For Bayer, social media has become one more way for employees to share ideas within the organization or for the company to communicate with customers.

However, the company—like many others in the social-media space—also recognize the need for formal policies or guidelines governing these online activities.

“It’s not as if there are brand-new guides or instructions to employees, but this is another vehicle that, if they are representing the company, they need to be mindful of what proper behavior is,” said Bryan Iams, head of strategic and external communications for Bayer.

More and more companies are jumping online for marketing, and employees also have their own online personas. Ninety-one percent of Inc. 500 companies reported using at least one form of social media, according to a 2009 study by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Furthermore, 52 percent of these companies reported using the micro-blogging service Twitter as a tool.

As this avenue for marketing and communication continues to grow, regulation is not far behind. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has started monitoring business transparency online under advertising rules for endorsement and testimonials.

Since December 1, the FTC has included “new media” as part of the guides for the application of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

That means companies that run afoul of the act could face FTC orders.

“What we are doing is applying the same rules that apply to advertising and media to advertising in the word-of-mouth and social-media area,” said Richard Cleland, assistant director of the FTC division of advertising. “Those rules relate to truth in advertising and transparency, and that simply because this is a novel format, that doesn’t mean different rules apply.”

The federal guides on social media were issued “because it’s become a significant avenue of marketing today. It is marketing and it employs the use of endorsements, so it was just natural,” Cleland said.

For the most part, the federal guides for social media and blogs require the disclosure of “material connections” for endorsements, meaning if someone is going to praise, criticize, or defend a company online, that person must also note their connection to the company. Otherwise, a company can be held responsible.

Bayer has a 13-page policy that covers employee use of social media, Iams said. It reminds people about confidentiality and proper communication with customers or others online. He noted the company also monitors its online reputation.

Similarly, H.J. Heinz Co. also has a written policy distributed to all employees. The policy specifically spells out that employees must be transparent when publishing material online that references the company or when speaking with bloggers, and reminds employees about not commenting on confidential company information.