If the only social media policy you have for your agency is “Anything goes,” it’s time to get yourself a new one. Establishing a clear set of rules about what is and isn’t okay on your agency’s social media channels will not only strengthen your brand, but also protect you from miscommunication and a host of other issues, possibly even sticky legal ones, that could result from a loosey-goosey, or complete lack of, policy.
Gather your team to brainstorm simple common sense policies that would work for your business, as well as potential problems that could arise from poorly constructed/nonexistent social media policies. Look especially to those within the agency who get excited about promoting your brand and who are best known for listening and reacting appropriately to feedback.
Make sure everyone’s on the same page about who you are as an agency and the core values that drive you. Are you all about transparency? Promptness? Customer service? You can’t tailor your social media around your brand until your team knows what it is.
Trying to develop a separate set of nitpicky policies for every different social media channel will leave you with no time left to sell insurance. Instead, focus on drafting some basic but wide-reaching policies that will work for everything from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, keeping your brand definition, core values and intents and purposes at the heart of it all. You’ll find a pretty good example right here.
One of the most important parts of developing your agency’s policy is to establish some clear directives about who in the agency has the responsibility and power to do what regarding social media. Your agency isn’t the wild West. When employees become social media gunslingers, your business’s reputation may end up getting shot in the foot.
Chances are that your agency already has some pretty clear dos and don’ts for how to interact with customers in person, via phone, and through written communications. Don’t be afraid to borrow from what’s been successful - and learn from what hasn’t - as you develop your social media policy.
Once you come up with a viable policy, make it accessible to everyone on the team, educate them about it, and make sure that you all adhere to the policy. The last thing any of you have time for is another handbook full of rules and regulations that simply gathers dust on a shelf.
To read more about best practices for developing your agency’s social media policy, click here. To see a few noteworthy examples of social media policies developed by some corporate big boys, click here.
If you need guidance with your social media policy, get in touch with the marketing and communications experts at AgenciesOnline.