The Communications Council has released a set of guidelines for the use of social media in Australia. The Communications Council is the Australian industry body representing agencies in the marketing communications industry to media, government and the public.

The new guidelines are called the “Communications Council Best Practice Guide Social Media Code of Conduct”.

The Code provides specific guidance on best practice behaviour when working and operating within social media, to help businesses maintain a high standard of respect, integrity, transparency and honesty.

The Code is intended as a guideline only and can be adopted by organizations who do not currently have their own social media policies, or cross-referred to for businesses with existing internal guidelines.

CEO of the Communications Council, Margaret Zabel said in a press release: “Consumers are increasingly seeking transparency from brands, and clients are looking for ways to monitor and minimise legal risk on social media channels, so it has never been more important to have a set of guidelines in place to minimise the risk of social media engagement harming your organisation, client or employee’s reputation.”

The Code is presented in two parts – the first section deals with social media guidelines for employees (personal use), the second section deals with social media guidelines for brands (commercial use).

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