Online House Rules (Social Media Policy Statements)

Online House Rules

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An organisation’s social media accounts must be managed. While social media reactions cannot be fully controlled, a supportive culture can be cultivated in your organisation’s feeds.

Keeping branded social media accounts, forums, and comment sections in check will require active moderation. Active moderation means deleting, banning, blocking, unfollowing, and reporting abuse.

It’s bad form to kick someone out arbitrarily. Kicking someone out for making your brand uncomfortable is a recipe for PR backlash.

All brands must, therefore, establish online house rules.
(Also known as social media policy statements.)

Still, establishing online house rules is easy. You need only one short and positive statement to clarify when, how, and why some user-generated content will be removed.

House Rule Examples

Here are a few short, encouraging, and positive statements for different types of brands:

Coffee shop: “Join our cosy corner of coffee lovers. Share your love for great brews and friendly chats. Let’s keep it warm and welcoming for everyone.”
Fitness centre: “Welcome to our fitness family. Cheer each other on and share your progress. Together, we create a supportive and motivating community.”
Fashion retailer: “Fashion is fun and expressive! Share your style, inspire others, and let’s keep our space stylish and kind for all fashionistas.”
Tech company: “Innovate, share, and learn with us! Our tech community thrives on positivity and respect. Let’s build something great together.”
Travel agency: “Embark on journeys with fellow travellers! Share your adventures and tips. Let’s keep our travel tales inspiring and respectful.”
Bookstore: “Dive into a world of stories! Share your favourite reads and discuss them with fellow book lovers. Let’s keep our bookish community open and friendly.”
Pet supplies store: “A place for pet lovers! Share your furry friends’ stories and tips. Let’s keep it pawsitive and supportive for all pet parents.”
Organic food brand: “Healthy living starts here! Share your organic recipes and wellness tips. Let’s cultivate a nurturing and positive space.”
Gaming company: “Game on! Share your scores, tips, and game stories. Let’s keep our gaming community fun and inclusive for all players.”
Beauty brand: “Celebrate beauty in all forms! Share your beauty tips and experiences. Let’s make our beauty community kind and empowering.”
Automotive brand: “Drive your passion for cars! Share your rides and automotive tips. Let’s keep our automotive community respectful and enthusiastic.”
Music store: “Rock on! Share your favourite tunes and music stories. Let’s keep our musical community harmonious and supportive.”
Sports brand: “Fuel your passion for sports! Share your achievements and tips. Let’s keep our sports community encouraging and spirited.”
Home décor brand: “Create your dream space! Share your décor ideas and inspirations. Let’s keep our home décor community cosy and inspiring.”
Outdoor gear store: “Explore the great outdoors. Share your adventures and gear tips. Let’s keep our outdoor community adventurous and respectful.”
Education platform: “Learn and grow with us! Share your knowledge and study tips. Let’s keep our learning community positive and collaborative.”
Green energy company: “Power a greener future. Share your eco-friendly tips and experiences. Let’s keep our green energy community sustainable and inspiring.”
Art supply store: “Create your masterpiece. Share your art and creative tips. Let’s keep our art community vibrant and encouraging.”
Health and wellness brand: “Embrace wellness with us. Share your health tips and experiences. Let’s keep our wellness community supportive and uplifting.”
Cooking brand: “Cook up something amazing! Share your recipes and cooking tips. Let’s keep our culinary community delicious and friendly.”

If it’s unclear whether or not someone violates your house rules, revise them and make any changes known to your brand community.

Learn more: Online House Rules (Social Media Policy Statements)

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PR Resource: Types of Online Trolls

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Types of Online Trolls

There are various types of online trolls — and they behave differently. Depending on how and where they communicate, you can find clues on how to best deal with them.

I use the following categorisation of online trolls:

Online Vandals are motivated by destruction. They could flood your feed with troll comments for no reason other than to wreak havoc. They are seldom the first to arrive but typically leave when it gets ‘boring.’
Keyboard Warriors are typically anonymous or use profiles with few followers or friends. Their motives are often political, and their aggression is often fueled by social exclusion. It’s worth noting that this public often doesn’t target the brand but its followers.
Virtue Signalists often move in coördinated packs and will attack you on moral grounds. This public is eager to report your content and might even target employees (or their friends and family) via email campaigns.
Bleeding Hearts will proclaim their victimhood and blame your brand for destroying their lives. Emotions will run high, and there will be no conversation. It’s worth noting that hearing this public out might aggravate them even more.
Social Activists are similar to Virtue Signalists. While Virtue Signalists will attack your brand to make themselves feel better, Social Activists will look for a tangible brand response (often seen as a victory).
Bot Accounts come in many varieties, but since they should be quickly blocked and deleted, they can be categorised as one single public account.
Meme Flooders often mean no harm and are just looking for some fun. However, a sudden flood of memes can still spell trouble for a brand’s social feeds. This public moves in packs and typically doesn’t stay for long.
Ambulance Chasers are a curious bunch. They turn up whenever there’s a scandal because they’re looking for front-row seats. While they might be passive, they can sometimes try to add fuel to the fire for entertainment.
Brand Haters are typically persistent and tend to stay around until the brand finds a way to settle their reason for being angry. Brand Haters can sometimes let go if they get some form of compensation.

Please note: Publics providing fair critique or voicing legitimate concerns should never be categorised — or treated! — as online trolls.

Learn more: How To Deal With Online Trolls

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PR Resource: Avoid Ghost Followers

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How To Avoid Ghost Followers

Ghost followers (inactive social media accounts) will destroy your engagement scores and undermine your social media reach and growth.

Here are a few rules of thumb for keeping clear of ghost followers:

Grow organically from the start. Having a small but highly engaged community is better than attracting huge bulks of ghost followers — especially if you share your authority with them by engaging with them back.
Stay consistent in one niche. Attracting a homogenous audience (in terms of what exact content they typically will engage with) is critical for long-term success in social media. ¹Silfwer, J. (2016, May 25). The Follower Contract. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/follower-contract/
Engage strategically. Who you engage with (follow, like, comment, share) will send necessary signals to the algorithm. Ensure consistent engagement with the particular audience you want to attract.
Remove or unsubscribe ghosts. When possible, proactively remove inactive followers by either eliminating or unsubscribing them. Not all social networks allow for this, but you should use this tactic wherever it’s applicable.

Learn more: How Ghost Followers Destroy Your Social Media Accounts

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PR Resource: The Follower Contract

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The Follower Contract

How can brands better understand follower engagement? Think of every follow as an invisible contract.

Dear Brand,

Yes, I’m now following you. Congratulations (to you).
I followed you based on what you’ve demonstrated in the past, so don’t be surprised if I stop engaging (or unfollowing) if you do other stuff.
You now have my permission to provide me with the type of content that first attracted me to your brand.
I, the follower, will determine any involvement on a future case-by-case basis.
My follow is not a ‘payment’ for your past accomplishments; my follow is an ‘advance payment’ for what I expect from you in the future.
It would be best if you always presupposed that I’m interested in myself and my friends first and then, maybe, in your brand.
Until we part ways, I expect you to be clear about my potential involvement in your cause.

Best regards,
Your New Follower

Think of every single follower, fan, and subscriber having such an agreement with your brand.

Learn more: The Follower Contract

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1	Silfwer, J. (2016, May 25). The Follower Contract. Doctor Spin \| The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/follower-contract/

Online House Rules (Social Media Policy Statements)

A quick statement to facilitate moderation.

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