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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSocial Media Policy 012921 ☐City Council Approved: 7/9/2010 ☒City-Wide Revised: 1/29/2021 ☐Department Social Media Policy I. Purpose Social networking in government serves two primary functions: to communicate and deliver messages directly to residents and to encourage their involvement, interaction and feedback. Information distributed via social media must be accurate, consistent and timely and meet the information needs of the City’s residents and customers. This policy seeks to ensure proper use of the City of Edina’s social media sites by its representatives. The City of Edina wishes to represent itself appropriately and consistently online. This policy defines social media, as well as establishes procedures for creating an overall social media presence. Departments and facilities cannot create social media accounts themselves, but must follow the provisions of Section V – General Conditions and Restrictions included herein. This policy also provides guidelines and standards for City representatives regarding the use of social media for communication with residents, colleagues and all other followers. II. Policy The City of Edina will determine, at its discretion, how its web-based social media resources will be designed, implemented and managed as part of its overall communications and marketing strategy. City-related social media web resources administered by the Communications Department may be modified or removed by the City at any time and without notice as further described in this document. The City’s official website, EdinaMN.gov, shall remain the City’s primary online medium for communicating information to the public. Enterprise facilities’ websites – EdinaAquaticCenter.com, EdinaArtCenter.com, BraemarArena.com, BraemarGolf.com, BraemarField.com, BraemarGolfDome.com, CentennialLakesPark.com, EdinboroughPark.com, EdinaLiquor.com and EdinaSeniorCenter.com – shall remain those entities’ primary online medium for communicating information to the public. The City’s “City Extra” email notification system shall remain the City’s (and its enterprise facilities’) primary email notification tool. III. Scope This policy applies to any pre-existing or proposed social media/networking websites. This policy also covers the private use of the City’s social media accounts by all City representatives, including Page | 2 its employees and agents, Council Members, appointed board or commission members and all public safety volunteers to the extent if affects the City. IV. Definitions Blog (abbreviation of “web log”) – A blog is a website where a blog author posts information about a specific topic, usually targeted to a specific audience. A blog, if commenting is enabled, allows registered members of the public (called “blog commentators”) to post comments about posts by the blog author. Social Media – Social media focuses on creating and fostering online social communities for a specific purpose and connect users from varying locations and interest areas. Social media websites can offer many different ways for users to interface such as instant-messaging, blogging and commenting, online forums, status updates (micro-blogging), link sharing, video conferencing and photo- and video-sharing. Social Networking – Social networking websites offer a way for registered users to communicate with each other on the internet. They usually offer many ways to connect other registered users such as status updates (micro-blogging), instant messaging, blogs, polls and photo- and video-sharing. Twitter, YouTube and Facebook examples of social media websites. NextDoor is a private social networking site for neighborhoods. V. General Conditions & Rules of Use When using social media sites as a representative of the City, employees and agents will act in a professional manner. Examples include but are not limited to: adhere to all City personnel and I.T. policies, use only appropriate language, make sure information is accurate and free of grammatical errors. Be aware that content will not only reflect on the writer, but also on the City of Edina as a whole, including elected officials and other City employees and agents. City of Edina social media websites and their associated content should focus on areas of significant City interest and be organized in a manner that avoids ambiguities and/or conflicting information across the City’s various communication mediums, including other City social media websites. City Social Media Accounts – Social media websites are to be consistently branded in order to communicate a clear association with the City, and must contain a standard disclaimer. Branding should include, but is not limited to, the inclusion of the City and/or enterprise facility logo and, where possible, the official brand colors. The naming and contact conventions used for social media websites should be City of Edina-specific. All approved social media websites will be linked with an official City website. Social Media Use – Administration and use of City social media websites must comply with applicable laws, regulations and policies, as well as proper business etiquette. City social media accounts accessed and utilized during the course and scope of any employee’s performance of their Page | 3 job duties may not be used for private or personal purposes or for the purpose of expressing private or personal views on personnel, religious, political or policy issue. A social media website account shall not be used by the City or any City employee or representative to disclose sensitive and/or confidential information, such as personal or private information about City employees, without express written approval of the City Manager and/or City Attorney. City employees who wish to comment on other social media websites or blogs in an official capacity must do so in accordance with the City’s Media Contact Policy. Access is not to be shared among employees other than those explicitly given access, at the sole discretion of the Communications Department. Social Media Sites – There are many forms of social media. At the present time, the Communications Department supports and uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube for City-wide communication purposes. Social media accounts are not allowed for individual City departments, advisory boards and commissions or for City-sponsored events and programs unless prior approval is given at the discretion of the Communications Director. The Communications Department maintains a list of usernames and passwords for all City social media sites so that staff can post to any and all of them during an emergency and remove inappropriate content and ensure records retention. Changes to passwords or other credentials that use a general login must be reported to the Communications Department within 24 hours of the action. (This does not apply to personal accounts.) The City also uses NextDoor and an engagement website, BetterTogetherEdina.org, to communicate. Those sites allow for users to provide comments. Monitoring – The City’s Communications Department and Marketing Analyst oversee and monitor all the City’s social media accounts. Department Directors and Facility Managers or their designees are required to regularly monitor their social media sites and respond to “comments.” Where moderation of comments is an available option, comments from the public will be moderated by City staff with administrative rights. Where moderation prior to posting is not an option, sites will be regularly monitored by City staff. City staff with administrative rights will not edit any posted comments. However, comments posted by members of the public will be removed if they are abusive, obscene, defamatory, in violation of copyright, trademark right, or other intellectual property right of any third party, or otherwise inappropriate or incorrect. See Section XI for guidelines for removing content. To adhere to current records retention requirements, the Communications Department will archive content from each of the City’s social media websites. Advertising – Those with access to a City-owned social media account may also have access to social media advertising tools. To stay in compliance with goals, site terms of services, laws, records Page | 4 retention, etc., staff should work with Communications staff or the Marketing Analyst for any digital advertising needs. VI. Personal Social Media Accounts Employees are expected to be attentive and careful in their personal use of social media with regard to website and internet postings that reference the City of Edina, its personnel, its operation or its property. Employees should be aware that their use of social media may be perceived as representing the City and City government, and should tailor their use accordingly. City employees are not to use personal social media accounts to express opinions or personal views in an official capacity or on behalf of the City on any social networking or blog pages. Postings and user profiles on personal social media accounts must not state or imply that the views, conclusions, statements or other social media content are an official policy, statement, position or communication of the City of Edina, or represent the views of the City, a facility or a department. Employees are also discouraged from identifying themselves as City employees when responding to or commenting on blogs or posts with personal opinions or views. A blog or post on social media requiring a response by the City should be brought to the attention of the Communications Department. Personal social media accounts that identify a person as a City employee must include a qualifying statement in substantially the following form: “The views expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect any official view or position of the City of Edina, Minnesota.” Employees should not identify themselves as City employees on non-professional social media sites if actively posting about or working on an active political campaign, regardless of its connection to the City. Use of the City of Edina logo and those of any facility or department is prohibited on personal, non- professional social media websites. The City of Edina respects employees and agents’ rights to post and maintain personal websites, blogs and social media pages and to use and enjoy social media on their own personal devices during non-work hours. Occasional access to personal social media websites during work hours is permitted, but employees and agents must adhere to the guidelines outlined in the City’s I.T. policy and the City’s Respectful Workplace policy. Employees and agents should also review the Data Ownership section of this policy. There may be times when personal use of social media (even it is off duty or using the employee’s own equipment) may spill over into the workplace and become the basis for employee coaching or discipline. Examples of situations where this might occur include: friendships, dating or romance between co-workers; cyber-bullying stalking or harassment; release of confidential information; unlawful activities; misuse of City-owned social media; inappropriate use of the City’s name, logo or Page | 5 the employee’s position or title; use of City-owned equipment or city time for extensive personal social media use. Each situation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis because the laws in this area are complex. VII. Data Ownership All social media communications or messages composed, sent or received on City equipment in an official capacity are the property of the City and will be subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. This law classifies certain information as available to the public upon request. The City of Edina also maintains the sole property rights to any image, video or audio captured while a City employee is representing the City in any capacity. The City retains the right to monitor employee’s social media use on City equipment and will exercise its right as necessary. Users should have no expectation of privacy. Social media is not a secure means of communication. Users should review each platform’s User Agreement to understand its use of content and privacy. VIII. Disclaimers The following disclaimer will be posted on every social media site maintained by the City: The City’s [Facebook] sites(s) is/are operated by the City of Edina. We reserve the right to hide the following comments or posts, photos and video: • Posts and comments that contain obscene, indecent, or profane language or pornographic images or links to obscene or pornographic content, direct threats • Prejudiced or harmful comments that encourage discrimination or discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, religion, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation • Solicitation, promotion or endorsement of specific commercial services, products or entities • Posts and comments that advocate illegal activity • Personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information that if released violates federal or state law • Political statements that endorse or oppose political campaigns or candidates • Information that could compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems • Information that directly interferes or compromises ongoing investigations, public safety tactics, or the safety of public safety officers • Confidential or private information or data in violation of state or federal law • Information that appears to violate the intellectual property right of the City or a third party under federal or state law • Comments that are not directly related to the topic of the Facebook or Twitter discussion to which the comment is responding. Page | 6 The City of Edina has the right to reproduce any pictures or videos to this site in any of its publications or websites or any other media outlets. The City of Edina does not take requests from people wanting events, videos or pictures posted to any of its social networking sites, including the City of Edina’s website. The views, postings or opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of the City of Edina. Advertising The City of Edina does not endorse any product, service, company or organization advertising on its Facebook page. The ads that appear on the pages are sold, posted and maintained by [Facebook]. Privacy Policy Please note that the City of Edina does not share information gathered through its [Facebook] site with third parties for promotional purposes. However, any information you provide to the City is subject to the Minnesota Data Practices Act. This law classifies certain information as available to the public upon request. IX. Posting Content Social media accounts established by the City or facility are to be used for City and facility business purposes only. Postings not related to the City or facility are not allowed. The City does not take public requests for content. Only staff authorized by the Communications Department are permitted to post on any City or Facility social media account. X. Responding to Comments and Direct Messages The City of Edina will accept and monitor comments on its social media sites. City staff may not respond to all comments, but is expected to respond to direct messages made during business hours within the same business day. Responses to direct messages made outside of business hours should be made as soon as possible. XI. Removing Content If a post or comment on one of the City’s social media websites is deemed inappropriate based on the standards stated in Section VI. Disclaimers, a screen shot of the page or post will be captured before the post or comment removed. In its place, an explanation for the removal will be provided. A post or comment should not be removed for any reason without a record being captured first.