Ethics Moment: A Key Ingredient for Social Media Content and Strategy
Posted on Apr. 11, 2025 / Subscribe 0
By Holly S. Ingram, APR – Cincinnati Chapter Ethics Director
As PR practitioners, when planning and creating social media campaigns that deliver results for your clients and organizations, there’s a long checklist of things to think about…platforms, formats, timing, words, visuals, links, algorithms, community management, influencer partnerships, paid/organic, legal pitfalls, and more. Plus, you’re likely juggling multiple campaigns at once.
These are all critical and getting it right can be complicated, but there’s one more important item to keep high on your checklist: remembering your commitment to ethical standards and professional values as a member of PRSA.
The PRSA Code of Ethics is intended to help you stop and think about the trust you’re seeking to build with how and what and you’re communicating, including on social media. At the core, it’s about doing the right thing, but it’s also about minimizing risks for your client/organization and safeguard your own reputation as pro.
Keeping it simple
One easy thing you can do with your social media efforts (or any of your PR work) is ask yourself: Is what I’m planning and creating honest, fair, and serving the public interest? Those are the values the Code of Ethics is built upon.
I’ll focus on one of the PRSA Code of Ethics provisions to closely consider with social media campaigns and posts: Disclosure of Information.
Are you being transparent and building trust through all communications by revealing all and honest information needed for responsible decision-making? Ensure you’re not creating a situation of misinformation (without intent to cause damage) or disinformation (with intent). Both spread rapidly on social media.
A few resources you can reference to avoid spreading misinformation and for safeguarding your content when designing your social media:
- Misinformation – be informed on your sources using this infographic showing how to recognize and understand misinformation on social media (source: News Literacy Project).
- About Fact-Checking on Facebook, Instagram and Threads – from Meta’s Business Center, see what policies and programs are in place to identify, review and take action on misinformation. (source: Meta)
- FactCheck.org – updated frequently on factual accuracy of recent TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. (A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center)
- The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: Being Up-Front With Consumers – what you need to know about disclosing paid influencer endorsements, testimonials and more (source: FTC.gov)
Join Us!
Speaking of effective social media planning and creation! Sign up for the Cincinnati PRSA hands-on workshop: Social Media Tips & Tricks, featuring Lexi McCoy, Pomme Communications Drew Boehmker, Scooter Media and Jessica Lewis, Cincinnati Children’s. The workshop is Thursday, April 24, 9-10:15 a.m. at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Office Building 3430 Burnet Ave, 45229. Register here by April 23.
0 Comments