Social Media Style Guide Template

When multiple people manage a brand's social media, inconsistency is the default outcome. A style guide fixes that — but only if it's specific enough to be actionable rather than aspirational.

This template covers every element a social media style guide needs. The Voice section mirrors the brand voice exercise but is adapted for platform tone — the same brand sounds different on LinkedIn versus Instagram, and the guide documents how. The Visual section covers approved colour usage, logo placement in graphics, image filter and mood rules, and text overlay guidelines.

The Hashtag Strategy section documents primary, secondary, and community hashtags by platform with notes on how many to use per post format. The Response Guidelines section covers how to handle common comment types: praise, questions, negative feedback, and trolling — with example language for each.

The Platform-Specific Standards section has rules for each active platform: character limits, optimal image sizes, caption structure, and format preferences. The final section covers approval workflow — who can post without approval, what requires a review, and how to handle urgent reactive posts.

Delivered as a PDF that can be saved as a living document and updated as platforms change.