The Social Media Handbook Rules, Policies, and Best Practices to Successfully Manage Your Organization's Social Media Presence, Posts, and Potential

Throughout this important resource Nancy Flynn (an internationally recognized expert on workplace social media) offers a guide to best practices for creating safe, effective, and compliant electronic business communications. The book contains a thorough review of the risks inherent in employees' social media use and content and explores how organizations can help manage behavior, mitigate risks, and maximize compliance through the implementation of strategic social media compliance management programs. These programs combine written policies, supported by comprehensive employee education and are enforced by proven-effective technology tools. Once these policies and programs are in place employers can safely take advantage of the marketing and communications benefits offered by social media.

Covering a wealth of material, the book includes vital information on topics such as social media and the law; managing records and e-discovery compliantly; regulatory compliance; privacy and security; blog risks and compliance rules; mobile devices drive social media risks; a seven-step plan for social media policy and compliance management; conducting a social media audit; creating social media policies; content rules and compliance; policy compliance and education; reputation management; and more.

In addition to addressing pertinent topics on risk management, the book contains cautionary, real-life social networking disaster stories that show how organizations can lose revenue and reputations, reveals how employees can lose jobs, and explains how individuals can face public humiliation.

The Social Media Handbook is a hands-on guide written for human resource professionals, information technology managers, legal professionals, compliance officers, records managers, and others who need to manage today's technology tools with up-to-date employment rules.

Contents of the Web ix

About the Author xiii

Introduction: Getting the Most from This Resource xv

Why Every Organization Needs a Social Media Policy and Compliance Management Program 1

Social Media and the Law: What Every Organization Needs to Know About Legal Compliance 9

Social Networking Creates Legal Evidence: How to Manage Records and E-Discovery Compliantly 27

Regulatory Compliance: Government and Industry Watchdogs Keep an Eye on the Social Web 51

Privacy, Security, and Social Media: What Every Employer—and User—Should Know 65

Blog Risks and Compliance Rules 83

Mobile Devices Drive Social Media Risks 107

Seven-Step Action Plan for Successful Social Media Policy and Compliance Management 121

Conduct a Social Media Policy Audit 133

Writing Effective Social Media Policies 163

Content Rules Are Critical to Compliance 183

Enforce Policy Compliance with Education 201

Reputation Management: Responding to and Recovering from a Social Networking Nightmare 215

Sample Policies: Social Media, Blogs, and Related AUPs 231

Glossary of Social Media, Legal, Regulatory, and

Technology Terms 313

Notes 337

Index 347

The Author

Nancy Flynn is the founder and executive director of The ePolicy Institute. She is an internationally recognized expert on workplace social media, e-mail, and Internet policy, compliance, and communications. She is the author of 12 books including The e-Policy Handbook and The ePolicy Toolkit.