You’ve heard it all before — social media is the wave of the future, and if you don’t get on board, your business will be left in the dust. It is true that in this day and age, a well-designed website is not enough. To be truly effective in marketing and promoting your business, you need social media. Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube, a strong social media presence is vital to doing business in the new millennium.
But you can’t just jump into social media. Many considerations must be made, the first of which is the crafting of an effective social media policy.
The first step an employer needs to take before crafting a social media policy is to think about its particular business and what social media issues would be likely to come up in light of the business model or what the business does. Determine what issues are most important to control, and focus on those first.
“For example, if your business does a lot of research and development, the confidentiality of business information is something that must be covered,” says Charla Claypool, an associate with The Stolar Partnership LLP. “If you deal with children on a regular basis, your policy will want to address employees associating with, ‘friending’ or ‘following’ minors. You may want to consider customer privacy and publicity rights concerns, as well.”
Smart Business spoke with Claypool about social media, and what businesses should consider when crafting a social media policy.
What should employers consider when crafting a social media policy?
First, and most important, make sure that the policy complies with the law. As an employer, you have to keep yourself out of trouble for disciplining employees, and the best way to do that is to work with an attorney who has experience in both employment law and social media law. Look for an attorney with significant experience in promotions and/or advertising law, as he or she will also be able to address the legal issues related to business promotion via social media.
An experienced attorney will be able to spot any discrimination issues and will be well versed in any state laws that may come into play. For example, in Illinois, there is a law that does not allow employers to take adverse action against an employee based on information found on a social media site. The law makes it illegal for employers to discipline or discharge employees for use of lawful products off-premises during nonworking hours. So if an Illinois employer went to an employee’s Facebook page and saw a picture of that employee chugging a beer, the employer could not discipline the employee for this behavior, provided the employee is of legal drinking age. Currently, there is no law like this in Missouri, but many states are heading toward this type of legislation.
Another thing to consider when crafting a social media policy is to make sure the policy is consistent with all other office policies, particularly those that apply to computer usage.
