Create Your Social Media Policy Now
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 9:12AM 
On Monday and Tuesday, I was honored to present at the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-Atlanta) Annual Conference. It was surprising to me that many companies do not have a social media policy.
To get started, I would recommend that you read this insightful post called, "10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy". It was retweeted over 900 times and was written by Sharlyn Lauby. I met Sharlyn in person this year and she is exceptional.
Research what others have created. Ed Bennett and Jason Rupp have compiled over 100 social media policies at Social Media Goverance. You can search by name or industry. It may give you some additional ideas.
Within your HR, recruiting, legal, IT and marketing teams, it is important to start this conversation. After developing your company's social media guidelines, you may choose to start with an internal network like a company LinkedIn group that isn't public. Your employees can collaborate and build stronger relationships with each other. Once you have properly trained your staff, they can start branching out to external networks with the right guidance and expectations.
SHRMAtlanta, SocialMedia, policy 
Reader Comments (2)
Congrats on presenting at SHRM Atlanta. It's a terrific event. And, thank you for the mention!
I agree that having a social media policy is no longer optional. It doesn't have to be long or complex. But it does need to explain what employees can do.
Great post on a much needed subject!
You're welcome, Sharlyn. I would love to hear you give a presentation at next year's SHRM-Atlanta Annual Conference. Hope to see you at the Social Recruiting Summit in a few weeks.