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Three goals to consider when crafting a social media policy

As employees continue to share, make sure they understand the rules of engagement.

Protect your privacy: There have been incidents when a few personal tweets about an internal meeting have gone viral and resulted in stock prices plunging. Or an enthusiastic employee shared proprietary designs on Instagram. Make it clear that what is discussed in the office – traditional or mobile – stays in the office.

Disclose all endorsements: If you reach out to other bloggers for coverage and offer any form of incentive, the FTC requires that the "endorser" clearly state in their posts that the review or mention was in exchange for a fee or other compensation.

Prevent intellectual property problems: If employees are posting on the company's behalf, make sure they know the rules of the road. An article on the SBA.gov site gives a great example of an all-too-common IP trap to avoid: If your Facebook moderator wants to use a wholesaler's image of a product to help promote your newest line, he or she must get written permission from the wholesaler first, unless permission was previously granted.

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