Member Avatar for MktgRob

Has anyone established a best practices document in terms of social media and online community marketing? I have been looking to see what is out there and there is not much. It looks like the social media world is waiting for someone to step up and present a document. Anyone got anything yet?

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Echoing 's suggestion that guidance be short and usable while also honoring 's point about the need for an airtight corporate document, a practical model is a two-tier system: a single, comprehensive "master" policy plus a one-page quick reference and a few ready-to-send email/snippet templates for everyday use. 's agreement with the need for digestibility supports keeping both layers.

At minimum, the master policy should cover:

  • Purpose, scope and which accounts are in-scope (brand, campaign, regional).
  • Account ownership, role definitions (owner, admin, community manager, contributor) and offboarding steps.
  • Access controls: credential storage, MFA, and change/rotation rules.
  • Brand voice, approved messaging, and platform-specific rules (appendices for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook).
  • Legal/compliance: disclosures for paid posts, confidentiality, IP and regulated-industry checks.
  • Moderation, comment policy and escalation criteria.
  • Crisis playbook with notification paths and who can speak publicly.
  • Metrics, SLAs and record retention (audit trails and archiving).
  • Training, enforcement and review cadence.

A simple workflow accelerates adoption: map stakeholders (legal, HR, IT, comms, customer service), inventory accounts, draft the master, run legal/HR/IT review, pilot with a team, publish the one‑pager and templates, run short training sessions, then audit and update regularly. Recommended operational SLAs: immediate acknowledgment for likely crises (within 1–2 hours), same-business-day for customer escalations, 24–48 hours for general interactions; measure response time, resolution rate and sentiment.

Common failure modes are lack of enforcement, no access controls, and outdated platform rules. The two-tier approach solves adoption vs. liability: keep the master detailed and authoritative, and the quick reference practical and front-of-mind for daily users.

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Member Avatar for MktgRob

I recommend reading:
Internet Advertising Board's report on Social Advertising
http://www.iab.net/socialads

Thanks for the heads up. I actually just wrote some guidelines for Linkedin use and profiles for a company I work with and the managers liked what I put together. They had a few concerns but after discussing them I was able to assuage those fears.

Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

I have also developed best practice reports before as well. I have found that the report also need to be put in small digestible format in emails and snippets for others to read and understand it.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I have also developed best practice reports before as well. I have found that the report also need to be put in small digestible format in emails and snippets for others to read and understand it.

In some situations, I agree. But in the corporate arena, a well written, detail oriented doc is best because it will leave very little gray area in defining what is and isn't allowed.

Member Avatar for dasli

I'm agree with InsightsDigital .
:)

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I'm agree with InsightsDigital .
:)

Don't get me wrong, I think that creating an easily digestible document is necessary but I think that it needs to be backed by a more thorough document that covers all areas. It it is not as airtight as possible you are opening yourself or your organization up to potential problems down the road.

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