marketing strategies presents a dynamic tension between the two objectives.

Mutually agreed to “rules of the road” should be a part of any companies (or employees) agreement with employees.  Here is a starting point of common sense guidelines.  Thanks to Shift Communications for some of this material.

These guidelines apply to employees or contractors who create or contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of Social Media. Whether you log into Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook pages, or comment on online media stories in forums — these guidelines are for you.

While all employees should be welcome and encouraged to participate in Social Media, it should be expected that everyone who participates in online commentary understands (and follows) these simple but important guidelines.

The overall goal is simple: to encourage participation in online communities in a respectful, relevant way that builds and protects both the employee and companies brand and reputation, and of course follows the letter and spirit of the law.

1. Be transparent and state that you work at a specified company so everyone knows where you are coming from. Your honesty will be appreciated in the Social Media environment. Moreover, you will be less likely to get a backlash if people find out after you make comments that might be challenged. If you are writing about your company or a competitor, use your real name, identify that you work for that company, and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to say so.

2. Never represent yourself or the company you work for in a false or misleading way. All statements must be true and not misleading; all claims must be substantiated.

3. Post meaningful, respectful comments that add value to the community— in other words, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.

4. Use common sense and common courtesy: for example, it’s best to ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to your company. Make sure your efforts to be transparent don’t violate the companies privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech.

5. Stick to your area of expertise and do feel free to provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential activities at your company.  Be careful because you do not want to come across as a “cheerleader” and loose credibility with the community.

6. When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If you find yourself in a situation online that looks as if it’s becoming antagonistic, do not get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly: feel free to ask the PR Director for advice and/or to disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner that reflects well on your company.

7. If you want to write about the competition, make sure you behave diplomatically, have the facts straight and that you have the appropriate permissions.

8. Never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties the company may be in litigation with.

9. Never participate in Social Media when the topic being discussed may be considered a crisis situation. Even anonymous comments may be traced back to your or companies IP address. Refer all Social Media activity around crisis topics to PR and/or Legal Affairs Director.

10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and the companies confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully. Google has a long memory.

These are fluid times and communication is abundant.  That presents both opportunities and challenges to companies and their employees.  Guidelines like these should become a part of any employee training for companies of any size.