This post is the second in a 4-part series on social media policies. In this part, we’re looking at online participation policies for employees and volunteers who are active in unofficial outposts.

What are unofficial outposts?
There are social spaces on the web that your association has not officially endorsed, but where your employees, volunteers and other stakeholders are present. These are what I’m calling unofficial outposts. Here are some examples.

• an employee’s personal activity on LinkedIn or Facebook
• a Ning group for a related organization
• a forum or community of practice where your employees might be honing their skill
• a personal blog where a volunteer sometimes talks about work they do with your organization.

Who are the people your policies will affect?
Well, in unofficial spaces, you can only affect the behaviour of your employees and top volunteers–members of your board, for example.

What risks are you trying to mitigate?
Misinformation, brand dilution, and embarrassment to name a few. To put a positive spin on it, the right policies could actually help you spread the right information, shape a more authentic brand, and teach your employees and volunteers how to respond positively in tricky situations.

Don’t get hung up on rules.
There are a lot of concerns floating around about social media policies. But the best policies for employees and volunteers I’ve seen are really no more than guidelines. They point to other important policies that have to do with legal issues, but the social media guidelines themselves are written in plain language and built to encourage meaningful participation. They could even be viewed as a training document.

When you’re writing them, consider how the guidelines align to your ultimate goal, to make interacting on the social web easier, more comfortable, and safer for your stakeholders. And yes–your employees are stakeholders. For example, Andy Sernovitz suggests telling everyone that using social media is OK. Andy also suggests holding company-wide auditions for potential official bloggers. You want to show your employees that you value their contributions to the social web, especially in the context of constructive discourse about your organization.

Example policies for employees:

• Sun Guidelines on Public Discourse
• Intel Social Media Guidelines
• Easter Seals Internet Public Discourse Policy (scroll to bottom of Beth’s post)
• Edelman Online Behavior Policies and Procedures

Please share the guidelines your association has set for how employees and volunteers should interact on the social web.

Related posts:

• Social Media Policies – Part 2 – Unofficial Outposts...
• Social Media Policies – Part 3 – Official Outposts...
• Social Media Policies – Part 3 – Official Outposts...
• Social Media Policies – Part 1...
• Social Media Policies – Part 1...

Originally posted @ Association Marketing Springboard (Now SocialFishing)