Policy, Procedures and Guidelines for Department Facebook Pages

Transcription

1 Policy, Procedures and Guidelines for Department Facebook Pages Introduction: Facebook is a social media website with tools for members to network and stay in touch with friends, family, and coworkers. The site allows users to communicate via broadcast messages and the posting of photos, videos, and links. It is a very useful and relatively inexpensive way for Montgomery County government to communicate with residents, constituents and consumers about the mission, objectives and services offered by its various departments. Facebook should be used in conjunction with, and drive traffic to, the County s Web site, Montgomery County s Web site will remain the County s primary and predominant presence on the internet. The number of Facebook users has grown from a startup in 2006 to over 500 million users at the end of June, It is quickly becoming an indispensible, rather than an optional, method of communicating with the public. Unlike a traditional organizational website, Facebook allows for direct interaction with the resident/visitor. It is also much easier to post updates on Facebook, as no knowledge of web design or code is required. Departments can and are encouraged to use Facebook to market themselves and raise awareness of their programs and events. It is a free service that has the potential to reach hundreds and even thousands. Its timeliness cannot be matched as many users are alerted to changes on their mobile devices, giving departments the ability to update their subscribers with instantaneous information about health and safety issues. Facebook references can also spread virally at a speed that traditional media cannot compete with and users often personally endorse messages, which can be used to recruit support and volunteers. Concurrently, users self-select what they are interested in receiving updates about and messages can be targeted to specific audiences. This document is intended to provide the departments of Montgomery County with guidelines and instruction for the utilization of Facebook. These directives are general in nature and page administrators will need to make common sense decisions about situations that are unique to their departments.

2 This document is directed to those departments that are under the supervision of the Montgomery County Commissioners. Independently elected officials and their employees are welcome to use these guidelines if they so choose. Guiding Principles: If your department participates in Facebook media, follow these guiding principles: Stick to your area of expertise and provide perspectives on what is going on at your department and other matters that pertain to what your department does. Post meaningful, respectful comments, no spam, and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive. Pause and think before posting. Reply to comments in a timely manner, when a response is appropriate. Respect proprietary information, content, and confidentiality. When disagreeing with others' opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. Ensure that your department s participation is consistent with the Montgomery County employee handbook policy related to computer ethics. Ensure that your department s participation is consistent with all privacy policies and laws. Postings should be in conjunction with, and as a supplement to, your department s Web pages. Rules of Engagement: Transparency. Your honesty will be quickly noticed in the social media environment. Use your real name, identify that you work for the County and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, be the first to point it out.

3 Judicious. Make sure your efforts to be transparent do not violate the State's privacy, confidentiality, and any applicable legal guidelines for external communication. Get permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal. All statements must be true and not misleading and all claims must be substantiated and approved. Never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties the County may be in litigation with without the appropriate approval. If you want to write about other government entities, make sure you know what you are talking about and that you have any needed permissions. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and any sensitive or restricted confidential and sensitive information. What is published is widely accessible, not easily retractable, and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully. Knowledgeable. Make sure you write and post about your areas of expertise. If you are writing about a topic that the County is involved with but you are not the County expert on the topic, you should make this clear to your readers. Write in the first person. Respect brand, trademark, copyright, fair use, disclosure of processes and methodologies, confidentiality, and financial disclosure laws. If you have any questions about these, see your agency legal representative. Remember, you are personally responsible for your content. Perception. In online social networks, the lines between public and private, personal and professional are blurred. By identifying yourself as a County employee, you are creating perceptions about your expertise and about the County by legislative stakeholders, residents, clients, vendors, contractors and the general public. Be sure that all content associated with you is consistent with your work and with the County s professional standards. Conversational. Talk to your readers like you would talk to people in professional situations. Avoid overly "composed" language. Consider content that is open-ended and invites response. Encourage comments. Broaden the conversation by citing others who are commenting about the same topic and allow your content to be shared or syndicated. Excitement. The County is working on a broad range of issues. Our activities are focused on providing services and on government innovation that benefits our residents and stakeholders. Share what we are learning and doing and be open to learning from others.

4 Value. There is a lot of written content. The best way to get yours read is to write things that people will value. Communications from the County add value if they help residents and stakeholders improve knowledge or skills, build their businesses, do their jobs, solve problems, or understand the County better. Leadership. There can be a fine line between healthy debate and incendiary reaction. Do not denigrate others or the County. It is not necessary to respond to every criticism or barb. Frame what you write to invite differing points of view without inflaming others. Some topics, like politics, slide easily into sensitive territory. Be careful and considerate. Once the words are out there, you cannot get them back. Once an inflammatory discussion gets going, it is hard to stop. Pause. If you are about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, do not post the statement. Take a minute to review these guidelines and try to figure out what is bothering you, then fix it. If you are still unsure, you might want to discuss it with your manager. Ultimately, what you publish is yours, as is the responsibility and any possible repercussions. Consistency. Ensure that information posted is consistent with, and not contradictory to, what is posted on your department s Web pages. If new information is posted to Facebook first, have your department s Web pages updated to reflect the changes as quickly as possible. Mistakes. If you make a mistake, admit it. Be up front, be quick with your correction and make it clear that you have done so. Oversight. While you are responsible for what you publish, postings by those departments under the jurisdiction of the Montgomery County Commissioners are subject to review by the County s Web Editor and Web Master and the approval of the County s Communications and Solicitor s offices.

5 Moderating Comments You may encounter comments which cause you concern as a moderator or responsible party. If user content is positive or negative and in context to the conversation, then the content should be allowed to remain, regardless of whether it is favorable or unfavorable to the County. If the content is ugly, offensive, denigrating or completely out of context, then the content should be rejected and removed. Attribution Portions of this policy have been adapted from the Social Media policies of the state of Utah, Fairfax County, Virginia and City of Seattle. Procedures Approval to Develop Departmental Page 1) Department Head completes the Social Media Website (Facebook) Department Approval Form to initiate the approval process. 2) Department Head or designee creates a department-level social networking committee made up of staff personnel who will manage the page. 3) Department Head s Director of Policy to request access to social media website (e.g. and attaches completed Approval Form. 4) Director of Policy sends completed form to ITS, which will release permission to staff named on the Approval Form (departmental administrators). 5) ITS creates a departmental address and password to be used as log-in to 6) Web Editor will schedule kick-off meeting with department committee to develop Facebook page.

6 Definitions: Wall a page s central dashboard, where status updates, comments, photos, etc. will appear. Anything posted on the wall can be seen by all friends/fans of the page. Status Update the main way of communicating with one s friends/fans. A page administrator can post a short message, along with photos, links, or videos. Message a tool similar to traditional , which allows a user to send a direct message to one or more Facebook users. Only the chosen recipients will be able to see the message. Photos/Video users can upload images and video to their pages from their computers, or embed links to photos and videos already online (via sites like Flickr and YouTube; however, these sites are blocked on County computers). Newsfeed the main page that appears when a user logs on to Facebook. This page shows the recent activity of a user s friends and pages. Notes this tool is the Facebook version of a blog. It allows users to communicate in longer, more narrative form than the traditional comments or status updates. Friends/fans can view and comment on notes. Events a function that allows users to create announcements for upcoming events, send out invitations, and publish the information to the main wall page. Public view this is the view the public will see of the Facebook site, whether or not they choose to opt in as friend. Friend view this is the view that all those who have opted in as friends will be able to view. Friend comments can also be viewed. Site Administrators can block a Facebook user from being a friend or can remove a user as a friend should they misuse or be inappropriate in their comments. Administrator/staff access and view this is the area where pages can be set up with limited access to only certain viewers with permission granted, for either functional use or as a pre-public view of a page.

7 Setting up the Account: Each Facebook page must have two staff members with access as page administrators. One person should serve as the main page administrator, with the other serving as a backup. A third protocol manager from the Communications Department will oversee and monitor any changes or updates on Facebook pages. Should something controversial or outside of county policy be posted by a site manager, the Communications Department Manager would have the ability to administer the page while any issues were being corrected. Read and abide by Facebook s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (see appendix). Choose a screen name that represents you and your site well. Upload a profile picture that is unique to your department. Fill out the profile information correctly and completely. You MUST set the page to NOT ALLOW posts by users on the page s wall only comments on the departments wall posts may be allowed Profile graphic or department logo - the thumbnail may need to be adjusted to appear appropriately on fans walls Department mission statement Three tabs - Wall, Info and Photos Basic Info - location, phone and hours Detailed Info - department website, parking, public transit Links to other County Department Facebook pages The first post the Department publishes will be: Welcome to the official [Department] Facebook page. The text box under the Department photo must say that this is the official Facebook page of the dept. (see below)

8 You MUST have at least TWO people check a post before the department posts it Maintaining the Page: Post status updates regularly. Studies show that once every few days to once per day is ideal. Do not post excessively, but there may be an occasion that requires more frequent posting. Remember: infrequent posting will cause the page s fans to forget about you; too frequent posting will annoy your fans. Utilize the Page Notes function for occasional lengthier postings. Provide timely and relevant information with your posts. Be clear and concise with updates. Avoid using internet or text speak and emoticons. Proofread posts for grammar and punctuation before posting. It may be a good idea to compose posts, updates, and events in a word processing document first. Review fan content daily comments, wall posts, and photos for legitimacy, accuracy, reliability, and appropriateness. The page administrator can and should remove any inappropriate or inflammatory content promptly (See below, removing comments). Do not post links to other websites unless sure of content and legitimacy. Do not post chain statuses asking your fans to repost your status as theirs to spread the word. Focus on the quality of postings and not the quantity of fans your page has. Spamming Facebook members with postings begging for more fans will only alienate them. Do not carry out personal conversations via wall posts. Know the difference between a wall post and a private message. Wall posts are used for public content; messages are for one-on-one conversation. Keep all Facebook communications, including private messages, professional and appropriate.

9 Use the editorial we instead of I when posting. Remember that, as a page administrator, you are not representing yourself but your entire site. Do not post offensive or controversial material. Remember that the Facebook page is a reflection of your Department, and the County of Montgomery. Do not post copyrighted content, and do not post photographs of people without their written consent. Notify County Communications Directors in the event a Commissioner or other County Official is featured in a photo and/or video. Notify County Communications Director after any type of video is posted on the Department Page s Wall Removing Comments: There is now a mailbox in which all deleted comments are to to be copied and mailed to. When deleting a comment, first copy the comment to be deleted, and place it in an . Send the to SMDeletedComments@montcopa.org. This will save all deleted comments in an archive. Other notes: Departments may other departments requesting to post on their wall. For example, the Health Department might request that Public Safety post something about flu shots on their wall. This will provide more exposure to the departments, while offering the public more pertinent information. A contact group of all FB Administrators is set-up on Outlook under the Global Address List. (facebookadmins@montcopa.org) Every Facebook departmental page must link to the county web site for that department. The box beneath the picture on each departmental page must include This is the official Facebook page of [insert department here]