How to Build Your Social Media Policy

More than 70 percent of businesses surveyed reported having to discipline an employee for “social media misuse.” Considering the reach and persistence of social media, employers should ensure employees know the do’s and don’ts of social media at work.

What exactly is “social media misuse”? That overly broad term can encompass any type of social media posting that harms the employer or a third party. Misuse can include disclosure of confidential information, discrimination, harassment, misrepresenting the organization’s views, making disparaging remarks about the organization, or making disparaging remarks about employees or customers. Consequences can range from mildly embarrassing, as when an employee makes a comment that puts the company in a bad light, to the downright damaging. Disclosure of confidential information or harassing or discriminatory remarks can cause the organization to become liable for corrective action.

A well-crafted social media policy can help protect your organization from these exposures by outlining whether social media posts must be cleared and by whom, what employees can and cannot say, and consequences for violations. It should also spell out your organization’s policies toward accessing social media during work hours, whether your organization monitors online activity and what employees can expect in terms of online privacy, if anything. In fact, your “social media policy” might not be one policy, but many, and incorporated into several existing policies and documents.

The following suggestions provide a starting point for crafting your own social media policy. Every company differs, however, and if you have extensive online activities, an IPO in the near future or pending litigation or complaints, you will probably want to have your policies reviewed by an attorney.

1. Determine whether employees can access social media from company networks or on work time. In the 2013/14 Social Media in the Workplace survey by Proskauer Rose LLP, a law firm, 36 percent of employers surveyed actively block access to social media sites, up from 29 percent the year before.
2. Consider restricting “official” business communications to the public through social media to specific individuals with media training. Publicly traded companies will probably want to have an experienced investor relations professional handle social media communications to avoid potential problems. They should also understand what information and data is confidential, such as intellectual property, material non-public information, personnel information and financial records. Employees should also know the basics about copyright/trademark protections, and what they can and cannot post as “fair use.”
3. Establish policies that govern whether your employees may discuss or endorse your business in public and rules about how to do so ethically. Employees should identify themselves as employees if discussing the business in a public forum. If they must post a personal opinion on a business matter, they should clearly state that it is a personal opinion and they are not speaking as a representative of the business.
4. Create policies outlining appropriate/inappropriate language, harassment and respecting colleagues and competitors in social media posts. (Your company’s email policy should already contain similar requirements.)
5. Create policies outlining appropriate and inappropriate communications about your business in public and semi-private forums. If your company is publicly traded, remember that fair disclosure rules apply to social media posts as well. Some social media (such as Twitter) don’t allow room for disclosures. Overly optimistic postings might constitute “forward-looking” communications. And using social media to disclose “material nonpublic information” to individuals who might trade on that information might not constitute “full and fair disclosure” under SEC rules.
6. Develop procedures to monitor social media activity. Ideally, you will have trained media professionals on staff or on retainer to monitor and respond to social media mentions of your organization.
7. Inform employees of your communications privacy policy. If you reserve the right to monitor employees’ online and social media activity during company time or when using company equipment or networks (as you probably should), notify your employees in writing that they cannot expect their activities to be private.
8. Train executives and managers responsible for policy enforcement to understand the laws that protect employee communications. This includes the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects workers’ rights to discuss wages, working conditions or union organizing with co-workers or a union, and other labor activities.
9. Put your policy in writing and include it in your employee handbook. Have employees acknowledge, in writing, their receipt of the policy and their agreement to adhere to it.
10. Review your insurance coverage. The commercial general liability policy covers advertising liability, or liability that occurs due to your advertising activities. Traditionally, most insurers excluded advertising liability coverage from commercial liability policies for publishing businesses. These businesses had to buy specialized publisher’s liability insurance. Today, social media liability and cyber liability policies offer coverages for the unique risks of organizations whose business involves publishing online and social media. For more information, please contact us.

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In this issue:

This Just In...

Protect Your Company from Auto Liability Claims

How to Handle a Claim

How to Build Your Social Media Policy

Guidelines for Company Social Media Use

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