Social media brand guidelines: a one-page guide for every account you run
What to put in social media brand guidelines: voice by platform, colors, avatars, hashtags, emoji, replies and what not to post, with a one-page template.
You run four accounts across five platforms, and the brand guidelines you were handed are a 38-page PDF about letterhead and print margins. None of it says whether the brand uses emoji, what goes in the avatar, or how to answer a one-star review in the comments. Social media brand guidelines fill that gap: one page per brand that covers how it sounds on each platform, which colors and fonts go in posts, the logo for avatars, hashtags and emoji, how to reply, and what never to post. Short enough to keep open while you write a caption.
Below: what goes in each section, a one-page template to copy, a filled-in example, and how to get people to actually use it.
What are social media brand guidelines?
They're the rules for how a brand looks, sounds and behaves on social, written for the person posting. They sit next to two things you may already have:
- A brand kit holds the files and codes: logos, hex codes, fonts, approved bios. (Here's what goes in a social media brand kit.)
- A brand style guide covers the whole brand: logo use, colors, type, voice and imagery everywhere. Ours is one page for small businesses.
Social guidelines borrow from both and add what only social needs: replies, hashtags, emoji, tagging and the speed at which everything happens. If the brand already has a style guide, don't repeat it. Point to it and add the social layer.
What goes in social media brand guidelines?
Eight short sections. Each one should fit in a few lines.
1. Who you're talking to, and why the account exists
Two sentences. Who follows the account and what they come for. "Couples planning a wedding and locals who want flowers for the table. They come for what's in season and how to book." Every other rule follows from this.
2. Voice, and how the tone shifts by platform
The voice stays the same everywhere. The tone adjusts to the room. Write three to five tone words for the brand (our tone of voice examples has ten worked examples), then one line per platform the brand actually uses.
Here's how Studio Afterglow, a made-up photography studio whose voice is expressive, nostalgic and full of color, might split it:
| Platform | How Afterglow sounds there |
|---|---|
| Warm and visual. Short captions that tell the story behind the shot, one question to invite replies | |
| TikTok | Behind the scenes and a bit goofy. The hook in the first line, never a sales pitch |
| Plainer. About the work, the clients and the craft, still in first person | |
| Friendly and practical. Bookings, dates and community news |
Those are Afterglow's choices, not rules about the platforms. Yours depend on who follows you where.
3. Words: say this, not that
The small stuff that makes a brand sound like itself, and that a new person gets wrong on day one:
- How to write the brand name ("Northline Coffee", never "NorthLine").
- Words the brand uses, and words it avoids ("seasonal", never "trendy").
- Spelling and style choices: American or British spelling, sentence case or title case, numbers as digits or words.
- Phrases to steer clear of, like discount language for a brand that never discounts.
4. Colors and fonts in posts
Which colors are backgrounds, which are text, and which is the accent that appears sparingly. Name the pairs that are safe for text ("Plum on Butter", "white on Tide") so nobody has to test contrast at 6pm. List the fonts, plus the closest free alternative in the app you design in. There's more on this in brand colors on social media.
5. The logo: avatars, watermarks and when to leave it off
- Avatar: usually the icon or mark rather than the full logo, because most platforms show profile pictures as a small circle. Use the same avatar everywhere so people recognize the account.
- Watermark: if the brand uses one, say which version, which corner and how small.
- When to leave it off: most posts don't need a logo. The colors, photos and voice do the recognizing.
6. Hashtags, emoji and tags
- Hashtags: the brand hashtag, a few named sets by topic, and how to write them. Capitalize each word in multi-word tags (#FieldWorkshops), which makes them easier to read, including for people using screen readers.
- Emoji: none, a few, or plenty, and which ones feel on brand. Fern & Field might allow a single flower. Harbor Health might allow none in anything about care.
- Tags and mentions: tag partners, venues and photographers, and check handles before posting. Say whose permission you need before tagging a customer.
7. Replies, comments and DMs
This section saves the most trouble. Cover:
- How fast you aim to reply, and in what hours.
- How to answer a complaint: thank them, say what happens next, and move the details to a private message or email.
- What goes to someone else, and who: press questions, refunds, anything legal or medical.
- What never to say in public, like promises about refunds or delivery dates you can't keep.
8. What not to post, and who approves
Topics the brand stays out of, competitors you never name, photos that need permission (customers, staff, children), and prices or dates that must be checked first. Then approvals: which posts can go out without asking, and which need a yes, from whom.
A one-page social media brand guidelines template
Copy this, fill it in, and keep it to one page per brand.
SOCIAL GUIDELINES: {Brand name} Updated: {date}
Who follows us and why: ____________________________________
Voice words: ________, ________, ________
We are ________, not ________.
Platform notes
{Platform 1}: ____________________________________
{Platform 2}: ____________________________________
Say: ________, ________, ________
Avoid: ________, ________, ________
Brand name is written: ________
Colors: backgrounds ________ / text ________ / accent ________
Safe text pairs: ________ on ________, ________ on ________
Fonts: ________ (fallback ________)
Avatar: ________ Watermark: ________
Hashtags: brand ________ / sets: ________, ________
Emoji: ________
Always tag: ________ Ask before tagging: ________
Replies: within ________ during ________
Complaints: thank, explain next step, move to ________
Send to someone else: press -> ________, refunds -> ________
Never post: ________________________________________
Needs approval from ________: ________________________
Example: Harbor Health's social guidelines, filled in
Harbor Health is a made-up group of three neighborhood clinics with a calm, clear, kind voice. Here's its one-pager:
- Who follows us and why: Patients and neighbors near our three clinics. They come for opening hours, health reminders and how to book.
- Voice: calm, clear, kind. We are reassuring, not chirpy. Clear, not clinical.
- Platform notes: Facebook for clinic news and hours. Instagram for the people behind the clinics and seasonal reminders. LinkedIn for hiring and community partnerships.
- Say: "book", "your clinic", "same-week appointments". Avoid: "cure", "guaranteed", medical jargon, and anything that sounds like a diagnosis.
- Colors: Sand backgrounds, Ink text, Tide for headings and shapes. Coral is for small accents only, with Ink text on it, never white.
- Avatar: the Harbor mark in white on Tide. Watermark: none.
- Hashtags: #HarborHealth, plus #HarborKids for the pediatric clinic. Emoji: none on anything about care; one at most on community posts.
- Replies: within one working day. Never confirm or discuss anyone's care in comments, even if they bring it up. Thank them and give the clinic's phone number.
- Send to someone else: press questions to Dr. Ana Reyes (media@harbor.example), billing questions to the front desk.
- Never post: patients' faces or stories without written consent, photos taken inside exam rooms, or health advice beyond the reminders our clinicians have approved.
- Needs approval: anything about vaccines, outbreaks or closures, from the clinic manager.
Notice how much of it is about replies and what not to post. That's where social goes wrong, and where most brand guides say nothing.
How do you get people to actually use social media guidelines?
- Keep it to one page. If it scrolls for long, people stop at the colors.
- Put it next to the kit. The guidelines, the logos and the approved bios should live in the same place, a click apart.
- Show examples. A real caption, a real reply to a complaint. People copy examples far more than they follow adjectives.
- Hand it over on day one. Every freelancer, VA or new hire gets it before their first post. We've written up what to give a virtual assistant, and the same list works for anyone.
- Update it when something goes wrong. A reply that went sideways becomes a new line in section 7. Date the page so everyone knows it's current.
Where your social media brand guidelines live in BrandTab
In BrandTab, most of the one-pager has a home already. Each brand's Voice section has a tagline, a short summary, three to five tone words, voice guidelines (one per line, which suits platform notes like "Instagram: one question per caption") and usage rules for how the logo, colors and copy should and shouldn't be used. Every logo has a usage note and a choice of background it's shown on, and every color has a role and usage notes, so "Coral: accents only, Ink text" travels with the color itself.
Tabitha writes the first draft of the top half. Give Tabitha, BrandTab's assistant, the brand's website, say afterglow.example. She reads up to eight public pages and suggests tone words and voice notes based on how the site actually writes, plus the tagline and a two-or-three-sentence summary. You tick what sounds right and leave the rest. The platform notes, the reply rules and the never-post list are yours to add, since no website says how you answer a one-star review. But you start from a draft, not a blank page.
On the Creative and Studio plans, the brand sheet puts logos, colors, type and voice on one page that shares as a link or a PDF (letter or A4), so a freelancer always sees the current version. Like every share page, it starts switched off, and switching it off takes it down straight away. Approved bios and hashtag sets go in Snippets, one shortcut away: press ⌘K on Mac, Ctrl+K on Windows, type "hashtags", and copy. The Free plan includes all of the sections for one brand.
Questions people ask
What should social media brand guidelines include?
Who the account is for, the voice and how it shifts by platform, words to use and avoid, colors and fonts in posts, the avatar and logo use, hashtags and emoji, how to reply to comments and complaints, what never to post, and who approves what.
How long should social media guidelines be?
One page per brand. Long guidelines get skimmed, and the person posting needs answers in seconds. If a section grows, it probably belongs in the brand's main style guide instead.
What's the difference between social media guidelines and a social media policy?
Guidelines describe how the brand's own accounts look, sound and reply. A social media policy is usually an HR document about what employees may post on their personal accounts. Many businesses need both, but they're written for different readers.
Should each platform have its own guidelines?
One set of guidelines, with a line or two of platform notes, is enough for most brands. The voice stays the same everywhere; only the tone, length and format shift.
Who should write social media brand guidelines?
Whoever knows the brand best, with whoever posts every day. Often that's the owner and their social manager or VA together: the owner knows what must never be said, and the person posting knows which questions come up.
