SMBME #7 – Creating and Using Social Media Policies

Creating Social Media Policies for your Business

Social media is becoming more mainstream and just another part of your businesses’ marketing strategy. Social Media sites like Twitter and Facebook are changing every second, information is flowing in real time, the conversations are raw and not always monitored.

Creating social media policies for your company is a great way to protect yourself and your brand. Policies give your social media marketing strategy vision and an outline of what is and what is not ok.

At this special breakfast we had two experienced locals show us why having a social media policy for your business is important and how to get started.

Sarah Wallace started the breakfast explaining why social media policies are important, what you should consider when creating a policy and who needs them. Sarah also gave us some poignant examples of damage control with social media and how to react when a crisis occurs. Sarah’s full presentation slides are below.

Brad Lawwill, general counsel for Pierce Promotions, was our second presenter. His storytelling and humor made his serious content a hit with the group. Brad’s Common Sense Approach to Creating a Social Media Policy clearly outlined what terms and content are necessary to have in a policy. Brad referred to social media as “old wine in a new bottle”, the concerns we have are possibly the same things we currently have outlined in our existing policies but maybe they just need to be updated. Brad’s full presentation is below.

We were so pleased to be able to stream this sold out event with the help of Chris Cavallari of Filmosity Productions. Chris was also able to record the mornings presentations and we will have those available sometime in the future. Filmosity Productions is an award-winning Portland, Maine based media production company specializing in video and audio production, web based content, social media management, social media consultation, and live video streaming.

Sarah Wallace

Sarah Wallace works as a freelance writer specializing in social media writing services. She helps clients with their blogs, Facebook, Twitter, e-newsletters, web copy and press releases. In addition to performing these services, she also provides editing, consulting and analysis. Wallace has spent the past two decades writing for both print and web and has worked as a reporter and editor for various newspapers, magazines and web sites. She has also served as a technical writer for organizations like the Smithsonian and KPMG, a research analyst for the telecom industry and a screenwriter for PBS. Wallace currently maintains her own blogs and is a guest blogger for the Guiding Stars web site. You may learn more about Wallace’s writing services at http://www.sarahwallace.com or email her at sarah@sarahwallace.com.

Brad Lawwill

Brad Lawwill is Vice President and General Counsel of Pierce, a top-ranked, full-service marketing agency specializing in experiential, retail and promotional solutions. Pierce brings stunning reality to experience unlimited® – the philosophy that every brand has an experience within it and every consumer has an experience to share. Founded and headquartered in Portland, Maine with offices in New York, Washington, DC, Chicago and Bentonville, Pierce is fully-owned by Omnicom Group, Inc., and part of the Radiate Group of agencies, 25 best-in-class marketing services agencies. For more information, visit www.piercepromotions.com