Next-Level Social MediaCRAFTING POLICIES, GUIDELINES & TRAININGS

Presented by Leigh-Anne Lawrence

2015 NCMPR National Conference | March 23, 2015

Why Does Your School Need

a Social Media Policy?

To protect your brand and, more importantly, your school’s online reputation

2

Policy vs. Guidelines:

What’s the Difference?

Policy

Purpose-driven

(i.e., articulates why it’s needed and

how it will protect the college, its

faculty and staff, its students, etc.)

Broad in nature, referencing related

college policies that already exist

Board-Approved (mandatory)

Remains consistent; any changes

require Board approval

Guidelines

Procedure-driven

(i.e., this is how you do x, y, and z)

Usually not Board-Approved

Can evolve as needed without having

to go through a complicated

approval-process

Only as good as the department that

enforces them

3

Who should your policy govern?

4

Primary: Employees

Account administrators

Employees in general

Secondary: Students

Account administrators

Fans and followers of college accounts

What Should Your Policy Contain?

1. Philosophy or purpose-statement (the how and the why)

2. Definition of what the term “social media” encompasses

3. Clear expectations for employees and students (usage and content)

4. Reference to guidelines for social media administration/management

5. Reference or list of related college policies (include names and policy numbers)

5

Remember: Your policy needs to be simple and flexible.

Research Current Social Media Case

Law (Federal and State)

Current Trend: Employee Accounts Belong to the Employee

2012: National Labor Relations Board ruled that employees CAN use social media to complain

or comment on management without retribution

Social Media Law Resources

National Labor Relations Board: www.nlrb.gov

Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov

Glen Gilmore: www.glengilmore.com

@so_me_law: Twitter account for Think Tank Legal

6

Remember: Your should address official college accounts and employee professionalism

Establishing Your Social Media Policy

Step 1: Look at

Existing College

Policies

Code of Student Conduct or Honor Code

Code of Employee Conduct

Technology/Computer Usage Policy

Solicitation Policy

Other policies that govern behavior/ technology usage

Step 2: Use Third-

Party Policies for

Guidance

Talk to your contemporaries at other CCs

Research social media policies for organizations outside higher education

Use an online policy generator tool to get started if you’re having trouble crafting language

Step 3: Get Buy-In from

Faculty & Staff Prior to

Implementation

Solicit feedback from faculty and staff before the policy goes to the Board for approval

Run your draft policy through:

Faculty Assembly/Senate

Technology/IT Councils

and/or IT departments

Human Resources

Student Affairs

7

From Idea to Policy: How Hagerstown CC’s

Policy Came to Be

8

Request was brought to Administration & IT Shared Governance

Committee

The Social Media Specialist put together

a draft policy with assistance from PIGR

Director, VP, and Dean

The draft policy was sent to the Technology

Planning Council for initial review

After revisions, the policy was sent to

Faculty Assembly for review

The policy came back to the Technology

Council for final approval

The TCP approved the policy, which then

went to the Board of Trustees and was approved in 2013

A Closer Look at Hagerstown CC’s Policy

9

Part I: States why HCC uses social media: “…to educate, inform, and collaborate with students,

staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as community members.”

Part II: Clearly states the college’s expectations for employees and content.

Employees should:

Be honest and transparent in electronic communications as they would be in person

Respect privacy, confidentiality, and copyright laws

Content should:

Be accurate, concise, student-oriented, sensitive to diverse audiences, and respectful of

the college, its employees, students, and the community

A Closer Look at Hagerstown CC’s

Policy Continued

10

Part III: References the creation and maintenance of administrative guidelines for employees

posting on behalf of Hagerstown CC.

It also outlines the responsibilities of fans and followers on official college accounts, such as

respecting terms of service for individual social media sites and the college’s right to remove

content that violates its code of conduct.

Part IV: Lists related college policies including:

Acceptable Computer Usage

Code of Trust

Code of Student Conduct

Free Speech & Anti-Discrimination

Solicitation

Going Beyond the Policy

You need administrative guidelines for staff and students.

11

Creating Administrative Guidelines

12

Choose one department to oversee and manage social media at your institution

Decide who can administer college accounts (students and staff or just staff?)

Determine the process by which official accounts are created

Specify how accounts should be managed and what type of content is preferred or acceptable

TIP: Avoid censorship as much as possible

Centralized vs. Decentralized Control

Centralized

All college-affiliated groups that want

a social media presence come to a

central office for approval and

training

The central office creates the

account and then turns it over to

an administrator to manage

Decentralized

Staff and faculty can create their own

college-affiliated social media

accounts without prior approval

Once the account is established, the

individual(s) who created the account

can request to be recognized as an

“official” college social media

account by the central office

Training may or may not occur

13

Why Hagerstown CC Took the

Centralized Approach

Allows the college to maintain control of the brand and monitor its online reputation

Benefits:

Consistent naming and management

Administrative access to all accounts (to prevent misuse and help resolve issues)

Prevents the creation of unnecessary accounts and/or duplication of efforts

Makes training mandatory for employee and student administrators

14

The Nitty Gritty: Setting Guidelines

for Staff Administrators

15

Staff Guidelines Should Include:

How often administrators should be checking the account

What type of content can and should be posted

How often content is posted

When to remove content posted by fans and followers

TIP: Hold staff and faculty accountable. Check-in to make sure they are managing the account

effectively

The Nitty Gritty: Setting Guidelines

for Students

16

Two Types of Guidelines:

1. Students as fans or followers of an account

2. Student administrators on official college accounts

As fans/followers, students need to adhere to your college’s code of conduct.

As administrators, students need to be held to the same standards as staff.

TIP: There should always be a staff administrator on any student-run account.

Sample Code of Conduct for Facebook

HCC officials have the right to remove any content deemed to be

offensive, inappropriate, of a harassing or threatening nature, or

comments that could be construed as defamation of character.

Comments that contain profanity will also be deleted.

Repeat offenders will be removed as a fan from the HCC page.

17

Training Your Staff Administrators

Social media is only effective if managed well.

18

Your Training Checklist

19

What You Need

A copy of the policy

A copy of the guidelines

Basic “How-To” information for each platform (including terminology and etiquette)

Writing Style Guide or Brand Management Guide

Examples of the type of posts/content you expect to see

Remember: Be clear about your expectations for the account and its management.

Going Deeper: Customer Service Training

Administrators are the equivalent of front-line, call center staff. That means they need to:

Respond to every question and address complaints

Respond in a professional, yet friendly manner

Respond in a timely fashion (24-48 hours recommended)

Refrain from getting hostile or defensive

TIP: Social media administrators need to have a clear understanding of who they can go to for

support. Encourage administrators to reach out if they encounter a situation they don’t know how

to handle.

20

Sample Twitter Training

Part I: Twitter 101

Should cover Twitter etiquette and terminology

Part II: Administration and Management

How often the account should be checked

How many tweets should be sent each day

How to answer questions (and where to go for help)

How to write for Twitter (e.g., style guidelines)

How to post about events

Sample hash tags for the account

How to tag other accounts and retweet content

How to schedule tweets and track retweets/mentions

How to shrink hyperlinks

21

Closing the Loop

Make your school’s policy and guidelines accessible to everyone

22

The Importance of Transparency23

Social media is open to everyone: your policy and guidelines should be too

Create a dedicated page with a custom URL on your college website

Include a link to the college policy and spell out your school’s social media guidelines

Reference which department is responsible for social media management and provide contact

information or a link to that department’s Web page

Don’t forget: Include a list of all the official accounts for your institution

Sample CC Social

Media Web Pages

24

Austin Community College District

Hagerstown Community College

Community College of Beaver County

Tallahassee Community College

Other Policy Sample:

University of Hawaii CC System

Questions?

25

Leigh-Anne Lawrence

Follow: @writenowsocial

Email: lmlawrence01@gmail.com

Get the presentation online at www.leighannelawrence.com/social-media