# What should a social media content policy include?

> A useful policy is one page, not twenty: who can post, what gets reviewed first, how sponsored content is labelled, which media is cleared, & who to ask when something is unclear. A policy nobody reads protects no one.

Updated: 2026-10-05.

## What a policy is actually for

A content policy turns decisions a team keeps re-making into answers written down once. Can an intern post? Does a customer quote need permission? Who approves anything mentioning pricing? Without a policy, each question gets answered differently depending on who is asked.

The goal isn't coverage of every scenario. It's making the common ones fast & consistent, so people stop guessing.

## The sections worth including

- **Who can post**: which roles can draft, schedule & publish, & who approves
- **What needs review first**: pricing, legal claims, customer names, anything involving health or money
- **Disclosure**: the exact wording used for sponsored or gifted content
- **Media rights**: which sources are cleared & what to do with anything else
- **Accessibility**: alt text on every image, captions on video
- **Escalation**: who to ask when a post doesn't fit any rule

Anything beyond these usually belongs in a separate, longer document that the one-page policy points to.

## Keeping it short enough to be used

A policy that runs to fifteen pages gets signed during onboarding & never opened again. One page that fits on a screen gets checked while someone is actually drafting.

Write each rule as an instruction, not a principle. "Add alt text to every image" can be followed. "Ensure content is accessible" can't be checked.

## Tying roles to the policy

Rules about who can publish only work if the tool enforces them. A policy saying "only admins connect accounts" is easier to keep when the workspace already restricts that action.

DunSocial's owner, admin & member roles map onto that kind of rule directly: members create content with the workspace's connected accounts, while admins manage accounts, billing & invitations. The policy states the intent, & the role settings back it up.

## Building review into the routine

The review rules in a policy are only as real as the step that applies them. If pricing claims need a second pair of eyes, there has to be a place where a draft waits for that second pair of eyes before it publishes.

DunSocial keeps drafting & publishing as separate steps, so a post sits on the shared calendar until someone with the right role approves it. That makes "needs review first" a visible state, not a favour someone remembers to ask for.

## Reviewing & updating the policy

A policy should change when the work changes: a new platform, a new kind of sponsored content, a mistake that exposed a gap. A short annual read-through, plus an update after any real incident, keeps it honest.

Storing the policy where drafting happens helps it stay current. DunSocial's AI Memory can hold the policy's wording rules, such as the standard disclosure phrase, so drafts start from the approved language & the policy shapes the work instead of sitting in a folder.

## Related guides

- [What is social media brand safety?](https://www.dunsocial.com/hub/social-media-compliance-and-brand-safety/what-is-social-media-brand-safety.md)
- [Social media roles & permissions explained](https://www.dunsocial.com/hub/social-media-for-teams-and-agencies/social-media-roles-and-permissions-explained.md)
- [Social media approval workflow](https://www.dunsocial.com/hub/social-media-management/social-media-approval-workflow.md)
- [How to handle a social media mistake or factual error](https://www.dunsocial.com/hub/social-media-compliance-and-brand-safety/how-to-handle-a-social-media-mistake-or-factual-error.md)

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