1. Purpose and Scope
This policy sets expectations for online conduct affecting [Organisation Name], covering personal social media activity and official organisation channels.
It applies to all employees, contractors, and casual staff across all social media, video, review, and messaging platforms, including private and group messaging, where [Organisation Name], its staff, customers, or suppliers are identifiable. This applies whether posts occur during or outside working hours, on personal devices, or on work equipment.
It does not apply to lawful private online conduct with no connection to the workplace or business operations.
Working through related paperwork at the same time? See also our US Social Media Policy Template, Privacy Notice for Employees Template and UK Code of Conduct Template.
2. Policy Statement
[Organisation Name] respects staff privacy and personal online activity. In return, we expect all personnel to maintain the same standards of honesty, respect, and confidentiality online as they do in the workplace.
3. Personal Use of Social Media
- Personal accounts remain private. However, this policy applies whenever you are identifiable as working for [Organisation Name], or when you reference work, colleagues, or customers.
- Do not claim or imply that you speak on behalf of [Organisation Name] on personal accounts. If your profile identifies [Organisation Name] and you post about the industry, state clearly that your views are your own.
- Never post confidential business information, customer details, or unreleased operational plans, prices, or financial figures.
- Do not post workplace photos or videos showing customers, colleagues, or sensitive operational areas without prior permission from [Role].
- Abuse, harassment, or ridicule directed at colleagues, customers, or suppliers online, including in private group chats, is strictly prohibited and counts as workplace misconduct.
- Limit personal social media use during work hours to designated breaks, and comply with the organisation’s IT acceptable use policy.
4. Talking About Work Online
- Submit workplace grievances or complaints through internal procedures. Do not post them on public forums or personal feeds.
- Do not respond to media queries, online reviewers, or public criticism about [Organisation Name]. Refer all press or public inquiries directly to [Role].
- Do not make disparaging comments about competitors, their staff, or their products due to legal and reputational risks.
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5. Business Accounts
- Only personnel formally authorised by [Role] may post content from official [Organisation Name] accounts.
- Store business account credentials in [System/Location]. Never save them in personal password managers or credential stores.
- Ensure content posted on official accounts aligns with brand guidelines and never discloses confidential or personal data.
- Acknowledge negative comments or customer complaints on official channels politely and direct them to the internal customer complaint procedure. Never engage in public arguments.
- Posts on sensitive topics (including pricing, recruitment, or major incidents) require formal sign-off from [Role] before publication.
- All social media accounts, handles, pages, and follower lists created for or on behalf of [Organisation Name] remain organisation property. Authorised users must surrender access rights and update credentials immediately upon leaving the organisation.
6. Confidentiality, Data Protection, and Copyright
- Publish personal data, including recognizable photos or videos of customers, staff, or visitors, only with a clear legal basis and recorded consent in [System/Location].
- Never post commercially sensitive information from any personal or business account.
- Respect copyright laws on all published content. Use only images, audio, and text owned by [Organisation Name], properly licensed, or verified as free to use.
7. Handling Breaches and Monitoring
- We investigate and manage policy breaches under the disciplinary policy.
- Serious breaches, such as online harassment of colleagues, deliberate leaks of confidential data, or content that severely damages [Organisation Name]’s reputation. May constitute gross misconduct.
- Management may require individuals to remove non-compliant content immediately. Report suspected breaches directly to [Role] rather than addressing them publicly.
- Monitoring of organisational systems and business accounts is transparent and proportionate, adhering to legal frameworks including the Equality Act 2010, UK GDPR, the ACAS Code of Practice, and regulatory guidance on worker monitoring.
8. Training, Records, and Review
- All new personnel receive this policy during induction and must acknowledge it in writing.
- Authorised operators of official business accounts receive targeted briefings on account management and security.
- We audit the list of authorised users and access permissions every [Timeframe] and update it immediately upon staff departures.
- We review this policy [Frequency, e.g. annually] or whenever we adopt new social media platforms.
Policy Owner: [Role] Next Review Date: [Date]
FAQs on a social media policy
What is a social media policy?
A social media policy sets expectations for online conduct affecting your organisation, covering personal social media activity and official organisation channels.
Having it written down means the same rules apply to everyone, so managers are not making judgement calls case by case under pressure.
What does a social media policy include?
This template covers personal use of social media, talking about work online, business accounts and confidentiality, data protection, and copyright.
Every section is written to be filled in. The bracketed placeholders mark the decisions that are yours to make, such as timescales, approval owners and retention periods.
How to implement a social media policy with Whale
Copy this template into Whale and work through the bracketed placeholders so it reflects how your organisation actually operates.
Assign it to the teams it applies to so it sits where people work rather than in a shared drive, and set a review date so it gets revisited on schedule instead of quietly going out of date.
Use our templates to fast-track your documentation
Customize this template and 100s of others for free in Whale, the fastest way to get your team aligned.