Social Media Policy
In the industry, many trends are beginning to popularize over different social media platforms. Over time they are constantly changing. Trends such as live videos, short-form videos and many more are becoming more and more popular in the industry. As the social media continues to grow, the right perspective and the right thinking on how to leverage social media appropriately and how to engage people in the right manner continues to become a main focus. Transparency and privacy are two factors that relate to the ethics of social media. User privacy and platform transparency at times can conflict with each other yet with research and information access we can improve that. If I was to join anything as a part of a social media staff, I would join Linkedin. Their influencer current code off ethics is listed as followed:
Right to voice your opinion
Be critical of everything, even yourself
Use your power to protect
Tell the truth at all times.
Present your opinion as your opinion
State your allegiances to stay independent.
Reveal your sources unless doing so can harm your sources.
Be critical of your sources and seek independent verification.
Give credit where credit is due.
Preserve the intended meaning of a given statement.
Give your opponent a chance to respond.
Admit and correct your mistakes.
Alongside Linkedin, other brands offer strong social media ethical codes and practices, such as Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok. The one that practices the strongest in my opinion would probably be Facebook. Facebook/ Meta includes a “Code of Conduct” page in which you can view or download the PDF further explaining this if necessary. The link to this can be found here.
Basically, it covers the basic foundation of a company and how it manages its site, the community, and how the website protects and control’s all activity. The PDF goes into detail through different sections. For example, the confidential privacy section that they feature on page 20, states “Disclosing (or “leaking”) confidential information outside of Meta [Facebook] or to those who do not need it for legitimate business purposes can have dire consequences on Meta’s [Facebook’s] business… Sharing Meta’s [Facebook’s] confidential information with external parties or beyond those of us internally who legitimately need to know such information could also seriously damage Meta’s [Facebook’s] reputation and breach the trust of others, including people who use Meta [Facebook] services, our colleagues, third parties and the community”. So not only are they looking out for your personal information, but as well as the well-known and popular reputation that they carry and have carried for years. Some things I can use to my advantage in my own practices would be the information in the section “Keep building better with each other” offered in the Code of Conduct PDF. This goes into detail with the focus on diversity, showing respect and kindness, maintaining a secure work environment, loyalty, and other useful information. I can definitely use this to my advantage when I need it during my own practices. And since they are broken up into different sections, I can gain more knowledge about each concept.
For me, I think there are many main concepts that are necessary for my own personal conduct. For one, being respectful would be my top concept. The way you talk to someone online should be treated the same way as in person. Strong language is a big disadvantage online as many children are exposed to it at a young age. Another concept would be to consider people’s privacy and information. Even though some information about a person can be shared on social media, that can exclude extremely personal information that they might not want on the internet. Whatever is on the internet can stay there forever, so being careful and cautious can prevent this. Fact-checking and doing well research can also be used for my own personal conduct online. Anyone can put anything on the internet for people to see and share. But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true. This can be prevented with well-done research and through the search engine Google.
I feel strongly against scammers online and I would definitely avoid them on social media. Nobody wants their social media feeds to be filled by a single account, it would be annoying. It's better to leave a good impression instead of a bad one. Another concept that I would avoid on
Social media would be to avoid oversharing. Oversharing the same content on any network would give the impression that you are lazy. I want to avoid anyone thinking I am anything other than creative.
Audience
Is important because they are the specific group of people you want to reach with your social channels. Also are most likely to be interested in your content by similar and common characteristics.
Representation
Is important because the way you carry yourself and engage in social media is the way people are going to perceive you as. Anything can make someone have an opinion on you, so it is important that you represent yourself well.
Kindness
With a good attitude and kindness, you are able to attract more people into engaging or to your page. Nobody would enjoy supporting a jerk.
Manage Sources
Plagiarism isn’t cool, but it can be avoided. Just give credit where it’s due and that problem can easily be fixed.
Be Critical to What You Put Online
Freedom of speech and opinions online are included with free discussion. It is your obligation to explain what goes on in society as well.
Truthful At All Times
Nobody likes a liar, especially online. It is responsible to publish content that is true, even if you don't agree with it.