Creating a social media policy

You may have a team member or social media manager who looks after your channels – but do you have a social media policy in place? Here are some ideas you may wish to include:

Be respectful

Always be polite and patient when engaging on social media on our practice’s behalf.

Posts and comments

Your posts and comments should represent the practice. You should therefore not write anything – or reshare anything – discriminatory, offensive, or libellous or that doesn’t coincide with the values and views of our practice.

Field of expertise

If a query relates to a topic that falls under someone else’s field of knowledge or expertise, avoid making statements without checking with the appointed person first.

Impact

If you feel that the content you are about to share could cause major impact, discuss this with management for sign-off first.

Consent

Be sure to ask for consent before sharing photos or videos of clients on social media.

Appropriate content

Ensure that any media shared does not have confidential information in the background.

Dealing with negative views

Avoid deleting or ignoring comments as this can cause upset. Refer to management to formulate a response.

Spam

Spam comments should be deleted and reported at the first available instance.

Policy

Be sure to follow our practice’s policies and ensure you follow our data protection guidance. You must also not use copyright material without consent, or break confidentiality.