Social Media Guidelines

Guidelines when using social media, personally and professionally

Whether you’re contributing to blogs, social networks, or any other kind of social media— these guidelines will help anyone.

1.    Be transparent about where you work. Honesty is always noted in the social media environment and if you’re writing about your workplace or a competitor, real names and roles should be given.

2.    Never represent yourself in a false or misleading way. All of your statements should be true and substantial.

3.    Post meaningful and respectful comments and do not make off-topic or offensive remarks.

4.    Be courteous and ask permission to publish or report a conversation that is meant to be private or internal. Your efforts should be transparent and not violate privacy, confidentiality and legal guidelines of external outlets.

5.    Keep to your own area of expertise and provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential activities.

6.    Try to not get defensive and learn how to relieve an argumentative matter politely to reflect well on you.

7.    When writing about competition, be sure to be diplomatic and have the facts straight with permissions to lay them out.

8.    Never comment on anything related to legal matters or litigation you or your company may be disputing.

9.    Even anonymous comments may be traced back to an IP address and any online commentary that could lead to a crisis should be handled by someone with social media experience.

10.    Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and your company’s confidential information.

Your Fabulous PR Coach