The Socially Savvy Advisor + Website: Compliant Social Media for the Financial Industry

Chapter 11How Do We Create a Social Media Policy?

Regulators expect financial firms with a presence on social media to document the strategies and policies that govern their social media interactions in the same manner that firms must document many other operations within their business, such as training and recordkeeping. This practice is particularly helpful when applied to social media, because it forces the firm to think through the implications of using a new technology—one that can have surprising and sometimes disconcerting effects on operations.

In the appendix to this book, as well as in the companion website (www.wiley.com/go/financialsocial), you can access a model social media policy for your use.

There are a number of different approaches that financial professionals can take when preparing a social media policy. What regulators want to see, and what actually is most helpful to the firm, is a policy that is specific and relevant to the firm itself. It also must dovetail with the firm's own compliance rules.

Five Steps to Starting Your Policy

Here are five good ways to get started with your policy:

1. Address the purpose of social media—Here is where strategy ought to be scrutinized, with a clear description for the firm's employees. Why is your business using social media? What should the reader/user take away after reading the policy? These are all important questions that need to be addressed in the introduction of your policy. In essence, you need to set the ...