Chances are, if you are participating in social media you may want to consider having an internal policy. Social media policies can range from loosely defined guidelines to specifically detailed rules. Depending on your organization needs, you may find that you aren’t even ready for a social media policy. But it’s good to define a few high level policies to ensure that your social media plan is consistent organization-wide.
The policy can outline guidelines like:
- Who is the voice of your organization?
- What is the process for addressing negative comments?
- Who will be participating in social media campaigns?
- What platforms will are approved? Facebook? Twitter?
- How do you control what’s being said?
There are a variety of fantastic posts on creating social media plans for nonprofits:
- Creating a Social Media Policy for Your Nonprofit
- Social Media in the Nonprofit Workplace: Does Your Organization Need A Social Media Policy?
- Social Media Policies
- Where’s Your Org’s Social Media Policy?
Does your NPO have a social media policy?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I know I’m slow chiming in here, Beth (& thanks very much for the link!), but I’ve been doing some more thinking about the whole business of social media policies for nonprofits – thought I’d share my latest “take” on this with you, and see what you think…
Small nonprofits with a small staff, maybe even volunteer-driven, might not technically need a social media policy, but it still might be a good idea for two reasons. One, having a policy in place can raise awareness of issues before they arise; and two, a policy can give a Board the level of comfort that blind faith in their people is unlikely to ever approach.
And can’t you just see the discussions that are likely to erupt around this topic at the Board meeting? Sure, fur might fly for some of the more conservative members, faced with the idea of venturing into the social media space – but isn’t it equally possible that the result of such a discussion might be a sharper focus on mission, and some creative brainstorming on how to achieve that mission? Could be worth a shot…?
Hey Rebecca – At GoodDogz.org, we are small and volunteer-driven, and although we haven’t established a social media policy yet, I agree that some guidelines would be good planning. I’m a huge advocate for putting some policies in place before we need them to ensure that even our small volunteer staff understands a)the message b)how to represent the org and c)what’s appropriate and what’s not in the social media space. We’ve had minor issues with this in the past and a documented policy would have been a God-send. I think, even in a loose form, that a policy is a great idea and may be needed sooner that you think.