Social media and digital communications continue to be a
growing phenomenon throughout the world. Social media activities come with a separate set
of business boundaries which continue to maintain a constant presence in an
ever-changing and ever-evolving online social atmosphere.
Within state
government, social media policies and guidelines continue to be implemented to provide employees and communications staff a basis of how best to use these communication tools.
BIT provides a standard set of social media guidelines that
state agencies can use.
Elements of a social media policy or set of guidelines may
include, but is not limited to the following:
- Outline the benefits of the social media platforms
and how they relate to your business needs.
- Provide suggestions on professional social media use;
including what to post, when to post and when and how to engage in comments and
conversations.
- Consider best practices and core values when it comes to developing an online community.
- Provide suggestions on social media etiquette.
- Incorporate security guidelines; with an emphasis on
password protection and understanding why social media is more prone to security
threats.
- Establish guidelines on recording and archiving the
records published under each social media platform involved with your business.
- Identify crisis management strategies and possible solutions.
- Define who is responsible for the maintenance and management of social media along with its goals and objectives.