Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA PROPOSAL POLICY

Social Media Proposal Policy

Krista Jackson
AET/562
March 28, 2016
Professor Beerman

SOCIAL MEDIA PROPOSAL POLICY

Social Media Proposal Policy

Social media is an important part of most people's days because of the popularity of
interacting online. The organization should have a social media policy in place to prevent
unprofessional behavior and promote a safe, positive social learning environment. The proposal
is to address the issue, and if action wants to be taken the policy will be discussed further. Then a
policy can be made, revised, and put in place to protect the organization and employees.
Problems Addressing a Social Media Policy
There are three primary concerns when it comes to needing a social media policy for the
organization: setting policies before the use of social media, the content people share, and an
individual's personal online reputation. The problems need to be addressed as quickly as possible
with the use of social media tools everywhere because they affect the business inside and
outside. Making sure a social media policy is in place will ensure a more efficient working
environment.
The organization needs to set social media policies before integrating social media into
our business platform. If the policies are not apparent or set in place before integration, then
employees will be uncertain of the policies the organization has on social media. Many
organizations have rules of what to post, and what not to post according to their privacy.
Pomerantz, Hank, & Sugimoto (2015) suggest checking and revising the social media policy
frequently because of the changes in social media. If there is not a policy or it is not revised
regularly, then employees will be unaware of the rules. People do not always use common sense
when it comes to social media because it was not used as much for learning when they started
appearing. An employee can claim that they were not in the wrong because there is no policy,
and they did not know they were doing anything wrong. Situations where individuals should be

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let go because of their behavior online, which reflects the company, can be avoided with a policy
in place in the beginning.
The content that employees share is vital to what the policy shows is appropriate, and
without a policy, individuals will not know what content is allowed to be published.
Confidentiality, Copyright, and logos are usually something to think about in a social media
policy. If the employee releases any confidential information, then it can risk the organization as
a whole. Using anything that is copyrighted can be an issue when it is not referenced and the
content that is referenced. Using logos from the company not be used in any posts that an
employee makes unless it is for the company page and their department. Content that is posted
using anything confidential, copyrighted or logos should not be allowed to keep the content and
employees safe. Any content that an employee posts about the company should not reflect
negatively on the organization. Employees should respect the business, and not talk badly about
their bad day or management. Content that is posted can become a serious problem, especially
when the information becomes viral, and everyone knows about the information because it is a
top news story. The organization does not need this type of negative publicity because a social
media policy was not in place for employees.
The employee's personal online reputation is the last point to discuss because some
individuals do not know what they post will reflect on their credibility. An employees online
reputation is all about the previous topic of content. Their reputation is all about the content that
they decide to post online. Nussbaum-Beach & Hall (2012) summarize an individual managing
their online reputation takes building up their "digital footprint," which is everything that is
every posted online by the person. Everything employees posts should reflect on them in a
positive manner, where they do not have to go back and clean what they have posted. Their

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reputation can affect the company and the employees chance at promotions or other jobs in the
future. Employees in managerial and top management positions are at risk of their personal
online reputation the most because people are paying more attention to what they say. If the
social media policy is not clear, then even people on the board can be at risk because they are
unaware of the consequences in their personal and professional career. Some individuals do not
know any better, and they are careless on what they post. Employees need to be aware of the
content that they post about the company and themselves. Professionalism and positivity are the
best ways to go when posting anything online.
Each of these problems brings the organization into the issue facing social media, and
how a policy should be implemented to reduce any risks. Confidentiality, content, and personal
online reputations mean a lot to an organization, and they should not be left in the dark until
something happens. The organization should take charge before resorting to reacting to a difficult
situation.
Proposal and Recommendations
The outline of creating an outline of a social media policy has six steps according to
Nathan, MacGougan, & Shaffer (2014), which are positioning, protocols, requirements,
questions, resources, and timeline. The timeline sounds uneventful, but it is going back to revise
the social media policy, so this is a very critical step in creating a policy. Each one is very basic
and should go into more detail in a policy for the organization. These policies should cover
accountability and responsibility in the use of social media by each employee. They should cover
privacy and confidentiality with any organizational information or documents being distrusted
outside of the company or on a social media site. The organization needs to be clear on what they
consider private and confidential. An employee can post that they may be up for a promotion, but

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other employees who can see this information can start drama, especially if they are up for the
possible promotion as well. The policy should go over photographs, content, tone of voice,
personal views that may be offensive, and respect others online. The policy should not dictate
everything employee posts, but leave it up to them on what they decide to post with the policies
in place. All of these policies, which would be more specific, would secure accountability and
responsibility within the social media environment.
Cadell (2013) shows that the social media policy is in place to protect the employees,
organization, and customers from any risks. The policy should explain the ramifications of what
will happen if the policy is broken for different offenses. The policy will ensure that employees
are reading and taking the policy serious because serious actions can be taken. The results in the
offenses should be discussed further for the policy.
Employees can have positive results when they are using the social media environment
with its policies. It can lead to an abundance in social learning that will help them
professionally as they progress in the organization. Social media should have a policy, but
employees should still be encouraged to use this resource without fear because of a policy that is
in place. Social learning is beneficial in an organizational setting because the employees gain
experience. Social media should not be dismissed from the organization, but embraced for the
knowledge that the employees can gain from it. There should be rules in place, but this proposal
is supposed to support social media as well as make sure there are policies in place. The policy
may seem scary because of the risks, but that is why the policy should be made because the
employees need the interaction with social learning.
The proposal is showing that the social media policy can help in many ways. Social
media can help an organization, and this topic should not be put on the backburner because

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employees are already using social media outside of the work environment. The policy is to
ensure that everything is legal, professional, and not damaging the organizations reputation.
Using social media helps with professional development with social learning, so with the policies
in place employees can feel free to use these tools.
Conclusion
A meeting should be set up for further discussion on the topic of a social media policy for
the organization. In three weeks everyone should have ideas, topic, questions, and opinions to
discuss during the meeting. If the meeting goes well, then the policy can start being made as
soon as possible to prevent any mistakes before they happen.

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7
References

Cadell, L. (2013). Socially practical or practically unsociable? A study into social media policy
experiences in Queensland cultural heritage institutions. Australian Academic and
Research Libraries, 44(1), 3-13. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1541478228?accountid=458
Nathan, L.P., MacGougan, A., & Shaffer, E. (2014). If not us, who? Social media policy and the
iSchool classroom. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 55(2),
112-132. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1539530272?
accountid=458
Nussbaum-Beach, S., & Hall, L. R. (2012). The connected educator: Learning and leading in a
digital age. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Pomerantz, J., Hank, C., & Sugimoto, C. R. (2015). The state of social media policies in higher
education. PLoS One, 10(5) doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127485