Social Media Communication Policy

MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION 1
SUNSHINE 100
MEMO
To: Paul Morgan, CEO, Sunshine 100
From: Jane Wilson, Director of Social Media, Sunshine 100
Date: 15th January 2019
Subject: Sunshine 100’s social media policy
Social media refers to the means of creating, sharing, and exchanging information through
the aid of information technology practices, virtual communities and networking (Carlson et.
al, 2016). It is regarded as a connecting thread that brings together the internal members and
the external stakeholders of the entity. It would be right to state that social media
communication is an essential component of a communication channel of the modern
business operations.
The aim of the following memo is to analyze the events on the lines of the social media
communication that led to the negative consequences for the company in terms of brand
image. The memo will shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of social media
communication, along with the impact of employee's behaviour on the organisational image.
The memo will conclude with the social media strategy of the entity.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Communication
Some of the major advantages of social media communication for the organisations is that it
allows efficient collaboration between the various teams across the globe (Chalmers &
Shotton, 2016). The teams can interact and connect to each other in real time. In addition to
the above, the real-time feedback can be obtained through the customers about a product or a
service across the various blogs, groups or pages. Further, the advantage of the social media
can be stated to be the building of interpersonal relationships and the professional
connections (Robertson & Kee, 2017). Thus, social media communication is also an aid to
the human resource department in the recruitment and selection of the employees. The
members of the organisation can connect to each other and seek suggestions. Another major
advantage is that it is a cheap and more efficient means of advertising and promotion of the

MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION 2
goodwill of the entity, as compared to the traditional methods of marketing, which were time-
consuming (Charoensukmongkol, 2016).
The social media communication has some disadvantages as well, which are enumerated as
follows. The first and the foremost disadvantage is that the use of social media in the
workplace can result in shifting the focus of the employees from the work (Leonardi, Neeley
& Gerber, 2012). While the employees are engaged in posting content, it may lead to loss of
the productivity for the employee as well as the company as a whole. In addition to this, the
use of social media at the workplace can open the doors for the hackers, viruses and the
privacy breaches (Van Zoonen, Verhoeven & Vliegenthart, 2017). This can further lead to
loss of data to the competitors of the entity. It is essential to note that a wrong content on the
social media may result in harm to the image of the entity.
Employee’s behaviour and social media use
It is essential to note that a single comment by an employee of the organisation can result in
substantial impacts on the employee’s reputation. While the present employee may post data,
which might be against the ongoing strategy of the entity, the ex-employees may use it to
tarnish the image of the entity. The negative posts may include personal opinions or harassing
content or undisclosed private information. Thus, the company must ensure that the personal
opinions and opinions are not presented in a manner that makes an impression that the same
are the posted on behalf of the company.
Contents of the social media policy
The social media policy of an entity acts as a code of conduct for the employees that guides
their behaviour while posting the content on the internet as part of the job or in the capacity
of a private person (Roshan, Warren & Carr, 2016). The policy should state clearly and
define the purpose, cover guidelines for the content of what is acceptable and what is not
applicable rules and regulations, and the roles and responsibilities of the employees. In
addition, the policy should also be descriptive of the disciplinary action that may be taken by
the company.
Social Media Communication Strategy
1. Timing- Immediate Basis
2. Audience- Employees of Sunshine 100
3. Sender- Communication Manager

MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION 3
4. Key Message- Managing employee use of social media
5. Desired Outcome- Raising awareness among employees with regards to the use of
social media use.
6. Medium- Announcements, emails and discussions
7. Materials- Code of Conduct, Legal rules and regulations
8. Frequency- Once in a month
Conclusion
The discussions carried in the previous parts aid in concluding that social media
communication has become an essential component of the organizational communication
structure. The management of the entity is advised to carefully study the positive and
negative impacts of the use of social media at the workplace. This is because the content
posted by employees can significantly affect the image of the company, and accordingly
management is suggested to formulate an effective social media policy and communicate to
the employees.