Waseca Community Education

Social Media Guidelines & Plan

1. Social Media Use Guidelines (Departmental Practices)
a. Administration of the Waseca CER FB Page will be through the Communications Coordinator
Carrie Harms.
b. Waseca CER staff members will follow the protocol for sharing information set forth b the
!epartment "trategic Communication Plan.
c. Communications within the FB Page will be monitored b Communications Coordinator.
Participants will be e#pected to$
"how respect personal attac%s& inappropriate remar%s or profanit will be deleted
from our page.
"ta on topic the page is about Waseca CER acti'ities. Business plugs& personal rants
or political banter will be remo'ed.
(n'ite others Participants will be encouraged to in'ite others who care about our
programming to follow us on FB.
"hare thoughts we want to hear thoughs and ideas for future pro)ects.
d. *pes of postings that will occur through the FB Page
Weather related program cancellations
Reminders about deadlines
Promoting new programming
Promoting successful programming
Communicating with parents
+. Social Media Plan: *o ensure this forum remains a safe and supporti'e en'ironment for our parents&
staff and online communit& we monitor the comments posted to our page and delete an item that is
inappropriate. Waseca Communit Education and Recreation abides b Faceboo%,s "tatement of Rights
and responsibilities and as%s its Faceboo% Fans to do the same. Waseca Communit Education and
Recreation reser'es the right to delete submissions that contain an of the following$
a. Political campaigning or unauthori-ed commercial solicitations
b. False identities or an anonmous comments
c. References to legal or personnel matters
d. Factuall erroneous comments
e. Personal attac%s of an %ind& offensi'e comments that target or disparage an protected class
f. Comments of a personal nature regarding staff or an potentiall libelous or defamator
comments
g. An 'ulgar language
h. Ad'ocac for an illegal acti'it
i. A post or comment that is clearl off topic
). Content that cannot be translated into English b .oogle *ranslate or other free online
translation software
%. "pam including the same comment posted repeatedl on a profile or included lin%s to other sites
/e#cept lin%s appro'ed b Waseca Communit Education and Recreation0
l. .oals12b)ecti'es
m. "trategies1*actics
n. E'aluation13easurement
o. *iming
p. Content
4. *one 5 6oice
+. "ocial 3edia 7se .uidelines /!epartmental Practices0
a. Administration of the Waseca CER FB Page will be through the Communications Coordinator
Carrie Harms.
1 !ips "or Social Media Success
8. Be consistent /ne'er stale fore than 89 das0
+. Be authentic
:. Be personal and personable
;. 7se images or 'ideos as often as possible
<. Ha'e a plan but be spontaneous
<. 7se metrics to help ou measure success
=. Accept social media but is not a sil'er bullet
>. Promote our social media channels e'erwhere
?. "hare original and creati'e content that interests our audience
89. When in doubt& refer to our policies
Engage& alwas answer@@@
Waseca Pu#lic Sc$ools % Community Education
Social Media &et'or(s
(f ouAre an emploee contributing to blogs& wi%is& social networ%s& 'irtual worlds& or an other %ind of social
media both on and off the !istrict networ%Bthese guidelines are for ou. We e#pect all who participate in
social media to understand and follow these guidelines. Failure to do so could put ou at ris%. *hese guidelines
will continuall e'ol'e as new technologies and social networ%ing tools emerge.
)t*s your responsi#ility. What ou write is ultimatel our responsibilit. (f it seems inappropriate& use caution.
(f ouAre about to publish something that ma%es ou e'en the slightest bit uncomfortable& donAt shrug it off and
hit Asend.A *a%e time to re'iew these guidelines and tr to figure out whatAs bothering ou and fi# it. (f ouAre still
unsure& ou might want to discuss it with our super'isor. *rademar%& copright& and fair use re4uirements must
be respected.
Ensure t$e sa"ety o" students. When emploees choose to )oin or engage with these social networ%ing groups
do so as an emploee of the !istrict and ha'e responsibilit for monitoring content and addressing inappropriate
beha'ior or acti'it on these networ%s. *his includes acting to protect the safet of minors online. Emploees
shall annuall disclose to their super'isor the e#istence and participation in such networ%s.
+e transparent. Cour honestBor dishonestBwill be 4uic%l noticed in the social media en'ironment. (f ou
are posting about our wor%& use our real name and identif our emploment relationship with the !istrict. (f
ou publish to a site outside the !istrict,s networ%& please use a disclaimer to state in clear terms that the 'iews
e#pressed are the emploee,s alone and that the do not necessaril reflect the 'iews of the 3inneton%a "chool
!istrict.
Protect con"idential in"ormation. Be thoughtful about what ou publish. Cou must ma%e sure ou do not
disclose or use confidential information. "tudents& parents& and colleagues should not be cited or ob'iousl
referenced without their appro'al. (t is acceptable to discuss general details about pro)ects& lessons& or e'ents
and to use nonDidentifing pseudonms for an indi'idual /e.g.& *eacher A0 so long as the information pro'ided
does not ma%e it eas for someone to identif the indi'idual or 'iolate an pri'ac laws. Furthermore& public
social networ%ing sites are not the place to conduct school business with students or parents.
,espect your audience and your co'or(ers. Alwas e#press ideas and opinions in a respectful manner. 3a%e
sure our communications are in good taste. !o not denigrate or insult others& including other schools or
competitors. Remember that our communities reflect a di'erse set of customs& 'alues and points of 'iew. *his
includes not onl the ob'ious /no ethnic slurs& personal insults& obscenit& etc.0 but also proper consideration of
pri'ac and of topics that ma be considered ob)ectionable or inflammator. Be sensiti'e about lin%ing to
content. Redirecting to another site ma impl an endorsement of its content.
Perception can #e reality. (n online networ%s& the lines between public and pri'ate& personal and professional
are blurred. Eust b identifing ourself as a !istrict emploee& ou are creating perceptions about our
e#pertise and about the !istrict b communit members& parents& students& and the general publicF and ou are
creating perceptions about ourself with our colleagues and managers. (f ou chose to )oin or engage with
!istrict students and families in a social media conte#t& do so in a professional manner& e'er mindful that in the
minds of students& families& colleagues and the public& ou are a !istrict emploee. Be sure that all content
associated with ou is consistent with our wor% and with the !istrict,s beliefs and professional standards.
-re you addin. /alueG *he best wa to get ours read is to write things that people will 'alue. Communication
associated with our !istrict should help fellow educators& parents& students& and coDwor%ers. (t should be
thoughtDpro'o%ing and build a sense of communit. (f it helps people impro'e %nowledge or s%ills& do their
)obs& sol'e problems& or understand education betterBthen itAs adding 'alue.
0eep your cool. 2ne of the aims of social media is to create dialogue& and people will not alwas agree on an
issue. When confronted with a difference of opinion& sta cool. (f ou ma%e an error& be up front about our
mista%e and correct it 4uic%l. E#press our points in a clear& logical wa. !on,t pic% fights& and correct
mista%es when needed.
+e care"ul 'it$ personal in"ormation. 3a%e full use of pri'ac settings. Hnow how to disable anonmous
postings and use moderating tools on our social media site/s0. Astute criminals can piece together information
ou pro'ide on different sites and then use it to impersonate ou or someone ou %now& or e'en reDset our
passwords.
+e a positi/e role model. *he line between professional and personal relationships is blurred within a social
media conte#t. Educational emploees ha'e a responsibilit to maintain appropriate emploeeDstudent
relationships& whether on or off dut. Both case law and public e#pectations hold educational emploees to a
higher standard of conduct than the general public.
Citin. Sources$ 3a%e sure to gi'e credit to 'arious sources or if ou are referencing an article& educational
'ideo or paper.
1perational Practices Updated: 234315
1. Practice: +ac(.round and de"inition o" 6ace#oo(
6ace#oo( is an online social networ%ing ser'ice. Faceboo% now allows anone who claims to be
at least 8: ears old to become a registered user of the website. (t was launched Februar +99; and
currentl has more than 8.< billion acti'e users. Waseca Communit Education wants to %eep the
faceboo% page informational in nature& telling not selling.
7 >:I of 8>D+? ear olds who use the internet are on FB
D Almost an e#pected baseDle'el communication platform
2. Practice: )ntention o" 6+ Pa.e % to (eep t$ose person*s 18 years o" a.e and older '$o utili9e
Waseca Community Education in"ormed a#out on.oin. acti/ities t$rou.$ t$e pa.e.
a. *o displa office hours
b. Ad'ertising dates for CER boo%
c. Reminders for upcoming e'ents
d. Reminders for registration dates1deadlines
e. Contact information for the Waseca CER staff
f. !iscussion1Posts for communit engagement
g. J2* intended as a primar channel of communication
h. J2* intended as a means of customer ser'ice
i. J2* intended to be used as a source of communication during a crisis
8. Practice: Content o" in"ormation posted #y t$e administrator
a. Who has access /children 8: /or 8>G0 ears of age and older0
b. What is posted
Big e'ents
8. ECFE *ransportation Fair
+. Preschool "creening
:. Earl Childhood Fair
Cancellations
8. of classes
+. snow das or school closures
Comments1!iscussions page
8. (nteracti'e 4uestions to engage discussion /8 4uestion per wee%0
+. 3onitoring of posts for negati'e feedbac%
Photos
8. Jo photos of children allowed to be posted.
5. Practice: Security and Pri/acy settin.s
a. Restrict access to onl certain people KFriend of FriendsL or K2nl FriendsL.
B default& FB will share as much of our information with the public as possible.
Controlling *agged Photos D KPhotos *agged of CouL do not allow
Friends continuall manage who is on the friends list for Waseca CER. Be careful to
disallow people with criminal ties or nonDlaw abiding citi-ens. Be sure to %now who
our friends are on FB.
:. Practice: Disclaimer % to #e posted on 6+ pa.e
a. *he information contained herein is pro'ided as a public ser'ice with the understanding that
Waseca Communit Education and Recreation ma%es no warranties concerning the accurac&
completeness& reliabilit& or suitabilit of the information. Jor do we warrant that the use of this
information is free of an claims of copright infringement. Waseca Communit Education and
Recreation,s "ocial 3edia Pages are produced and maintained b the Waseca CER staff. Min%s to other
(nternet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the 'iews contained therein.
;. Practice: Maintainin. a Pa.e: *he goal is to %eep the FB page timel& useful& drama free b
addressing conflict or crisis in a timel manner& interesting& and impactful.
a. 3onitoring posts
Posts should be done as ourself to gi'e the feeling of Nreal people, discussions
Heep posts to a ma#imum of +<9 words
.oal of recei'ing > friend re4uests per month
*ime administrator will chec% the Waseca CER FB page
8. Antime between >$99D88$99A3 3ondaDFrida /not to e#ceed a total of : hours
per wee%0
a. Chec%ing for feedbac%& re'iewing posts and answering 4uestions
b. Joting positi'e comments
c. Remar%ing on negati'e comments
i. !o not delete negati'e comments
ii. Respond to and correct the misinformation publicl
iii. Apologi-e for confusion and address concerns timel
4. Practice: En.a.ement o" -udience % Guideline to )nteracti/e <uestions
A. As%ing 4uestions and re4uesting audience to comment
Ouestions need to be fun and interesting so that when there is a 'isitor to our page
the %now ou ha'e great content
8. Min%s or pictures /nonDidentifing pictures0 for continued education on topics
Ouestions will be tped and thought pro'o%ing& re4uesting a response.
8. Could include an informati'e 'ideo or clip or web address to a related topic
8 4uestion per wee%
Ouestions need to be ee catching
Ouestions need to be short& simple and interesting
7se polls
Publish 4uestions on Frida morning& allow fans to post to our page.
Create contestsG
2ffer e#clusi'e discounts for engagementG
=. Practice: >?i(es@
a. A goal of > li%es per month if goal is not being obtained& rel on the following to obtain goal
Was to obtain more Nli%es,
8. As% 4uestions
+. use Polls
:. Publish 4uestions1comments1updates in the earl morning
;. Met fans post to the Waseca CER FB page
<. Comment on fan posts
P. "end a N*han% Cou, to those who Nli%e, our page
=. Create a contestG
>. 2ffer e#clusi'e discountsG
A. Practice: )nput "rom Waseca CE, mont$ly meetin.s
c. Re'isit the FB page monthl during coordinator meeting for concerns& comments& additions or
subtractions b other coordinators.