---
name: social-media-policy
description: "Writes social media policies for businesses covering employee guidelines, brand voice, crisis protocols, and compliance. Use when formalizing how your business and team behave on social media."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Social Media Policy

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Write a social media policy for your business or team
- Define employee guidelines for personal and professional social media use
- Create crisis communication protocols for social channels
- Document brand voice rules and compliance requirements

**DO NOT** use this skill for content strategy, posting calendars, or writing social posts. This is for governance and policy documents.

---

## Core Principle

A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY SHOULD PROTECT THE BUSINESS WITHOUT SILENCING THE TEAM — CLEAR GUIDELINES EMPOWER PEOPLE TO POST CONFIDENTLY.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Business name** | "What is your business?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Team size** | "How many people represent your brand on social?" | 1-5 |
| **Platforms** | "Which platforms does your business use?" | All major platforms |
| **Industry** | "Any regulatory or compliance requirements?" | None |
| **Past issues** | "Have you had any social media incidents?" | None |
| **Existing policies** | "Do you have any current guidelines?" | None — starting from scratch |

**GATE: Confirm brief before writing the policy.**

---

## Phase 2: Outline

```
1. Purpose & Scope
2. Brand Voice Guidelines
3. Employee Social Media Guidelines
4. Content Approval Process
5. Crisis Communication Protocol
6. Legal & Compliance
7. Enforcement & Consequences
```

**GATE: Approve outline before writing.**

---

## Phase 3: Write

### 1. Purpose & Scope

```
## Social Media Policy

**Purpose:** This policy provides guidelines for [Business Name]'s social media presence and for team members who represent or reference the company on social media.

**Scope:** This policy applies to:
- All official business social media accounts
- Team members posting on behalf of the business
- Team members referencing the business on personal accounts

**Effective date:** [Date]
**Review schedule:** Annually or after any social media incident
```

### 2. Brand Voice Guidelines

```
## Brand Voice on Social Media

**We are:** [3-4 adjectives — e.g., helpful, direct, confident, approachable]
**We are NOT:** [3-4 anti-adjectives — e.g., aggressive, preachy, corporate, sarcastic]

**Tone by platform:**
| Platform | Tone Adjustment |
|----------|----------------|
| LinkedIn | Professional, thought leadership |
| Instagram | Visual, casual, community-focused |
| Twitter/X | Concise, witty, conversational |

**Topics we engage with:** [List — industry news, customer wins, education]
**Topics we avoid:** [List — politics, religion, competitor attacks, internal drama]
```

### 3. Employee Guidelines

```
## Employee Social Media Guidelines

### Official Business Accounts
- Only authorized team members may post from business accounts
- All content follows the brand voice guidelines above
- Scheduled content must be reviewed before publishing
- Respond to comments and DMs within [X hours] during business hours

### Personal Accounts
- You are welcome to share your work and professional achievements
- When discussing [Business Name], be transparent about your role
- Do not share confidential information (financials, unreleased products, internal discussions)
- Do not engage in arguments or inflammatory debates while representing the company
- Add a disclaimer if sharing personal opinions on industry topics: "Views are my own"
```

### 4. Content Approval Process

```
## Approval Workflow

| Content Type | Approval Required | Approver |
|-------------|-------------------|----------|
| Routine posts (planned content) | Pre-approved in batch | [Role] |
| Community responses (comments, DMs) | No approval needed | Follow response templates |
| Announcements or launches | Approval required | [Role] |
| Crisis or sensitive topics | Approval required | [Role/Owner] |
| Paid/sponsored content | Approval + legal review | [Role] |
```

### 5. Crisis Communication Protocol

```
## Crisis Protocol

### What qualifies as a crisis:
- Viral negative post about the business (1,000+ engagements)
- Customer complaint gaining public traction
- Factual error in published content
- Data breach or security incident
- Employee behavior causing public backlash

### Response steps:
1. **Pause** — stop all scheduled posts immediately
2. **Assess** — identify the issue, scope, and facts (do not respond emotionally)
3. **Escalate** — notify [Owner / Crisis Lead] within 1 hour
4. **Draft response** — prepare a factual, empathetic statement
5. **Approve** — get approval from [Role] before posting
6. **Respond** — post the approved response publicly
7. **Monitor** — track the conversation for 48-72 hours
8. **Debrief** — after resolution, document what happened and update the policy

### Crisis response template:
"We're aware of [issue]. [What we know / what we're doing about it]. We take this seriously and will share updates as we have them. If you've been affected, please [specific action — DM us, email support, etc.]."
```

### 6. Legal & Compliance

```
## Legal Guidelines

- **Disclosures:** All sponsored content, affiliate links, and paid partnerships must be disclosed (FTC requirement)
- **Copyright:** Do not use images, music, or text without proper rights or licenses
- **Privacy:** Never share customer information without explicit consent
- **Trademarks:** Use proper trademark symbols when referencing other brands
- **Competitions:** Contest and giveaway posts must include official rules and comply with platform terms
- **Industry-specific:** [Any regulatory requirements for the industry]
```

### 7. Enforcement

```
## Enforcement

- First violation (minor): Conversation and coaching
- Second violation or first major violation: Written warning and temporary posting restriction
- Serious violation (confidential info leak, discriminatory content): Immediate account removal and disciplinary action

**All team members must acknowledge reading this policy by signing below.**
```

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Policy Checklist

```
## Social Media Policy Checklist

- [ ] Purpose and scope are clearly defined
- [ ] Brand voice guidelines include examples and anti-examples
- [ ] Employee guidelines cover both official and personal accounts
- [ ] Content approval workflow is documented
- [ ] Crisis communication protocol has step-by-step instructions
- [ ] Legal and compliance requirements are addressed
- [ ] Enforcement consequences are fair and graduated
- [ ] Policy is concise enough to be read in one sitting
- [ ] Annual review date is scheduled
- [ ] Team acknowledgment process is in place
```

### 2. One-Page Quick Reference

Create a one-page summary of the most important rules for daily reference.

---

## Example: Social Media Policy for a 5-Person Agency

```
Voice: Helpful expert — share insights, not lectures
Employee rule: Share your work, disclose your role, no confidential info
Approval: Routine posts pre-approved weekly. Announcements need owner sign-off.
Crisis protocol: Pause posting → assess → escalate to owner → draft approved response
Compliance: Disclose partnerships, no customer data shared, respect copyright
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Too restrictive** — a policy that discourages all employee posting misses the opportunity for organic brand advocacy.
- **Too vague** — "Use good judgment" is not a guideline. Provide specific examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
- **No crisis plan** — every business will face a social media crisis eventually. Planning after it happens is too late.
- **Never updated** — platforms and norms change. Review the policy at least annually.
- **Not distributed** — a policy nobody reads is useless. Require acknowledgment and make it easily accessible.

---

## Recovery

- **Incident already happened:** Address the immediate situation first, then write the policy to prevent recurrence.
- **Team pushes back on restrictions:** Focus on empowerment, not restriction. Frame guidelines as "here's how to post confidently."
- **Policy is too long:** Cut to the essentials. If it is over 5 pages, nobody will read it. Create a detailed version and a one-page summary.
- **No legal expertise:** Note that the policy is a starting point and recommend legal review for regulated industries.
- **Solo business (no team):** Write a personal social media code of conduct — guidelines for yourself to follow consistently.
