Social Media Policies and PR

I spoke a little bit, in a prior blog, about social media and public relations. I wanted to dive a bit further into the subject tonight by addressing social media policies. Do you have one? If not, keep reading. If you do have one, keep reading.

So, why am I harping on the whole social media thing. Well, it is a vital part of our multi-media culture today. If used as a 24/7 promotional device , understand that you will sink your client’s brand and your business.

The first policy you need to have is appointing a social media gatekeeper. These are two people (one main, one backup) who have access to all the accounts and who oversee everything that has do to with the accounts.

You also need to speak with employees of your PR firm and the client’s employees. Let them know that their personal social media accounts reflect the brand and will be continuously reviewed. Educate employees on the importance of transparent communications, ethical conduct, accuracy and individual accountability when using social media tools.

Understand what is liable and what make break protocol with clients and stay away from these subjects. For example, if a celebrity client is pregnant and doesn’t want to tell anyone- if a rag magazine Tweets out a photo of a baby bump- show it to the client, don’t respond.  Then readdress the client’s desires and needs as to 1) if you will respond and 2) if you do respond, how so.  You don’t want to immediately deny the story because it can come back on your agency and your client in a negative way.

I hope these small tips for developing a PR policy really intrigue you to follow up and do more investigating on the subject matter, and know that you can always connect with me with further questions.

Have a great weekend,

Coco the CEO