A Clear Social Media Policy: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Getting It Right

Social media has become one of the most powerful ways Pregnancy Help Organizations can reach women, engage their communities, and share hope. But with growth comes new challenges like who’s posting, what’s being shared, and how to keep everything secure and consistent.

A good social media policy doesn’t have to be complicated. It just needs to be clear, practical, and easy to use. If your current policy is outdated (or if you don’t have one yet), this guide will walk you through what to include so your team can feel confident and protected.

1. Start with Ownership and Access

This is the foundation of your policy. Who controls your accounts matters.

What to include:

• A statement that the organization owns all accounts, not any one person
  
  
  
• Which roles have admin or posting access
  
  
  
• How passwords are stored and updated
  
  
  
• A reminder to adjust access at the start of someone’s final week, not after they’ve left
  
  
  

Pro tip: Keep this short and review it at least once a year.

2. Assign Clear Roles (Even if It’s Just Two People)

Social media works best when responsibilities aren’t fuzzy.

What to include:

• Primary Poster: drafts, schedules, and publishes content
  
  
  
• Content Approver: reviews posts to make sure they align with your mission and tone
  
  
  
• Backup Poster: steps in when needed
  
  
  

Even if your “team” is one person, name a backup, like a director or trusted staff member. That way, your accounts are never tied to one person alone.

3. Spell Out Posting Guidelines

This part protects your organization and builds trust with your community.

What to include:

• A reminder that all posts should reflect your mission, tone, and values
  
  
  
• Guidelines for sharing client stories only with signed media releases
  
  
  
• Clear language expectations (professional, compassionate, and kind)
  
  
  
• Boundaries around political or personal opinions on official accounts
  
  
  
• A “when in doubt, ask before posting” rule
  
  
  

The goal is to make it easy for any team member to know what’s appropriate and what’s not.

4. Set the Tone and Voice

Your tone shapes how people experience your organization before they ever walk through your doors.

What to include:

• Tone: e.g., Warm, compassionate, hope-filled, confident
  
  
  
• Voice: e.g., Encouraging, empowering, clear
  
  
  
• Avoid: Jargon, polarizing language, judgmental phrasing
  
  
  
• Do: Speak directly to the reader and offer hope
  
  
  

When your team knows how to talk about your work, it makes your whole organization sound more unified.

5. Empower Employees to Engage

Your staff can help amplify your message in simple, meaningful ways.

What to include:

• Encourage employees to like, comment on, and share posts
  
  
  
• Remind them that what they say online reflects on the organization
  
  
  
• Ask them not to speak on behalf of the organization unless authorized
  
  
  
• Direct them to tag or notify the Social Media Manager instead of responding to negative or controversial comments themselves
  
  
  

This builds confidence without adding pressure.

6. Protect Your Accounts Before Someone Leaves

One of the easiest ways to lose control of a page is during staff transitions. A little structure here goes a long way.

What to include:

• Start offboarding at the beginning of their last week
  
  
  
• Change all passwords and remove access within 24 hours
  
  
  
• Reassign admin roles and review scheduled posts
  
  
  
• Double-check that personal devices don’t have saved logins
  
  
  

This step seems small, but it can save you a lot of stress later.

7. Prepare for Online Interactions in Advance

Your team shouldn’t have to figure out how to respond to tough comments on the spot. A few ready-to-use scripts make things much easier.

Sample responses you can copy into your policy:
 Positive Comment:

“Thank you so much for your encouragement. We’re grateful to serve this community.”

Negative Comment:

“We value open conversation. We’d be happy to talk with you privately to address your concerns. Please send us a message.”

Misinformation:

“We want to make sure accurate information is available. Here’s a trusted resource: [link].”

These short, clear responses make sure your communication stays consistent no matter who’s handling it.

8. Post Strategically, Not Randomly

Even the best intentions can fall apart without a plan. A simple posting structure helps your team stay on track without burning out.

You can adjust this to fit your team’s capacity, but having it written down means no one is starting from scratch each month.

Make the Policy Work for You

A social media policy shouldn’t be one more thing on your to-do list. It should make your work easier. When your team knows what’s expected, how to protect accounts, and how to keep your messaging consistent, your online presence becomes stronger and easier to manage.

To make this even simpler, we’ve created a ready-to-use Social Media Policy Template that you can download and adapt to your center. Most of the work is already done. All that’s left is to fill in your center’s roles and details.