Require social media posting?

27 Comments

1. Tami CannizzaroAugust 21,2025 at 4:32PM UTC

   Hi, I have never heard of this before. What I have heard of is my company setting guidelines for employees for "when" or "how" they post about the brand. So if I were going to mention the brand, I need to make sure I adhere to the guidelines. This is particularly important for publicly traded companies where we have access to information that may not be ready to share yet and could affect stock prices. But that's not what it sounds like they asked of you.

2. AnonymousAugust 21,2025 at 5:32PM UTC

   It 100% is not. They even included a tutorial on how to make our personal LinkedIn pages look more appropriate for the company and plan on sending out assignments for social media engagement.

   They did actually tell us not to engage in political posts or secret sharing but never did they distinguish between our personal posts and company-related posts.

3. AnonymousAugust 21,2025 at 5:30PM UTC

   If you are using your company email on your linkedin and or they are paying for your license to it they can tell you how to post. If not and there is no mention of this in your employee handbook I would politely decline vs just being silent about this. Alternatively, you can make your linkedin private and/or remove their name from your profile or write confidential on the title. Then they cannot say you are not aligned with their branding.

4. AnonymousAugust 21,2025 at 5:59PM UTC

   Simply create a LinkedIn account and profile separate from your personal one.

5. Cynthia Armistead NewmanAugust 22,2025 at 12:53PM UTC

   My employer asks us to comment on their posts and share them, but they definitely don't require that we do so.

   If you are in a right to work state, they can require you to do just about anything short of turning over your firstborn.

6. AnonymousAugust 22,2025 at 2:33PM UTC

   Yeah, this is weird. I work for a very large company, and we do have guidelines about how we can post about company-related things (lots of info that gets revealed in-house first, then goes public, that kind of thing), but otherwise, no.

   also: make your socials private so they can’t tell if you’re posting or not :) I wouldn’t do it for your Linked In either - maybe avoid posting/reposting until you’re out, to avoid being their attention to it.

7. Love JoyAugust 22,2025 at 2:35PM UTC

   This happened to me and I told them my Linkedin is my personal branding platform and rolodex. If the company would like a testimonial from me that they can publish on the company's Linkedin page then they can do so. My company was not happy with me but I still refused.

8. Kimberly McAugust 22,2025 at 2:54PM UTC

   im assuming they expect you to do this on your time off? I’d ask for the charge number you should be billing for the time and asking for a company iPad to do this work on. Make it as painful for them as it is for you. Also there would be no way I’d just randomly sing the company’s praises in social media or adjacent type media like linked in unless it were true and I felt compelled to talk about something specific I was doing with the company. This mandate just feels icky.

9. QAugust 22,2025 at 2:55PM UTC

   This sounds strange to me. It's common for large companies to have strict guidelines regarding social media. Those guidelines are usually focused on what you should NOT do rather than what you must do. If media is supplied for use it is normally optional and at the discretion of the employee to post or share.

10. Linda HelmAugust 22,2025 at 5:46PM UTC

    I've worked in Marketing where I've actually cringed at what employees post on behalf of the company, so we've provided guidance. Know this: you are not legally required to post on behalf of the company you work for. Your LinkedIn account is yours, not theirs. It's up to you.

11. Jackie SmithAugust 22,2025 at 5:49PM UTC

    As someone who runs social media for a corporation, they cannot make you do this. They can require branding profiles and post engagement for official, company-controlled accounts—not personal ones. For employees, they can set policies on social media behavior but requiring employees to use their personal profiles for company branding or mandatory engagement raises legal and ethical concerns around privacy and labor rights. They can strongly encourage and promote engagement and branding efforts, but requiring employees to use personal profiles for this is problematic, risks legal trouble, and is not recommended.

12. Kimberley Ferretti HammettAugust 22,2025 at 7:36PM UTC

    Hmmm, yeah this looks familiar. I had a company outright tell me I had to post or repost certain things and "like and comment" on certain peoples posts on my LinkedIn. At the time I was just starting up my coaching business on the side and some of their network seemed a bit shady to me so I straight up wouldn't do it. I'd like or post here and there some light things that was enough to keep them somewhat off my back but I was prepared to lose the job over doing anything to hurt the brand I was building of myself. My feelings were validated when they started having their contacts (that didn't work for us) message us after work hours to let us know they posted and telling us to engage with the posts!! Just someone using us to boost their engagement and visibility and I think our marketing team thought they were using her for the same.

    I would say do the same.. Do you and just don't call attention to it. Maybe throw out a like here or there and maybe a post if it feels authentic. They may have meant it as an encouragement more than a demand and just laying the guidelines. If you're saying their marketing has fallen flat, maybe they have concerns about posts from employees that could make it worse so they are trying to go at it that way. As HR at another company we did have to roll out something like that but we explicitly stated that their social media was theirs and we were not there to police their private profiles, and also, misrepresenting the brand could have consequences so IF you're going to post, here's the values it should align with, and also, we'd love for you to engage and post about our brand if that's your prerogative (hehe.. that was a tough message to get out clearly).

13. surfnwriteAugust 23,2025 at 12:48PM UTC

    It's intrusive and invasive and I wouldn't do it. I would simply not comply. If they said anything, I would just say I'm a private person and I like to minimize my presence online for security/identity theft reasons.

14. AnonymousAugust 23,2025 at 1:46PM UTC

    At my current company I was hired under one title, and my title was changed once I started. I didn't agree to the title change and it is not known in my industry. My LinkedIn profile reflects my original title.

    I could see that my manager was looking at my LinkedIn profile a lot. One day he announced that we all needed to change our LinkedIn profiles to reflect the new title. This was obviously directed at me.

    I sat on it overnight and the next day said, "Unfortunately, my LinkedIn profile is a personal account linked to my personal email, so I won't change it ." My manager exploded but I stood my ground. I explained how my current title was not known in the industry and I needed contacts to know what I did.

15. AnonymousAugust 23,2025 at 1:59PM UTC

    Sounds like something to take to your manager/HR? There are such things such as social media managers and whose job is to do what you are being told to do (and it sounds like from your reaction that's not at all your job title or duties!).

    Maybe ask them for a raise since they're asking you to do additional work on top of your own? :P (It might make them have to think about what they're exactly asking, as there ARE jobs that do exactly that!)

16. AnonymousAugust 23,2025 at 7:40PM UTC

    This may be intrusive if it's not in your employment contract. Maybe you should check if you signed up to represent the company in this way (ex. You agreed you to wear branded clothing off hours, wrap your car with their logo, etc.). Honestly, this depends on your role. If you are a social media manager, public relations, or communications, it's kind of inherent in the job...

    If they are only ASKING you to "like" and "repost" or have branding alignment, without any other demands or scrutiny then this may be a small ask, which will help you look like a team player. Small companies can ask this because they want to present a unified voice. However if they're asking you to change your entire profile and branding, and remove or add content, read on.

    If you decide to change, you can ask if there is a conflict of interest--if there is a personal interest that you have that will conflict with company brand strategy. For instance, if you support a specific cause on social media that your company may not align with.

    If you want to subscribe to their doctrine, you should ask your company if they are okay to affiliate with the other companies, groups, and influencers that all company employees follow... If you align with Palestine, are they also aligned? If your coworker follows Elon Musk, does that mean your company supports this too? If your boss supports a family member's post about a bad recruitment experience, does that mean your company also empathizes? With LinkedIn, there are a multitude of connections that can become risky down the line. (Example: Kevin Spacey pre-2016 and post-2017). With this approach, you can express your concern for your company's reputational risk profile, in the case that they're inadvertently linked with a political issue or a scandal.

    Here are your options:

    (1) ask them the hard questions about "conflict of interest" and if each employee must audit their profile for influencers or brands that don't align to company position.

    (2) say "no" to set boundaries, stating there is too much of a grey area between personal and professional (back that up with grey-area scenarios and examples, or use the excuse of staying private due to identity theft)

    (3) say "yes" and ask for additional compensation. Make sure you understand what is a conflicts of interest for your company. Ensure you have a contract or policy that outlines COI and that you have the right to independent legal counsel. Perhaps you need your employment contract reviewed or changed. You will need to ensure you understand clauses for termination or being sued for accidental misrepresentation or defamation of the company. So it's important to have this in writing.

    (4) say "yes, I will create a separate account that does not have my real name or picture"

    (5) say "yes, I want to support the company but only in these ways" list your caveats (will not change to brand guidelines, but can like and repost) and make them write out that this is voluntary and you will not be held to prejudice for salary reviews or termination if you decide at some later point to withdraw.

    MOST IMPORTANTLY, please tread carefully and with grace. There are a lot of comments here that'll fuel contempt, and I fear that if you feed into this and go into the conversation with a hard stance, that they'll terminate you without cause. I would recommend you try to outsmart them before you try to argue with them.

17. JenniferAugust 25,2025 at 11:42PM UTC

    This reminds me of something in contract law. Now, I'm not an attorney nor an expert on this, but I recall that no company can change the terms of a contract (an employment contract, in this case), without additional compensation (i.e. "consideration") going to the person being asked to meet new terms. (I also recall another Bureau of Labor law that makes it illegal for employers to require you to provide them with your social media log-in credentials, if that's the case, fyi.)

    In short, if my recollection serves, it would seem you could propose that they pay you an amount equivalent to the additional work and exposure required of this new role if you are to take on the new duties. If not, you could have cause to consult with an attorney about breach of contract... That's my 2 cents.

18. AnonymousAugust 24,2025 at 4:04AM UTC

    Sounds ridiculous to be mandatory. What happens if you do not have a social media account?

19. AnonymousAugust 24,2025 at 12:33PM UTC

    You can set one up specifically for work and only post positive things about work. That's what I would do in that situation.

20. AnonymousAugust 25,2025 at 1:32AM UTC

    But even if you set up a separate LinkedIn account just for work, it’s still tied to your name and professional reputation. Future employers may see those posts and form opinions about you. And if you’re not fully aligned with your company’s values, a "work-only" account doesn’t solve the problem. The real issue is that they’re requiring you to use LinkedIn—a personal, professional platform—to promote the company. That’s intrusive. If you’re genuinely proud of something at work, posting is your choice. But making it mandatory means they’re co-opting your name and account for their goals, and creating a “for work” account doesn’t change that.

21. AnonymousAugust 24,2025 at 1:12PM UTC

    My former company didn’t make it mandatory but consistently guilted us into averting the company in social media platforms and often said we are all responsible for the companies growth. The pressure to post and like everything marketing posted became too much, when they questioned why I haven’t liked or share recently, I told them I don’t have social media anymore and blocked them on LinkedIn/ facebook etc. With new company I have boundaries now I will not be adding anyone from my new company and I have my LinkedIn set up that way that they cannot add me only I add them. Companies can be intrusive . I give them 40 plus hours a week and provide my best work that is all they get they will not be getting free marketing out of me.

22. morganbroomeAugust 24,2025 at 6:56PM UTC

    Sorry to hear about your situation. My son just started his first job and his employer has made sharing, liking, commenting on company focused LinkedIn posts into a competition. Points are given out and a leaderboard is shared. My son is doing some to show support but hates SM and is not trying to win. I'm not sure what the incentive is, but this seems like a good way to allow employees to make their own choice on how they handle their SM.

23. AnonymousAugust 25,2025 at 2:12PM UTC

    Welcome to the new norm. Mine would go so far as set people up with LinkedIn profiles if they didn’t have one.

    they also contracted with a marketing - tech firm that you had to sign up with so they could auto post their stuff on LinkedIn - they called is business development lol

    it started out with a wr would like you to - and then grew into - you would be dinged on your performance review and prohibited from growing in the company - puts a big target on your back if you don’t do it.

24. WendyRMAugust 25,2025 at 3:15PM UTC

    I'd take the target. And come review time remind the powers that be that while I work for them, they don't own my personal account. This is ethically shady.

25. AnonymousAugust 27,2025 at 2:27PM UTC

    It sure is ethically shady. But reminding them of that - they will remind you that on LinkedIn you represent the company and to promote the brand. Also if you choose to take the hit. It will be a good reason for them to eventually put a PIP on you - this is getting more and more common

26. WendyRMAugust 25,2025 at 3:10PM UTC

    I don't like this. Someone in the marketing department doesn't know how to use LinkedIn for marketing. In no way or shape should you be coerced into using your personal account to market for your company.

    It's bad policy. Marketing needs to be told in no uncertain terms that your personal (stress that word) account will not be used to market the company. Most certainly not without compensation for use of the platform and your time doing their job. That is pure laziness on marketing's part. There are other things to do to reach their target audience. This is not it.

27. ducki flatOctober 12,2026 at 10:49AM UTC
    Hello,Social media posting can be a valuable skill for businesses and professionals, but expectations should be clear from the start. It helps to define the required platforms, posting frequency, content responsibilities, and working hours so the workload stays manageable. For anyone building a TikTok presence, https://ttusernamefinder.com/ can help explore memorable username ideas.