I don’t always shop, but when I do, I prefer Nordstrom. To view the company’s social media employee guidelines, click here.
The guideline starts off by giving six tips on what to do on social media with my explanation:
- Use good judgement – Basically, use common sense. Refer to the company’s policies across the board and make sure they are present on social media as well
- Be respectful – The Golden Rule: Treat others how you want to be treated, even if the customer is being difficult (it happens)
- Be responsible and ethical – Realize you are not the spokesperson for Nordstrom. Therefore, make sure you clearly states something along the lines of “all thoughts and words are my own” (duh). Seems like an obvious statement, but some people aren’t that bright out there and combine you with the company
- Be humble – No one is perfect, and neither is the company. Always be respectful and focus on always improving the customer experience
- Be a good listener – Social media is the new way to handle customer service. Use it to our advantage and listen to the customer and respond positively and focus on a solution
- Avoid conflicts of interest – Basically, do not be stupid and post things about competitors. That’s a one-way ticket to being unemployed
The guidelines go on to challenge employees to keep privacy, confidentiality and copyrights in mind when posting. Overall, the guidelines are an easy read. All of it makes sense. I praise Nordstrom for being “down to Earth” in its document. They avoid jargon and get straight to the point. If an employee reads this, they should have a CLEAR understanding of what is expected of them.
I do have some suggestions though. Some people, unfortunately, do not think before the speak/post. So, providing examples of the do’s and don”t’s would probably be beneficial. HR for Nordstrom should create graphics of REAL posts that are great and that are not so great. This provides an image for employees to go by.
Aaron Jay Ledesma 
Interesting post, i’m wondering if you have seen a brand that has done what you refer to as a “don’t” ?
I really love that you took the time to find the employee guidelines. It’s a great way to get to the heart of a companies motivations. The fact that Nordstorm’s policies were drafted they way they were show that the understand the importance of meaningful engagement.
I’m surprised with how small some of these social media policies are. I looked up what Coca-Cola’s policy was and it was fairly short too. I guess this shows that these companies have faith in the awareness of their employees. But on the other hand, perhaps so policy is too vague. Then if the employee posts something he/she shouldn’t they could perhaps argue there was nothing against in the the policy to begin with.
I’ve noticed social media policies aren’t exactly very specific like you said. They don’t have a “Do’s and Don’ts” list which they probably should – great idea! I know most social media policies say “be respectful” and “use common sense,” but the sad part is some people don’t have common sense and don’t think about their actions/posts and what the consequences will be. Hopefully the employees have a clear understanding of what is expected of them on social media – and if they have to question it, it probably shouldn’t be posted in the first place.
Do you think that when a company has a policy that is too broad, the message portrayed in the posts may lack consistency? Does this affect the credibility of the brand?