Essay Sample: Social Media/Cell Use in the Workplace

A comprehensive social media policy is essential in an organization as it provides a firm with a framework to run its social media strategy and implement its tactics, and it is the starting point of a firm`s risk management on social media. It should be comprehensive as it has to cover expectations of the behavior of a firm`s online platform and provide detailed information on the approach of a company on social media. The policy should clearly outline the information which is confidential to a firm. Also, a social media policy is a document used to educate employees concerning the use of social media in the specific workplace, and it cultivates relationships and at the same time builds a community of a firm in its social media profile. Lastly, the policy protects a company from unanticipated misuse of social media to harm a firm.

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Various companies have social media policies. Adidas policies on social media allow its employees to associate themselves with the organization when posting and should clearly state their posts as purely their own, and the company will not be liable for anything that will arise from such posts. Adidas also restricts the sharing of confidential information to outside online people. More so, HP( Hewlett-Packard) has a blocking code of conduct that enables the company to edit or amend any incorrect content shown in online posts, and it promotes honest and healthy discourse with its readers. In the Best Buy company, employees are restricted from disclosing clients' and customers' information and others concerning operations and finance.

Social media policy should cover significant areas for sound implementation of a policy that establishes clear rules for proper compliance. The policy starts with the purpose of the company`s engagement in social media; this helps a company to achieve a substantial appreciation of the reasons for its engagement in social media. Secondly, the definition of what the firm refers to as social media and how the company will influence social media platforms to communicate with external viewers. Then cover the users, here a firm has to identify specific professionals to contribute to its social media sites and identify the person to monitor them. Employee conduct should be addressed to guide employees in their posts as it ensures transparency, accuracy, and adherence to compliance of rules. The content is also of critical importance as there is information that can be conveyed via social media and others are not. Lastly, the negative comments protocol. It states a protocol on proper ways of handling negative posts from outside the firm.

The policy should include guidelines for behavior on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and Wikis because all of them are internet sites. The employees of companies may have accounts on all the sites. Thus the policy should lay down guidelines that protect the company from inappropriate behavior of employees to ensure the security of the firm from exposure to public embarrassment or legal problems. Once the policies are set and stated to be social media policies, it applies to Facebook, Twitter, Wikis, and blogs. General guidelines are to be established, and the best practices that relate to different platforms to be used by the firm and the platforms the employees are using.