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Having a solid social media policy in place is key for businesses because it provides clear guidelines on how employees should use social media in both professional and personal contexts when their actions could affect the company or organization.

In today's ever-changing digital world, social media platforms are powerful tools for not only communication, but marketing, customer service, and brand building. 

However, without proper guidelines, businesses can face risks such as reputational damage, legal issues, and the disclosure of confidential information, something Cecily Doyle, President of the Cambridge-based marketing agency Blueprint Agencies, says should always be top of mind.  

“In my opinion, a social media policy is there to protect the company, protect the team, and make sure that nobody is harassing anyone with their opinions,” she says. “Social media policies are still very applicable and should probably be revisited all the time.”

Setting expectations

With a growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) in many aspects of day-to-day life in workplaces, Cecily says revisiting social media policies sooner rather than later, is something businesses should consider undertaking.

“In the last two years we’ve watched AI go from something that generated fun responses to full scale videos being created of people without their knowledge,” she says. “It’s important to assess as technology changes or you won’t be protected if something happens utilizing some sort of novel technology.”

A social media policy helps employees understand what types of content is acceptable and what behaviours could harm the organization's image.

By setting expectations, businesses can reduce the likelihood of public relations crises caused by careless online activity, as well as safeguarding confidential and sensitive information which employees may unintentionally share. 

Having a clear policy in place clearly outlines what information must remain confidential and reminds employees of their responsibility to protect company assets. This helps prevent security breaches and protects the organization's competitive advantage.

Things to consider surrounding social media policies:

Q. What is the main purpose of a social media policy?

Cecily: The main purpose of a social media policy it to set expectations before there is a problem. A good policy protects the company’s reputation, client confidentiality, employee privacy, workplace respect, brand consistency, legal compliance, and clarifies around who can speak on behalf of the organization. 

It should focus on what’s acceptable when they’re representing the company, using company accounts, talking about clients, or posting in a way that could be reasonably connected back to the workplace. The goal shouldn't be to scare people, it should be to prevent confusion. I think this is important for companies where sales reps often have their own profiles that are separate from the organizations, like realtors, car dealerships and their salespeople, and mortgage brokers. They’re all representing a larger brand, while also establishing their own personal brand on the side. They should be aware of what they can say on their “business profile” and what should be left to a private profile that is shielded from other people associated with work. 

In terms of the law, you really can’t reprimand someone for their social media use unless there is a real connection to the workplace or demonstrable harm to the employer’s interests. In general, if you’re routinely posting about work then it’s clear you’re associated with my brand and your posts should adhere to our policy. 

I’m not a fan of broad morality clauses for employees’ personal accounts. I am a fan of clear expectations around confidentiality, respectful conduct, brand representation, and client protection.

Q. What types of online behaviour should be addressed in the policy?

Cecily: The policy should address online conduct when it has a clear connection to the workplace. For example, if someone is naming clients, sharing confidential or proprietary information, harassing a co-worker, using the company logo, or making comments that clients can reasonably associate with the business, that’s different from a private person posting a lawful personal opinion on their own time. 

Often lawyers point to reputational harm, workplace disruption, harassment, confidentiality breaches, and loss of trust as the kinds of factors that can make off-duty online conduct relevant to the employer. 

Think about filming TikToks on company premises. Whether it’s before or after work hours, that’s something that could cause reputational harm or a workplace distraction. I think even if you have a public persona that is actively attracting the attention of clients and co-workers, you need to be careful that you’re clear about what kinds of opinions you’re putting into the ether. 

There’s an old saying, “If you wouldn’t want someone to say that about you on the front page of a newspaper, then don’t put it on the internet.” I think that applies to a social media policy and some of those commonsense rules. 

Q. How can an employer ensure the policy will comply with current laws and employee rights?

Cecily: Don’t take someone’s word for it. If this is something that will be actionable in the future and can affect the employment of someone that works for you, then make sure that an employment lawyer goes over your policy. It should be clear, consistently applied, and tied to legitimate business interests. As business owners, it’s tempting to want to get into the weeds and have policies that adhere to our personal morals and values. Especially for SMEs, you’re still very present in the company and it’s hard not to think of it as an extension of yourself. But a social media policy can’t revolve around your own beliefs when you have a team to manage; it should also respect privacy, human rights, labour rights, and employee expression. 

Don’t download a generic template or have ChatGPT build you a policy and think it protects you. It needs to be specific to your business. 

If you’re building out a policy that is policing what someone can say about politics, religion, gender identity, sexuality, race, any protected class, you’re bringing topics up that can raise complex human rights and workplace safety issues. Employers may need to act when conduct becomes discriminatory or harassing, but you need to avoid knee-jerk reactions to opinions that ignores your employees’ rights to express themselves. 

A social media policy should not be a tool for controlling the private lives of your employees, it’s a tool for protecting your workplace. The key question is whether online behaviour has a real connection to the employer, brand, clients, or the safety and respect in the workplace.

Q. How should an employer determine its response to policy violations?

Cecily: This should be outlined in your policy and your staff should be aware of repercussions. The response should be proportional and not everything needs to be an immediate dismissal, despite the reaction of the external crowd. You should evaluate the seriousness of the post, whether confidential information was shared, the liability on the company as a result of this post, whether there was actual harm, and whether it was removed.

There is a difference between malice and mistake, employers should keep that in mind when evaluating the violation. 

Start with fact finding, what happened, who saw it, is it connected to work, and did it cause harm to our brand. Then the response should be proportionate. Maybe it’s sensitivity training, coaching, warning, suspension etc. 

It can be easy to react emotionally when the ‘peanut gallery’ is pushing for something one way or another, but as an employer it’s also your job to protect your employees and mistakes do happen.

Q. When should an employer implement or update a social media policy?

Cecily: Before you need to. I think a policy that was written five or six years ago doesn’t reflect how people are utilizing social media today. You should likely be reviewing those policies annually, not just after something goes wrong.

Employers also need to remember that employees are people outside of work. They have personal lives, opinions, and personal accounts. As an employer, it’s not my job to step in unless it’s affecting the workplace and how our team works together. The best policies protect the team without overreaching into someone’s private life.