SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES

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Miles Miller
5 years ago
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1 SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES I. PURPOSE: A. Internet-based social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, have become accepted venues for sharing information, building community and engaging audiences. Liberty Township considers the use of social media valuable in furthering its goals of open citizen communication and education when appropriate. B. The purpose of Liberty Township s use of social media platforms is to provide a limited forum for matters of public interest in Liberty Township, Ohio, and allow the Township to distribute information regarding topics determined by the Township. C. The use of social media platforms allows Liberty Township to: Achieve organizational goals Encourage and further the mission of government transparency and open communications Expand communication tools Engage audiences and encourage citizen engagement D. This guideline applies to the Township s use of social media platforms and not individual employees personal use of social media platforms. Employee use of social media is outlined in the Liberty Township Employee Handbook. II. SCOPE: A. Use of social media platforms will vary based upon the services and needs of the Township and the type of social media platform to be utilized. B. With direction from the Township Administrator, the Economic Development Director/Public Information Officer (PIO) is charged with determining best practices and deployment of social networking applications in cooperation with department directors. C. Liberty Township will use social media platforms to provide information, direct users to the official Liberty website and deliver a consistent and professional message to the community. D. Liberty s participation in social media platforms must not compromise the Township s overall communication goals, but rather enhance opportunities for improved communications. E. As new social media platforms are developed, each will be evaluated by the PIO for their value in the Township s overall marketing and information delivery efforts. F. Information to be included on the social media platforms: General Township information regarding projects, meetings, etc. Event or program information Effective June 6, 2017 Page 1

2 III. DEFINITIONS: Crime or fire prevention information Announcement of Township services News from Township meetings Messages that demonstrate the commitment to the Township s vision Calls to service for special needs during times of crisis A. Social media platforms are external websites or services on non-township servers that provide a variety of ways for users to interact. Other terms sometimes used to describe social media are Web 2.0 and New Media. B. Content Manager is the individual responsible for maintaining all information on a social media site. Liberty s appointed Content Manager is the Public Information & Marketing Officer. The Content Manager may assign designees to support posting and monitoring social media platforms. C. Posting refers to the publishing of content on a social media site. D. Blogs refers to any type of website with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other materials such as graphics or video. IV. GUIDELINES: A. Opportunities for Utilizing Social Media Platforms: The Content Manager, under direction of the Township Administrator, will consider all opportunities for new social media platforms as they arise, before a Township account is established. Such accounts are only to be established by the Content Manager. No other Township employee is authorized to establish a Township account on any social media/social network site. Social media platforms under consideration by the Content Manager will be discussed with the current IT consultant to ensure compatibility with the Township s network. The Content Manager will be responsible for establishing any and all social media/social networking accounts using a Township address. B. The Content Manager, with direction from the Township Administrator, will determine if the comment function on social media platforms will be enabled or disabled. If the Township uses a site that will not allow comments to be disabled and/or if the Township elects to accept comments, the Township reserves the right to implement the content controls outlined in Section V Usage Guideline of Social Media Platforms. Hereinafter and in all events, the Township disclaims responsibility and liability to the fullest extent allowed by law for any inappropriate content or posting on any network or platform. C. Marketing of Social Media Platforms Effective June 6, 2017 Page 2

3 Liberty Township s presence on social media platforms will be promoted through press releases, quarterly newsletter, printed materials prepared by the Township and posts on the Township s website. Logos and links representing social media platforms utilized will be included on the Township s website and on newly produced printed material once all pages/accounts are developed. D. Measuring Performance of Social Media Platforms The Township s success in the area of social networking will be measured by the number of fans and subscribers to our pages, and the number of increased visits to our website. If the Township so chooses event attendees and social media users may be polled and/or surveyed regarding the value of the social media sites As part of the continuous improvement process, baseline and follow up goals will be established to calculate the merit of participation on social media platforms and return on investment. V. USAGE GUIDELINES OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS: A. If any platform allows posting comments by third parties, then third party comments may be allowed by the Township in its sole discretion subject to the right of the Content Manager to remove inappropriate content determined to be in violation of one or more of the standards enumerated in this guideline, and for any other appropriate and lawful reason. B. The Township also reserves the right to disable the comment function and/or discontinue the use of the platform at any time without explanation and/or warning. C. Each Township run Social Media platform shall contain the following disclaimer: a. The purpose of this site is to provide a limited forum for matters of public interest in Liberty Township, Ohio. Please note that this is a moderated, limited forum and not a public forum. As such, Liberty Township reserves the right to delete submissions/postings that contain: Comments not topically related to the particular posting being commented upon Profane language or content Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation Sexual content or links to sexual content Solicitations of commerce Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity Information that may compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems Effective June 6, 2017 Page 3

4 Content that violates copyright, trademark or other legal ownership interest of any other party Accusations made toward an individual that imply a particular individual is guilty of any criminal conduct or immoral activity. Defamatory material will not be permitted. If a person believes that there is a legitimate basis to make a complaint against the Township, any of its employees or any third party, then the appropriate alternative means of registering the complaint must be utilized, and these social media and web based platforms designed solely for the communication of information determined to be relevant by the Township will not be an appropriate forum for registering allegations of criminal activity or other accusations against individuals. Comments promoting particular political organizations, candidates, or ballot measures. Comments of any kind which specifically name or promote an individual, organization and/or business. b. Liberty Township retains the right to block individuals who violate these guidelines. The opinions and/or views expressed on Liberty Township s social media platforms represent the thoughts of individual followers and not those of Liberty Township and its employees. D. Township s use of social media platforms will comply with all provisions of Ohio laws and with policies issued by the Liberty Township Board of Trustees. E. Liberty Township will not directly respond to questions and comments posted to its social media platforms. If it is determined that, based upon comments, additional clarification is required on a specific topic, the Township will offer a new posting to all users to clarify a previous posting. F. Liberty Township will not comment on the social media accounts of others. G. Chat functions on any of the Township s social media platforms will not be used. H. All Township social media platforms shall clearly indicate they are maintained by Liberty Township and shall have Liberty Township contact information available on the site. I. No Township employee s personal information or addresses will be posted on these sites. J. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the Township s website may link to the Township s official social media pages. K. Social media platforms and other network applications established pursuant to this guideline will not be an appropriate forum by which citizens may ask questions or request information or records from the Township. Questions posted on a Township social media platform established pursuant to this guideline may not receive an answer Effective June 6, 2017 Page 4

5 because the site will not be monitored for this purpose. L. Each Township social media platform shall include verbiage that clearly identifies the platform as being associated with Liberty Township, references the Social Media Guidelines and directs users to the Township website for additional information. M. The Township s Social Media Guidelines will be made available in its entirety on the Liberty Township website. N. Liberty Township employees shall not disclose information about confidential Township business on either Liberty s social media platforms, or on their personal sites. VI. CONTENT OF TOWNSHIP S SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS A. Liberty Township s website, will remain the official location for content regarding official Township business, services and events. When possible, links within social media platforms will direct users back to the Township s website for more information, forms, documents or online services necessary to conduct business with Liberty Township. B. Individual Township departments and staff members may not establish their own official departmental Liberty Township social media site/pages. Individual departments wanting to add content to the official Liberty Township social media platforms may submit requests to the Content Manager. C. The Content Manager will review all Township-related information prior to posting on social media platforms. D. At the sole discretion of the Township, the Content Manager may disable functions or applications on the Township s social media platforms that are not needed or desired, and the decisions on which features to maintain or disable shall be at the sole discretion of the Township. No rights are created in any third party with respect to how the Township may utilize the applications and features on social media platforms. Similarly, the decision on whether to allow posting or responses by third parties and the deletion of any such responses or postings shall be at the sole discretion of the Township and outside parties do not have any authority or right to control content or the length of time content may be posted. E. The Township reserves the right to temporarily or permanently suspend access to official Township social media platforms at any time. F. All information posted by the Township on social media platforms may be subject to the Ohio Public Records Act and the Sunshine Law. The Content Manager, in coordination with Public Records Commission designees, shall maintain an archive of all information posted to the site, which archive shall be maintained consistent with the Township s Records Retention Schedules, in the event the content cannot be retrieved from the actual site itself. Effective June 6, 2017 Page 5

6 G. The Content Manager or his/her designees will review the social media platforms on a consistent and routine basis to ensure they are updated and information is being posted in a timely manner and comments are being monitored. Designees will monitor social media platforms at least once each day and will utilize free internet services to be alerted if comments are added to Liberty s social media sites. If comments are found to be contrary to Section V. Usage Guidelines of Social Media Platforms, a screen shot of the comment will be captured for public records purposes and the comment will be deleted from Liberty Township s page. Screen shots shall be maintained in accordance with the Township s record retention schedule as it relates to social media. If multiple comments appear to represent that more information on the posted topic is warranted, a new posting will be made on the Liberty Township page to offer clarification on the topic. Comments that offer suggestions that may benefit Township operations will be shared with the appropriate department head. Postings will be made to social media platforms approximately once a week with direction from the Township Administrator and Economic Development Director/PIO v1 Effective June 6, 2017 Page 6

SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

I. INTRODUCTION SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY The [City/Town] of permits departments to utilize social media sites and social networking sites (collectively social media sites ) to further enhance communications