Neighbourhood Policing Team Twitter account guidance

Transcription

1 Neighbourhood Policing Team Twitter account guidance

2 Contents 1. Background What is Twitter? Why are we using it? Our roles 2. Twitter: The basics What is What is Retweet (RT)? What is a Direct Message (DM)? Linking 3. Using Twitter Managing your tweets How to post a tweet Save as draft Post a photo Mention a user Include a URL Delete a tweet Twitter s 4 segments 4. Procedures What to tweet Tone of Voice What to retweet Frequency of tweets When to reply Crime reporting Handling intelligence Reputational issues Major incidents Contact details 5. PSD policy

3 1. Background What is Twitter? Twitter is a microblogging site and information network. Millions of people, organisations, and businesses use it to discover and share new information. On Twitter, anyone can read, write and share messages of up to 140 characters. These messages, or tweets, are public and available to anyone interested in them. Twitter users subscribe to our messages by following our account. Followers receive our messages in their timeline - a feed compiling all the accounts that they subscribe to. Why are we using it? Twitter allows us to start and participate in online discussions, allows the public to engage with the force, provide feedback, seek help and suggest ideas. We ve been able to respond to ongoing incidents through Twitter, correct misinformation, quell panic, and provide a service to members of the public who may not have contacted us otherwise. The BTP (@btp_uk) corporate account was started in May of 2011 and we have more than 33,000 followers as of Summer 2013, gaining between 200 and 400 followers a week. Our roles The main BTP corporate is run by Media and Marketing during the day and used for passive monitoring by First Contact Centre in the evenings and over weekends. It s used to promote our work on a nationwide level, but aims to provide selected news from regional areas of interest too. We also use it to promote nationwide campaigns or new online projects. The NPT accounts have been devised to build community relations for passengers and local authorities who have a vested interest in the railway in their area. Regional media and marketing accounts were launched in 2013 to provide a closer tie to press relations across the areas.

4 2. Twitter: The basics What is Any message posted by clicking the Reply button on another tweet. You use them when you want to respond to something someone has said on Twitter. Your reply will always begin Anyone s tweet that is a reply to you will show up in tab. Replies like these aren t private, but they also aren t broadcast in the same way regular tweets are. Your followers won t see you make to a different user in their timeline unless they also follow the user you replied to. What is a retweet? A re-posting of someone else s tweet. The RT feature helps you quickly share that tweet with all of your followers. A new style retweet inserts the user s entire tweet and their avatar into your timeline for followers. This method is useful for context as it shows the original user s details. An old style retweet involves putting RT at the beginning of tweet to indicate that they are re-posting or quoting another user s tweet, before pasting in the retweeted user s name and the text of the tweet. This is useful when you want to add commentary to the retweet. When a tweet has been retweeted but modified or edited, it is good practice to write MT instead this stands for Modified Tweet. What is a direct message? A direct message (or DM) is a private communication on Twitter sent by or to one of our followers. You can only send a direct message to a user who is following you and who you are following back. DMs are useful for taking contact details or for something you or one of your followers would rather not discuss in public. Once you have resolved the issue with a user it is advised that you unfollow them to avoid clogging up your home feed. Linking Twitter shortens links automatically so they don t use up a tweet s character limit. On some apps you may need to use a link-shrinking tool in order to scale them down.

5 3. Using Twitter You can access Twitter either through your Internet browser and mobile.twitter.com or through the app. Log in using either your or Twitter handle followed by your password. Managing your tweets To post a Tweet: 1. Tap the compose Tweet icon (looks like a feather quill). 2. Enter your 140-character message. 3. When you're ready to post your message, tap Tweet. 4. A notification will appear in the status bar on your device and will go away once the Tweet successfully sends. To save a Tweet as a draft: 1. If you would like to save your Tweet as a draft, press the back button while you are in the compose window. 2. You will see the option to save as a draft. You can later access your saved drafts under the Me tab. To post a photo with your Tweet: 1. Tap the camera icon to take the photo with your mobile device's camera 2. You can also tap the photos icon (next to the camera icon) to select an existing photo from your device's gallery. 3. Take a photo or select your photo from the gallery and you will see that the character count in the Tweet composer has decreased by a few characters to make room for the image. 4. Tap Tweet to post the Tweet with a link to the photo. To mention a user: 1. Tap symbol and start typing. A drop down list of accounts you follow will appear. 2. As you type, the list will narrow down possible matches. 3. When the username you are looking for appears, tap it and it will be populated in the Tweet composer. 4. If you are not following the user, you will need to type their handle in full. To include a URL in a tweet: 1. Links are automatically shortened using Twitter's own t.co service. 2. Just start typing a link with and the character counter will automatically deduct 20 characters no matter how long the original link is. 3. Hold down on the compose area to paste a copied URL. To delete a Tweet: 1. Tap the Tweet you'd like to delete and tap on the trash can icon at the bottom of the Tweet. 2. A message will pop-up with the option to cancel. Tap Delete Tweet.

6 3. The Tweet will be successfully removed from your profile. Twitter is divided into four segments. 1. Home is where you see Tweets from the accounts you follow. is where you can find your public mentions and Tweet Interactions. 3. #Discover is where you can see the latest news stories and trends worldwide. 4. Me is where you can view and edit your profile, access your direct messages, lists, and more. 1. Home A blue glow underneath the home icon means there are new Tweets waiting in your timeline. You can tap or swipe on each Tweet for more options You can tap on, swipe, or press and hold on a Tweet to retweet, make it a favourite, go to that user's profile, or share the Tweet to another service. Anytime you want to navigate back to the home timeline just tap on the home icon in the top navigation. In the Interactions tab, you can see who has recently followed you, mentioned you, retweeted you or marked your Tweets as favourites. The Mentions tab will strip out all other activity notifications and only display your mentions Use the search bar at the top to search for other users. 3. #Discover Tweets The top Tweets tailored for your interests. Tap View all Tweets to see a complete list of all the top Tweets. Activity Activity provides a rich source of discovery by highlighting the latest favourites, retweets, and follows from the people you follow on Twitter all in one place. Tap View all activity to see all the latest follows, retweets, and favourites by the people you follow. Trends

7 Below the Tweets tab you will see a list of the current top Trends worldwide, as well as personalised Trends based on the Tweets from accounts you follow. Tap on a Trend to view real-time Tweets about this topic. Tap View all trends to see a complete list of the top Trends. You can change your Trends location on the web. Refresh the Twitter for Android app and your Trends location will reflect this change. Who to follow Below Trends you will see a section called Who to follow, displaying Twitter's top suggestions. To follow an account, tap the follow button next to the username. To see a complete list of suggestions, tap View all suggestions. Search bar You can use the search bar at the top of any tab to search for other topics, hashtags, or accounts. Just start typing and you will see a list of suggested accounts that you already follow for quick searching. You can save a search by pressing the menu button while viewing the search results and tapping Save Search. More about saved searches below. 4. Me Direct messages (DMs) When you click on the Me tab, you will see an envelope icon representing DMs. The blue dot next to the icon means that you have a new direct message waiting for you. Tap on the direct messages envelope icon to access your sent and received DMs. To respond to a DM, tap the username of the sender to open the conversation thread and type your message in the text box at the bottom of the page. To compose a new DM, tap the compose message icon (looks like a pen and a pad of paper) in the upper right corner of the screen. To delete a DM conversation, tap the arrow icon at the top right of the page and then select Delete conversation. Favourites Tap Favourites to see a list of Tweets you recently marked as a favourite. Take care how you use this as the list of your Favourites are publicly available. Lists Tap Lists to access lists that you've created and are currently subscribed to (Subscribed to is selected by default). Tap Member of to switch over to a view of other users' lists that you've been added to. Tap a specific list to see more. Within each list you'll have an option to view the lists Members or tap Tweets to see the list's timeline of Tweets.

8 Saved searches If you have any specific saved searches on twitter.com, you can access them by tapping Saved searches in the Me tab. Tap the individual saved search and you ll be taken to a page where the current search results for that term are displayed. To remove a saved search, open the search from the Me tab, press the menu button on your device and select Unsave.

9 4. Procedures What to tweet The role of NPT accounts will be to tweet from the frontline any noteworthy activities for the day. The main purpose of these accounts is to promote local policing visibility, and provide a new channel for the community to feed back to the team. GREEN safe to tweet without contacting Media & Marketing Proactive events such as PACT meetings, workshops, surgeries, community events, etc. Local good news, cycle surgeries, criminal damage Successful operations (e.g. anti-social behaviour at a station) Local appeals (search the main BTP website first) Retweets local community groups, TOCs, etc. (see What to retweet ) Crime prevention advice or initiatives Ongoing public awareness campaigns and specific work in your area AMBER check with M&M first Forcewide operations Court results (link to press releases) Unofficial appeals (check with your local media manager) Local joint initiatives Evacuation/other emergency Person under train Wanted suspects (link to press release) National news headlines relative to a local story (e.g. missing child) Live events (e.g. football matches, preparation required) Posting photos (ensure the images are appropriate and do not compromise integrity, security and/or safety) RED avoid, contact M&M for guidance if urgent Any of the amber topics if NOT in the public domain Major/critical incident CID investigations Budgetary/financial content Political/government content Staff/officer disciplinary content Force SOP BTP reputation issues Live, ongoing incidents that may compromise operations or searches Off-topic messages and blather Joining in non-essential trending topics Your or any colleague s personal information (name, police number, phone number). If you need to contact any user privately, give out a general address or invite them to direct message. Tone of voice Writing with a consistent tone of voice is very important. Your main aim is to connect with passengers and railway communities using brief, timely messages and in a way that s accessible to everyone the way in which you tweet should reflect this. To help you achieve this here are the key components of our tone of voice on Twitter:

10 Be conversational (Good afternoon, Hi Tom, no problem) Be transparent (as much as possible, but always check before publishing) Be professional (keep in mind that although you are offering a human voice for the organisation, you still need to maintain a professional image appropriate to that of a police force. If you re unsure, seek guidance from Media and Marketing) Be accessible write in plain English, avoid anything which may be unclear to the public (e.g. police speak or railway industry acronyms). Be engaging encourage involvement with your followers (e.g. ask questions or invite them to ask questions back) Always write in full where possible - do not use text speak. Try drafting then restructuring your tweet before sending. You may be able to make it shorter by changing the way the sentence is written. Where you have to abbreviate: Permissible People ppl Please pls With w/ And - & Weekend wkd Have not haven t Excluded You are ur Later l8tr At What to retweet You should select who or what you retweet carefully. While a retweet is not a direct endorsement, it should remain on-topic, useful and relevant for your followers. Try to retweet: Other BTP accounts Other police accounts TOC official accounts Rail associates (e.g. Network Rail) Rail media Local community groups, organisations, schools and authorities (where relevant) Trusted media outlets (e.g. BBC) and local media Any retweet must be relevant to your work. Remember, newspapers can often have a political bias, so avoid retweeting sensitive stories which may be damaging to the Force s reputation. Frequency of tweets The BTP main account aims to produce at least two tweets of interest per day, but may produce more depending on stories of national interest and new content or campaigns. We usually aim for a maximum of 10 per day to avoid overloading our users with too much content. NPT accounts should aim for the same, though content will mainly be generated from your own observations rather than web productions. You should aim to check the account at least three times a day for any questions or queries so you can offer a prompt response. Try to compact your message into a single tweet (140 characters). Twitter is about getting across the essential information; too much can be off-putting. If you need to get more across, try including a link to a relevant page on the BTP website.

11 When to reply Twitter is about engagement; providing responses and comment on particular topics makes followers feel involved. Without responses, a Twitter account can be seen as a notice board by followers, who may not respond as positively to messages if they feel they can t engage. While not all responses are appropriate, you should try to engage whenever possible. Remember to retain a human tone but with a professional style at all times. Common types of replies you may have to deal with are: Query Usually queries concern the matter you may be tweeting about or you could be approached on a different matter entirely. Do your best to answer queries as it s often the best means of positive engagement. Make sure media queries are directed through the correct channels. Commentary Remember you are not trying to get into an argument or heavy debate with a user; remain professional and avoid trying to have the last word. A maximum of two replies to the same user on the same subject is advisable. Invite the user to send you a Direct Message with their address if you think an could help settle any issues amicably or offer to contact them by phone to discuss matters further. Abuse Sadly some users do not wish to engage, but rather make inflammatory remarks to provoke a reaction. The best thing to do is ignore any abuse. If you feel that abuse is consistently coming from a particular user, click Block and report the user to Twitter. It may not be possible to provide a response to everything. A primary objective is to provide clarity about your work, avoiding misinformation and speculation. If in doubt, in your response. Crime reporting It states clearly in the BTP account biographies that the account is managed only during office hours, and the Chief Constable has stressed that he does not want to encourage people reporting crime through Twitter or using it as a 24/hr engagement portal. You should direct people to to report crime or communicate with the organisation out of hours. The additional monitoring provided by the FCC on account will allow us to mitigate for any unforeseen crime reports or live incidents that do come through Twitter and ensure that we are assisting any passengers in need. Handling incidents and intelligence Occasionally, tweets will come through that contain intelligence. This has to be assessed on a case by case basis and any intelligence that comes through must be sent to the FIB via at FIB@btp.pnn.police.uk. You must copy the tweet in to the body of the and include any contextual information that FIB will need to know. If you are approached regarding a live incident in your area Respond to the informant, asking them to call in the first instance before acting on the information yourself. If you feel the person s safety is at risk, call FCC yourself and take action. If you are approached with intelligence regarding an ongoing case

12 Respond to the informant, asking them to call so full details can be taken. If you are notified of users who are committing travel fraud, trespass or similar Reply with a simple thank you to whoever notified you, and do not respond in any way to those committing the alleged offence. any information to FIB with background information. Keep the response low-key as we are not using these accounts to police Twitter. Reputational issues/complaints If you are approached with information and/or media content that could pose a reputational issue for the Force but is not a live incident and does not require immediate police assistance, please notify Media & Marketing. Some examples of this would be: I just saw one of your vehicles parked in a disabled spot Why was I stopped for taking photos on the railway? It s not illegal Large fight breaking out lots of media present. Police presence? Racist tube rant filmed by public Police officer just deleted my photos! Police officer stopped member of public under counter terrorism powers Major incidents If a major incident occurs the Media and Marketing team will assemble at Force Headquarters. account will tweet based on press lines and agreed updates. If the major incident occurs in or near your area do not tweet unless authorised; simply retweet messages account. We will monitor your account for any questions. Contact details We will monitor all NPT accounts and provide guidance. If you require assistance please don t hesitate to contact us: London Underground Marc Pritchard London North Simon Letouze London South Emma Wiggins Wales & Western Brian Price Huw Waghorn (Wales) North East Hilary Bowyer North West Glyn Hellam Scotland David Hodgson General social media queries Jamie Shoesmith (socialmedia@btp.pnn.police.uk)

13 PSD policy Personal use by officers and members of staff British Transport Police officers and staff are subject to Standards of Professional Behaviour. We behave in a manner which does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence, whether on or off duty. We report, challenge or take action against the conduct of colleagues which has fallen below the Standards of Professional Behaviour. Colleagues behaviour and conduct are subject to the same standards regardless of the platform on which it occurs the spoken word, the written word or on social media platforms. Use of social networking sites PSD advice notes Social networking sites provide a great way to maintain contact with friends and family. However, the amount and type of information can leave people open to certain risks. The following advice is intended to help you to minimise the risks to the Force and yourself. As a member of the BTP, you are expected to behave appropriately and should always consider the consequences of sharing information with others. Security settings Always restrict your privacy settings/profile information appropriately e.g. allow only friends to view your profile rather than everyone or friends of friends. Your personal profile Some basic rules Never include the BTP crest on your personal profile. Avoid identifying yourself as a police officer or civilian member of the BTP Do not discuss your work in anything more than general terms i.e. I had a good day at work. Do not post photographs of yourself in BTP uniform Do not post photographs involving either private or police firearms If you have a BTP address, do not post it on your profile. Friends When accepting friends or making friend requests, consider how well or if you know the individual and whether you are happy to be associated with them. Remember that once accepted, they will be able to view personal information posted on your profile. Be mindful that you may be targeted as a member of the BTP by those who wish to gain your trust, and then exploit that trust for criminal purposes. Personal blogs Take time to think about the information you put on your profile and only post information that you would be comfortable for everyone to see. In particular: Be very careful about disclosing private information. You should always be respectful to the BTP, other employees and members of the public. Any comments, pictures etc should not reflect on the BTP or you as a member of the BTP in a negative way. Always consider how joining a group may reflect on you and the BTP. You should not join any groups which may be considered inappropriate and/or offensive to others. Any official Information, especially if classified as Restricted or above (as defined by the Government Protective Marking Scheme) must not, under any circumstances, be posted or disseminated on the internet and/or Social Networking websites.

14 Inappropriate activity The following is a list of inappropriate activity that must be avoided by members of the BTP (whether or not an association has been made to the Force): Inappropriate language Violence Bullying or harassment Sexual or other innuendo Racial abuse or harassment of any kind Links to any unauthorised business interest In all cases, common sense should be used to assess whether an item should be posted on the internet. The public must be able to trust the integrity of the BTP and its members. For further general information or reporting concerns, please contact a member of the Professional Standards Intelligence Unit (PSDIU).