Social Media Policy &
Guidelines
Managing the risks
and the conversation
Lance Kissler
Director of Marketing, Pacific University
@lkissler
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Who am I?
• Twitter
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@pacificu
@prsapdxmetro
@pdxcommconf
@case8
@inhs
@CHERSpokane
@NWMedStar
@stlukesrehab
• Facebook
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Pacific University
Portland PRSA
CASE District VIII
Inland Northwest
Health Service
• CHERSpokane
• Northwest MedStar
• St. Luke’s
Rehabilitation Inst.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Why policies & guidelines?
• Protects the organization
• Protects the employees, volunteers
and other constituents
• Establishes criteria for evaluating and
engaging activity
• Demonstrates commitment to social
media—focus on the positive
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Recommendations
• Develop a policy
• Gather input from various sources
• Review policies from similar organizations
• Develop guidelines
• Blend between the policy and the strategy
• Develop a strategy
• Measure and revisit frequently
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Policies
• Set parameters for employees who
use social media at work
• Personal use
• Professional use
• Provide for disciplinary action if
needed
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Guidelines
• Provide more specific details for usage:
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How to engage constituents
How often to post/update
What content is suitable for posting
Approval chain, if required
Conventions to be used
Consider HIPPA & other requirements
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Best Practices
• Create at least two policies:
• One policy that sets expectations and
boundaries for all employees, including any
relevant limitations or suggestions for the
personal use of social media.
• Operational guidelines for employees working
in social media as part of their job.
• Create and post a social media use
policy for the public
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Best Practices
• Determine valuable opportunities to
leverage your employees as
ambassadors in your markets, then
provide guidance that helps your
employees to achieve greater impact
and value in their social media
interactions.
• It’s not just Twitter and Facebook…
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Best Practices
• Support your employees and let them
know where your boundaries are:
• Can they use social media for personal
or professional use at work?
• Can they identify themselves as being
with the organization?
• Can they use logos, etc.?
• Don’t leave them guessing.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Best Practices
• Provide the right information to the right
people at the right times. Create distinct
documents with specific purposes that your
employees are likely to consume.
• Help employees understand the benefits of the
document, then post the document where it
can easily be found.
• Consider posting the policy publicly.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Best Practices
• Connect your social media policy to all
relevant policies. Make it easy for your
employees to find additional information as
required:
• Points of contact
• Guidelines
• Other resources
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Motivations
• What are you focusing on?
• Reactive/Risks
• Neutral/Known
• Proactive/Lead by Example
• Study: Only one-third of sampled
organizations portray social media as a
positive opportunity for their employees
and their organization.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Social Media Policies
• Employee
• Code of Conduct
• Code of Conduct
Representing the
Organization
• Blogging
Disclosure
• Facebook, Blog,
Twitter, LinkedIn
and other Social
Network
• Organizational
• Blogging (use, post
approval,
commenting)
• Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, etc.
• Passwords
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Developing a Policy
1. Remind employees to familiarize
themselves with the employment
agreement and policies included in
the employee handbook.
2. State that the policy applies to multimedia, social networking websites,
blogs and wikis for both professional
and personal use.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Developing a Policy
3. Internet postings should not disclose any
information that is confidential or
proprietary to the organization or to any
third party that has disclosed information
to the organization.
4. If an employee comments on any aspect
of the organization’s business, they must
clearly identify themselves as an
employee and include a disclaimer.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Developing a Policy
5. Example disclaimer:
The views expressed are mine alone and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the
American Optometric Association.
6. Internet postings should not include
organizational logos or trademarks
unless permission is asked for and
granted.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Developing a Policy
7. Internet postings must respect
copyright, privacy, fair use, financial
disclosure, HIPPA and other
applicable laws.
8. Employees should neither claim nor
imply that they are speaking on the
organization’s behalf.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Developing a Policy
9. Organizational blogs, Facebook pages,
Twitter accounts, etc., could require
approval when the employee is posting
about the organization and the industry.
10. The organization reserves the right to
request that certain subjects are avoided,
certain posts withdrawn and remove
inappropriate comments.
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Next Steps
• Review policies and guidelines of
similar organizations.
• Develop a policy that incorporates:
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Best practices
Elements from other policies
The culture of the organization
Disciplinary action
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Next Steps
• Develop guidelines that:
• Establish a strong brand
• Are easy to understand
• Provide training for your employees,
volunteers and constituents
• Make the documents accessible
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Sources
• http://socialmediagovernance.com/do
wnloads/download-social-mediapolicy-study.shtml
• http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/w
riting-a-social-media-policy.html
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Resources
• http://socialmediagovernance.com
• Currently contains policies from 17
healthcare organizations
• http://blogs.cisco.com/news/comment
s/ciscos_internet_postings_policy/
• http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guide
lines.html
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Resources
• http://www.intel.com/sites/sitewide/en
_us/social-media.htm
• http://www.razorfish.com/img/content/
RazorfishSIMguideWebJuly2009.pdf
• http://www.socialmediatoday.com/dav
efleet/151761/57-social-media-policyexamples-and-resources
15 Oct 2010 via American Optometric Association | Lance Kissler, @lkissler
Connect
• Lance Kissler
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@lkissler / @someprtips
lkissler@gmail.com
someprtips.wordpress.com
linkedin.com/in/lkissler
503-329-9145