5 tips to developing an effective social media policy

So you’ve decided to get your business cranking in social media, huh? Cool! There’s a heap of great advice on the web, talking about important things like the right posting ratio of product vs shared content vs cat pics and so on. And that’s all good and dandy.

And hey, your employees are constantly checking Twitter and Facebook – might as well get them to talk about your business online as well, right? Share the load, so to speak.

No.

At least, not yet.

There are rules you need to set in place at work to protect your business from social media PR disasters. Getting your social media policy bedded down is an absolute priority.

Louise Russo of Andreyev Lawyers has five important tips for creating an effective social media policy for your business. She recommends:

1. Setting a framework
2. Clearly outlining your expectations
3. Regulating personal use of social media
4. Setting out the consequences of non-compliance
5. Enforcing your policy

It’s only after you’ve followed these steps that you should open yourself to the slings, arrows and the likes of social media.