J A S O N C R U Z / M A Y 2 0 1 4

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES

@jsncruz

OBJECTIVES & GOALS

@jsncruz

KEY OBJECTIVE

The #1 Objective of

Organizations on Social Media:

Creation (or growth) of positive

engagement.

Importance:

1. Engagement must be positive to contribute to good public perception.

2. Engagement must lead to the

creation (or growth) of conversations with positive sentiments.

3. A healthy community is talkative, opinionated, and provides value.

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KEY GOALS

The goals of social media

policies have two dimensions:

Growing the community

Growing the conversations

Community Growth Absolute or relative number of community

members of value for an organization.

Conversation Growth Absolute or relative number of social chatter happening within the social

asset(s) of an organization.

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STYLE GUIDE

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POLICY TONALITY

An organization’s social media policy, in general, need to

communicate to the majority members of the community, reflect the

personality of the organization’s social media or online, and present

information in a manner that is both transparent and with clarity.

Inclusive of the General Public

Consistent with Brand

Honest and Factual

The large majority of an organization’s audience (internal and external) must be able to understand the policies easily and in

the right context.

A consistent tone of voice across all media touch-points,

especially on social, helps with an organization’s reputation and its branding.

The organization must define its Terms of Use “on paper” – easily visible, factual, and based on current existing laws and

regulations (if necessary).

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LANGUAGE AND FORMAT

Language

• Layman terms usually work the

best.

• Generally, English is used as the

language for social media

policies, but the community’s

language abilities must have

priority.

• Legal terms may be helpful, but

are best minimized.

Format

• Long-format • Social media policies in their entirety

may be hosted or published within an organization’s website or social media platform (often Facebook, as

a Facebook Note).

• Social media policies are often easier to consumer when only 1-2 standard pages long.

• Social-format • Specific items within a policy may be

often be used as reminders or

notices to the community members. They must be accompanied by a link to the full document.

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ACCESSIBILITY

Access Point

• Published policies should

ideally be accessible to as

many audience members of

the organization’s social media

assets as possible.

• Text-based policies are best,

rather than text on images

(digital image format), as these

can be referenced easier and

has the added benefit of

loading faster than image-

based content.

Differently-abled Access

• It might be a good idea to

create different versions of an

organization’s social media

policy. • Policies in an audio-format could

prove useful for visually-impaired community members.

• Video-format policies may also be useful for community members with reading difficulties.

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CALL-TO-ACTION & HELPFUL LINKS

CTA

• Sometimes, an organization

may ask or request the

community members of its

social media channels to do an

action.

• Actions include, but are not

limited to: • Save a copy of the social media

policy.

• Suggestion to email an official

account for specific queries.

• Visit the organization’s website.

Helpful Links

• For social media policies where

references are important,

publicly-available laws,

documents, and rules and

regulations (digital versions,

ideally) should always be

included as a list of accessible

links.

• Periodic checking of links are

helpful in case links become

inaccessible or are otherwise

broken.

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RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

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USER GUIDELINES THE TERMS OF USE

A legitimate Terms of Use document is legally binding, and may be subject to

change without prior notice.

Common features: 1. Definition of terms. 2. User responsibilities. 3. User rights. 4. Disclaimers.

The User Guidelines, also known as “Terms of Use” are used by

organizations to inform community members or users on the terms they

must agree to when using or accessing the social media asset.

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PLATFORM GUIDELINES MONITORING AND RESPONDING

Each social media platform of an organization may need its own

unique social media policy. As platforms differ in systems, usage, and

content, each platform’s policy must be tailored to its capabilities.

Facebook, Twitter

Instagram, YouTube

Social media policy must be aligned with the comprehensive Facebook- and Twitter User Guidelines, respectively.

Social media policy must take into account both the

Facebook/Google Terms of Service as well as regulations regarding media content.

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RESPONSE GUIDELINES SHOULD THE ORGANIZATION ENGAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Yes, Engage

• Yes • Question, inquiry, or comment seem

legitimate and borne out genuine curiosity.

• Question, inquiry, or comment is “on-

topic” as far as the organization’s business or responsibility is concerned.

• If the contact event is an opportunity to create more valuable conversations.

• If the contact event is an opportunity

to educate or inform the community member(s).

• No • Question, inquiry, or comment is

“trolling” or baiting for a hostile confrontation.

• Question, inquiry, or comment is

promotional in nature, or is clearly spam.

• Question, inquiry, or comment may mislead other audience members into an illegal or dishonest activity.

No, and Report/Ban

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ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSES

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SAMPLE GUIDELINES CONVERSATIONS AND RESPONSES

Comment Example Sample Response

General Comment “Wow masarap yan.” Like the comment. “” and/or “Thank you so much!”

Branded Question “Hi, how many persons can share the X-

Size Cake? Yung P499 po.”

“Hi thanks for the inquiry! Up to 10-12 persons

po ang pwede mag-share ng X-Size Cake ng

Brand XYZ. How many attendees will you

have?”

General Question “Is the chocolate cake ok kung teens

ang pupunta sa party na gagawin ko?”

“From our experience, teens LOVE chocolate cake! Get two! Sure ubos yan ”

Promo Question

“2 weeks na po at hindi ko pa ma-

claim yung gift pack ko. Ano pong

gagawin ko?”

“Hi, please PM me your full name, contact

details, and address and I’ll help you follow

this up!”

Testimonial “We love Brand XYZ so much!” “Thank you! ”

Detractor

“Ang panget ng lasa ng Brand XYZ!

Mas masarap ang Goldilocks, mas

mura pa!”

“Hi [name], could you tell me which Brand

XYZ product you tried? Maybe you can PM me some details too I’d love to help you

any way I can!”

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MANAGEMENT SENTIMENT FLAGGING AND FEEDBACK GUIDES

Positive

Positive, beneficial, or informative for the community.

Alert

Negative, often stemming from single individual, or a very small group of people.

Warning

Negative, coming from a group, and often already ‘viral’. Sometimes already crossed-over to mainstream media.

Positive

Acknowledge

Amplify (if necessary)

Observe

Negative

Acknowledge

Communicate

Observe*

Resolve

*If needs more guidance,

escalate immediately.

Damaging

Acknowledge

Hold Communication

Escalate

Observe

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COMMUNITY CONDUCT MANAGEMENT

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USER GUIDELINES DO’S AND DON’TS

Application of Persona on Social Media Policies

Do’s Don’ts

Do remain on-brand (character, personality, tonality)

Don’t slip into a heavily-corporate persona

Do encourage a friendly

environment Don’t alienate through use of

jargon

Do create relevant and relatable content

Don’t be overly serious and unemotional (robotic)

Do respond and engage with community members

Don’t ignore community members

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USER GUIDELINES LAW ENFORCEMENT

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Importance of Social Media Policies

Protection of the Organization Enforcing of the TOU

Ensure only “on-topic” conversations occur.

Ensure a healthy space for conversations.

Allow comment and content moderation (when needed).

Allow removal of disruptive individuals (“trolls”).

Allow documented contact events.

Allow the organization to filter certain off-topic terms/phrases.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES IN ACTION

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SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES INTEL WEBSITE (WEBSITE-BASED)

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What I Like This social media policy has a long-format one, but for the community member,

there is an easy-to-consume visual version accompanying it.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT (PUBLIC AGENCY)

@jsncruz

What I Like This social media policy is concise, direct, and tells the community member virtually all s/he needs to know about how to use the Facebook community.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES ALLERGY PREVENTION PAGE (FOR MOTHERS)

@jsncruz

What I Like This social media policy is in long-format, but summarized. The disclaimer

highlighted also ensures expectations and limitations are set transparently.

DISCUSSION & QUESTIONS

Thank you!

For questions and comments:

jsncruz.com/contact/

@jsncruz