A Guide to Ethical Posting Online
Emily Sullivan
Ethics are defined by the dictionary as “moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.“ they are a part of everyday life, and that includes the Internet. Most companies and brands have a code of ethics that they follow in day-to-day activities, including on social media. Ethical codes of conduct provide and explicitly clear visual of standards, rules, and conduct for people/employees to follow. Whether that be in the workplace, or on social media.
I have created below a good set of rules, or my own code of conduct, that should be followed when posting on social media. It hits all the main points of an ethical code of conduct and helps to ensure that what you are posting on either your own social media or your companies reflects the values you intend.
- Be Truthful and Honest
When posting online you want to be as transparent as possible. Do not use or post overly edited images, images that do not belong to you or the company without permission, or heavily staged pictures. This could give your audience the wrong view of the page as though it is not open and authentic. Authenticity is extremely important.
2. Steer Clear of Biases
This is a huge one. Especially when posting for a company or organization you want to steer clear of personal or societal biases. Unless it is an exact quote from your company, you never want to take a stance for them when it was never their intention of having that stance. Do not let the way you personally think, or personal beliefs, to corrupt the factual things you post about. Stick to the truth.
3. Be aware
Just as the heading says, be aware. Not only of what the content is that you are posting, but of social climates. Make sure your post doesn't include anything along the lines of discrimination, racism, or any insensitivity. An example would be, when you see a picture of a person, do not assume gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc. You can cause serious backlash for your company while offending the people in the photos. Always be sensitive and aware and make sure to read and do research before posting.
4. Think Before Posting
Take an extra second before you press post. Make sure it is something you really think needs to be posted. Will it better your brand? Or will it harm your brand? Make sure you have done your research and are posting truthful and honest things.
5. Fit Your Social Channel
Lastly, just make sure you're fitting your social channel. Do not post something on Instagram per se that would be much better for Twitter and vice versa. Along these lines, make sure that your post is going to do well with the target audience you are trying to reach. Use the correct platforms for those target audiences as well.
