charity

A good social media policy like reinforced does the heavy lifting out of sight and can be juist as useful.

I’ve been involved with several and know they can be a bit of a devil to draw-up, agree, get signed off and then stick to.

So, I thought it useful to blog some examples which date from the last few years.

A good social media policy sets out how staff can use it and also how the organisation will use it.

You want iyt to be simple, clear and easy to follow. You also want it publsihed so people can see it. I’m puzzled at how so often people will bury theirs like an unwanted Christmas jumper.

Reading through the examples – and there are some fine examples for 2023 it struck me that there are a couple of things a robust policy needs to include.

Set out how the organisation will broadly use social media

You want this to be some clear basic principles.

So, we’ll use the best platform to reach the right audience is good.

We’ll use MySpace for the kids and Twitter for BeBo for customer services will really hem you in.

Set out how staff can use it and not use it

Again , broad principles are good. For the most part linking your code of conduct to also include social media does most of what’s needed.

The General Medical Council’s policy is aimed at how doctors can use it, for example, and they pull in existing good medical practice guidance before adding some other things around confidentiality and boundaries.

I also like University Hospitals Dorset’s policy as it covers how the organisation will use it but also staff out-of-hours too. They quote human rights legislation to defend their right to a voice but also spell out what will get them into trouble with codes of practice.

Beefing up the support

One thing I did see missing from some of the polocies was robust support for those using social media for the organisation.

It was good to see ‘trolling’ raised as an issue but I’d beef that up with reference to the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on abuse in the workplace which covers abuse online, too.

Social media policy examples

Thanks to everuyone who flagged policies and sent through policies they didn’t mind sharing with a WeTransfer link.

Shout in the comments if you have any you’d like me to add.

You’re a public sector PR person and you’ve got to answer a question from the media about cuts, what do you do?

Forecasts say there will be 40 per cent job losses in some areas of the public sector with £3.3 billion being taken from the voluntary secto r over a five year period and £20 billion coming from local government and £15 billion of efficiency savings due in the NHS.

So, what stories are being shaped? If you work in the sector it’s probably long overdue time to think about it.

A) Apply a positive gloss and insist that yes, efficiencies will be made but frontline services will not be cut.
B) Tell people that they had their chance to have their say in the budget consultation and they blew it.
C) Tell people that this is what cuts look like.

All too often people in the public sector have been going for a) to try and minimise panic and upset on the population. But with £20 billion worth of cuts coming down the tracks in local government we need to be above all honest. So, let’s just take a closer look at that, shall we?

What insisting that efficiencies will be made and frontline services will not be cut means

You’ve been cutting millions of pounds from budgets for years. But the frontline hasn’t been affected? Efficiencies? Clearly, you were wasting that money all along so why on earth should I trust you now?

Or, you’re trying to be a bit clever and you know that the frontline will very much be affected but the couple of hours of mobile library visit will somehow make-up for the five-day-a-week building the community used to have. People won’t buy it, or they’ll see through it. So, why should they trust you now?

What telling people that they’ve had their chance means

You’ve pinned up details of a public meeting at the church hall and you paid three times the rate for a display ad in the local paper because it’s a public notice and they’ve got you over a barrel. Twelve people turned up and the Twitter chat you ran reached a fair number but not everyone. In other words, you’ve not done a very good job of this public consultation lark. Why should they trust you now?

What telling people that this is what cuts look like looks like

In Birmingham, this is exactly what Cllr James McKay told the Evening Mail about green bin charges in the City as people were protesting against cuts. Yes, it’s messy. Yes, people won’t like it. But look yourself in the eye. This is the truth. This is going to happen more and more and public sector comms increasingly is going to be about what you don’t do rather than you do.

But at least they’ll trust you more because you are being honest.

A grown-up conversation is needed about communicating cuts and if you work in the area you need to work out which choice you make pretty quick.

Creative commons credit

Dog protest https://www.flickr.com/photos/16230215@N08/8544982977/

Tag Archives: charity

PROTEST PR: How Comms Should Answer Cuts Questions

Set out how the organisation will broadly use social media

Set out how staff can use it and not use it

Beefing up the support

Social media policy examples

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Local government

Fire and rescue

Police

Higher education

NHS

Professional bodies

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