Social Media Policies Aren't Enough

Lynne Johnson, senior vice president of social media for the Advertising Research Foundation (and a former editor for Fast Company) is quoted in an article entitled Corporate Social Media Policies: The Good, the Mediocre, and the Ugly in which a number of company policies for social media are shared.

Johnson sums up the policy overviews by saying this:

"And though I realize that policies are not educational documents --
guidelines are. And that's what's missing from a lot of them listed, actual
guidelines. How to do it, where, why -- with examples."

I couldn't agree more. The rules and regulations - sandbox boundaries if you will, need to be clearly defined. But it is one thing to give the black and white which is written to protect the company and it is another to give the how-to examples so that the employees feels comfortable getting started.

If an employee just sees the rules and if the rules are extensive to the point of FRIGHTENING - the employee won't even begin to reach out to customers via social media.

"I don't want to get involved, I might mess up and then loose my job."

Take for example the CNN employee who was fired for a Tweet.

CNN’s senior editor of Middle Eastern affairs, Octavia Nasr, was shown the door Wednesday after sending a tweet that expressed respect for the Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. Despite a lengthy explanation of her 140 character foot-in-mouth, CNN brass stood by their decision.

A simple, easy to follow, how to guide that goes hand in hand with the policies is a great tool for your employees to help them understand the proper way to get started. Now there is an Employee How To Guide available that follows the same 16 policies and procedures outlined in the Policy for Social Media manual available from AllWrite Ink.

For just $9.95 you can download this helpful newsletter format instruction guide that includes a variety of additional websites and resources to help get your employees started connecting with customers via social media.