The aim of these guidelines below is to protect our clients’ brands, our agency and our employees. EMO is an open, truthful agency, and we embrace Social Media as a powerful tool while respecting the community and being fully aware of the potential downsides of mistakes.
BE HUMAN
Engaging in social media should be treated in the same way as engaging in the real world. Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which represents the agency, its employees and clients in a positive and professional light.
BE AUTHORISED TO REPRESENT
MEMO is an open staff blog, and any employee can contribute or comment to it. However, only employees approved by the Digital Director may publish content of any sort on official agency online spaces – such as a Twitter feed, YouTube channel or Facebook page.
RESPECT OUR CLIENTS
When commenting on our clients’ brands:
- Ensure that you give a balanced but positive view.
- Confirm your partiality and use the phrase “(client)”
- Provide context (preferably links) to your comments
- Maintain commercial client confidentiality
RESPECT OUR CLIENTS’ COMPETITORS
When commenting on our clients’ competitor brands ensure your comments are balanced, in context and relevant to EMO’s commercial interests (your current clients’ competitors may be your next client!).
SHARE INFORMATION PROACTIVELY
If you come across published content about the agency or our clients’ brands, be aware that it might be of an important nature and could be useful. Perhaps the content is either particularly positive, or particularly negative. Even if you’re not working as an official spokesperson as part of a social media campaign, please let the relevant Account Director know what you’ve found so that they may take further action if necessary.
ENGAGE ONLINE CAREFULLY
Never respond to negative content unless you are an official spokesperson for the agency or client’s brand. Always highlight to your line manager if you discover any.
PRIVACY
Respect the privacy of individuals – so do not publish any personally identifiable information. Doing so may fall foul of the Data Protection Act that we as an agency fully comply with.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Never publish sensitive information about our employees, our clients’ brands or our agency. Sensitive information could include, for example, information about upcoming campaigns, results of campaigns, financial information and so on.
BE OPEN AND HONEST
We do not condone the practice of publishing fake or misleading posts, or setting up fake social media profiles that aim to mislead. We recommend openness and honesty at all times.
PRIVATE VS PUBLIC
Be aware that your personal and company personas may well intersect. Keep this in mind when you are publishing content in either space – your content may be being read by clients, potential clients, competitors, friends and complete strangers! As such, always ensure that you are acting in a professional manner – one that doesn’t cause damage to our agency, our employees or our clients’ brands.
YOUR LOCATION
If you are using location-based services, remember that your geographical location may be publicly available and visible to clients, potential clients, competitors, friends and complete strangers.
THINK, THINK AND THINK AGAIN
Always think twice…no, three times before you publish any content. Make sure what you’re posting is accurate, honest and will not cause any damage to our agency, our employees or our clients’ brands. If in doubt, do not publish. Remember – even if there is a ‘delete’ button, once your content is published, permanent deletion may be impossible.
BE RESPONSIBLE
You are ultimately responsible for your own actions. We encourage you to engage in social spaces, but expect you to do so with sound judgement and common sense and in accordance with the guidelines above.