What social media policy!

Most startup and small businesses usually begin their foray into marketing by using social media.  Ask any business ‘newbie’ where they advertise or promote their business and inevitably, they will list social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Additionally, in many of these startup operations, the individual who manages Social Media is the same Entrepreneur who has day-to-day responsibility for all other aspects of the business such as production, distribution, sales, accounting etc.,

Managing social media as a startup attaches an added component as the Entrepreneur is no longer just ‘John Brown’ the strong opinioned, friend of all but foe to some; he is now John Brown, CEO of such and such a company and therefore his strong opinions may offend a few if both his business and personal pages meet.

How does he then keep his personal social media separate from his business’s social media account? Simply, craft a social media policy that controls how the business interacts with its followers on social media. 

We will look at crafting a social media policy for startups in a future blog but today, I am providing some guidelines for startups that are considering a social media policy but have not yet decided how to go about it…

-       Put the policy on paper – Not because you are the ‘head cook and bottle washer’ in your business means that everything should reside in your head.  Write down how you intend to interact with your social media clients so that when you grow beyond managing social media yourself, you have ready guidelines to provide your employee or social media management company with.

-       Separate your personal pages from your business’s social media platform – To avoid any unforeseen catastrophe, separate your personal page/s from your business’s social media platform.  If you tweet or share something offensive from your business page, remove it immediately and apologize forthwith.  Bear in mind however that the damage may already be done.

-       Be careful when sharing information that you do not own – Always try to use information, images and references that you acquire to promote your business but if you absolutely can’t, give credit to the owners of the information or image.  Ripping off the Intellectual property rights of others can cost you … bigly!

-       No need to reinvent the wheel – There are many startups that have gone before you, and soon you will be looked up to by newer startups in your industry.  Check with your predecessors to see how they crafted their policy, what was included and how you can benefit from what already exists.

-       Craft your policy like the ‘big boys’ do – Your business will not always be a startup therefore think like the big companies of this world when crafting your social media policy.  Ensure that the policy protects your company’s reputation and carries out its intended purpose of raising awareness of your brand.  Importantly, get legal support in crafting the policy; after all it is a legal document.