Social Media/Web 2.0 policy for non-profit organisations

It is equally important for non-profit organsiations to have social media policy as it is for commercial organisations. The same risks and many of the same consequences are relevant to both sectors.

Your stakeholders and potential people who will donate resources to you are more than likely using social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. As such, all organisations are faced with the same issues in regards to social media. "Where does the professional line end and the personal line begin?". Also, "How to control what is being said about your organisation online?"

Many organisations currently utilise at least some aspects of Web 2.0/social media within their organisation. For other organisations the unknown of what information can be said about your organisation by your volunteers and paid staff can halt further utilization into social media.

A simple social media policy can answer many doubts your staff and organisation my have. The policy below could be used as a draft and customised to suit your organisation. But the core of what should be in a Non-Profit Social Media Policy is below. It is non-threatening and takes into consideration the fact that your staff are more than likely to be volunteers or work at non-commercial rates and in a non-commercial environment.

It is important to carefully write your policy as a caution for future actions as opposed to creating a policy as a reaction to a bad incident or media attention your organisation may be facing.

Your organisation may want to rename this from a policy to “guidelines, tips, suggestions” or anything else that will suit your organisation's culture.

If your organisation does not write a social media policy the implications could range from unfair dismissal claims, legal action from other organsations, a change for the worse in public perception of your organisation or even losing your organisation's champions due to inappropriate comments made by staff in a personal blog.

As a manager, you might be thinking that your staff are all volunteers and if they were unhappy they would leave as opposed to write anything defamatory about your organisation. Without the right guidance and policy, your volunteers could innocently say something online in a personal blog or on their Facebook profile and this could lead to issues for your organisation if there are no boundaries.

Before creating a social media policy your organsation should give ownership of the policy to a nominated staff member within your organisation. If you have a communications staff member then this policy should be maintained by that person. Perhaps an IT Manager or other senior staff member.

In case your organisation does not already track what is being said about it online to protect your organisation and to engage more with the community, it is strongly suggested that you do this so you can at least reinforce your policy. Some suggestions of how track what is being said online about your organisation are given in other sections of our How-to Guide.

Social Media Policy
Version Number:
Date:

1. Purpose

This document establishes a policy for staff use of social media. It is written for our mutual protection.

Rather than telling you what we think you should do, where possible we’ve reduced this policy to as short a list as possible of the things that you mustn’t do. We’ve tried to give you some guiding principles. Please read them and understand them, and you’ll be able to make your own decisions about what you should do in a new situation.

2. Applicability

This Policy applies to all <your Organisation> staff. It also applies to contractors engaged in social media on behalf of <your Organisation>  as part of their duties.

3. Background

<your Organisation> encourages the use of social media technologies to enhance communication, collaboration, and information exchange in support of <your Organisation> mission.

The use of social media technology follows the same standards of professional practice and conduct associated with everything else we do. Common sense and sound judgment should help us avoid the most vexing issues.

4. Definitions

"Social media" and “Web 2.0” are umbrella terms that encompass the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and content creation.

Social media use many technologies and forms, such as blogs, wikis, photo and video sharing, podcasts, social networking, mashups, and virtual worlds. <This will need to be updated as new technologies become available.>

5. Personal social media space

If you have a personal Blog or other publicly accessible online presence you must make  <your Organisation> aware of this and use a disclaimer that all the opinions expressed are yours and in no way are associated with <your Organisation>.

6. Ownership of social media information

Any social media services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Social Bookmarks, YouTube accounts and any other social media services that were created to promote, advertise or create an online presence, will remain the property of <your Organisation>.

8. Information that cannot be published

Include confidential information about the organisation, personal comments about any individuals etc. Where possible, voice the concerns of the organisation as opposed to your own. If in doubt consult a senior person.

Created by Karaitiana Taiuru, editor of the IT & Internet How-to Guide.