CVS SOCIAL MEDIA ETHICS GUIDELINES
Last revision: July 24, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- STATEMENT AND SCOPE
- SOCIAL MEDIA ETHICS GUIDELINES
- SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
- ANNUAL REVIEW
- ADDITIONAL SOURCES ON SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES AND BEST PRACTICES
1. STATEMENT AND SCOPE
As an employee and representative of CVS, you are expected to demonstrate best practices and appropriate etiquette on social media by following the Fundamental Ethics of Social Media Marketing, included below but not limited to the following:
- Know your audience: The social media management and marketing teams are expected to follow CVS Content and Messaging Guidelines, Social Media Content Calendar Schedule, and Audience Demographic Profile to assist with driving messaging and audience engagement
- Stay away from bias: do not engage in controversial topics, hate speech, politics, religion, ethnic, and cultural bias as these areas are personal and sensitive
- Never compromise on privacy: do not violate company policy. See CVS Handbook Policy & Healthcare Guidelines on confidential information and HIPPA laws in accordance to federal and state laws
- Be transparent: be honest about why you like/endorse a product or brand as well as your relationship with a product, non-profit entity, brand, political entity, etc. Refer to CVS Content and Messaging Guidelines on social media endorsements
- Speak truth to what you represent and support. If you’re posting an affiliate or interest in association with CVS, politely communicate the affiliation and why CVS is supporting the affiliation. You are not required to explain your interests
- Think before your Tweet: negative and false information is posted online every day. Before posting, view CVS Social Media Policy, always verify and check for errors before you click send
- Imagine the Impact: Thoroughly consider the outcome of your actions or messaging before posting information. If information is acquired, cite sources; provide clear disclaimers; and pay attention to tweets and retweets as public perception matters. If you are still unclear whether to post information or not, do not post information. We ask that you wait until there’s a follow up with a member from the social media management and/or marketing team for further instructions
Customer Inquiries
Social Media Management team and Marketing team:
Non-crisis or potential issue-related inquiries should receive a response within 3–4 hours of receiving the post.
Crisis or threatening-related inquiries should be reported based on the Internal Alert & Response Flowchart. See the Crisis Management handbook for additional details
Questionable content
If an employee comes across misinformation, news leaks, confidential information, or other questionable content regarding the company on social media, please refer to the Internal Alert & Response Flowchart
2. SOCIAL MEDIA ETHICS GUIDELINES
CVS Health manages a variety of social media channels and works to establish informative, engaging, supportive communities where we can share information, listen to feedback, answer questions and be transparent about sharing information and providing our perspective (https://cvshealth.com/social-media-community-guidelines).
When do I need the approval to post a message on social media?
The social media manager is responsible for approving messaging on CVS social media accounts. If an employee wishes to post information related to CVS on a non-approved account, please see the social media manager for approval.
For the social media management team and marketing team, the social media manager creates and distributes a monthly social media content calendar with roles and responsibilities. For additional information regarding approval and department-related roles and responsibilities, please follow up with your manager.
What kind of information am I allowed to post related to my work on social media?
Employees are not allowed to post work-related content that has not been approved by the social media manager. Non-work-related information is prohibited from posting on CVS social media accounts.
Should I include my company info in my social media bio? Or should I keep my company accounts and my personal accounts separate?
Employees should contact the social media management team for approval and formatting instructions before posting their social media bio affiliated with CVS.
What should I do on social media during a PR crisis?
Employees are not allowed to post any information regarding a crisis pertaining to CVS without authorization. Please contact your manager and social media manager with questions. Additionally, refer to the Crisis Management Handbook for additional details on how to respond to crisis-related matters.
How do I comply with copyright law on social media?
Please refer to the CVS Social Media Policy, CVS Crisis Management Handbook, and CVS Employee Handbook for details. Additionally, before posting information about CVS, please contact your manager and/or a member of the social media management team.
3. SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
What is a social media crisis?
An event that can have a negative effect on a brand, company, or individual’s reputation.
How to avoid a social media crisis?
Please refer to the CVS Crisis Management Handbook and Social Media Policy on how to identify what is and what is not a crisis; information on our social media listening program on how to monitor for potential and active crises; and the Internal Alert and Response Flowchart on how to escalate a crisis.
How to manage a Crisis?
If a member of the CVS social media management and/or crisis management team announces a crisis, there will be specific instructions provided to employees on how to respond to the crisis. Please refer to the crisis management handbook on information on how to acknowledge an issue; pause all outbound messages; respond on social media accounts; and more.
For additional information on crisis management practices, please refer to the CVS Crisis Management Handbook.
4. ANNUAL REVIEW
On an annual basis, CVS employees are required to take our online courses on social media guidelines and best practices as well as crisis management. Each employee is required to acknowledge their role and responsibilities via written consent
5. ADDITIONAL SOURCES ON SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES AND BEST PRACTICES
Please refer to the list of sources below on social media best practices.
National Press Photographers Association (Links to an external site.)
American Advertising Federation (Links to an external site.)
National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (Links to an external site.)
Public Relations Society of America (Links to an external site.)
