Committing to ongoing relationships

Establishing an official social media account creates an expectation of an ongoing dialogue and engagement with government. Before establishing social media accounts, agencies should assign appropriate resources in preparation for the continuing relationship expectations of the community. Officers with access to official social media accounts should be appropriately skilled in the use of social media and briefed on their role and responsibilities.

The immediacy with which social media content is distributed challenges hierarchical approval methods and it is recommended that social media officers be appointed with delegated authority to represent the agency and supported by appropriate reporting and escalation processes.

Officers representing the agency through official social media accounts must comply with the Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service (or equivalent) and be made aware how the Code is relevant in an online context.

Using social media successfully requires successful relationship management. Successful relationship management requires a consistent approach in the way in which an agency conducts itself through its social media account. This means having an understanding of the agency's reputation, always presenting the same persona and using a consistent voice when speaking on behalf of an agency. When multiple officers are representing an agency through the same account, it is advisable that they share an understanding of the organisation’s reputation online and adhere to a common style guide with representing the agency.

Consideration should be given to the potential issues and discussions that may arise when engaging with the community through official social media accounts. Officers representing the agency should be equipped with the knowledge, skills and understanding of their role in representing the agency. Officers should be provided with appropriate training in areas such as social media, media relations, code of conduct, privacy, defamation law and intellectual property as the subject matter expert and delegated authority necessary to represent the agency in that field.

Managing expectations

When considering the establishment of a social media presence an agency should define the ways in which it will and will not be used. For example, if an account will be used to respond to individuals who contribute messages consider: how will this be managed outside of business hours; what expectation does this raise and how will they be managed? Will you respond to all messages? If not, how does that affect the relationship with others who observe that? If an account is not used to respond to individuals, how will this impact upon the credibility of the account, and how can this be managed?

Be clear with those using the presence through both actions and statements. Some things to consider in managing expectations include:

• be timely and consistent with responses
• where individual responses on the social media presence are not made, develop standard responses directing people to other channels such as a phone number, complaints process, contact us page or feedback form
• 'develop standard responses supporting moderation, for example: 'Posts containing offensive language are deleted as they breach the terms and conditions of this service. View the terms and conditions.'
• use account settings that limit the opportunities for contributors to submit offensive materials, such as preventing the posting of images, video or hyperlinks
• develop customised disclaimers or terms and conditions accessible from the social media presence.

Responding within social media

Responding to others within social media is an official communication from the agency, and the choice to respond should be based on deliberate decision making that considers the expectations of users of the service as well as the risks associated with individual instances and issues.

In addition to considering the risk of responding, agencies should also consider the risks of not responding. Social media is an interactive channel, and users’ initial expectations may be high in terms of responsive access to government via social media. Whilst through statements and actions these expectations can be mitigated to some degree, the emergence of a significant issue on a social media presence is an opportunity to engage early and directly with those already talking about it to deliver messages that can clarify and diffuse.

Refer to Appendix C  - Should I respond? (DOC, 32 KB) for guidance on 'Should I respond?'

Moderation

Agencies have a responsibility to moderate content or messages submitted through social media applications to protect against issues like offensive language and behaviour that may breach service terms and conditions or the law.

Agencies also have a responsibility to ensure social media is used genuinely, meaning that where users are enabled to publish content or comments they should not be edited where valid criticism or an alternate point of view (e.g. political or ideological) is expressed.

Some tools exist that can assist with moderation, such as Facebook. Agencies should explore options for moderation management that balance risk and value for money in terms of the activity the social media presence supports.

Use a disclaimer

Agencies should develop disclaimers accessible via the social media presence that account for social media and advise users on how the agency manages their social media presence. In line with Information Principles, the disclaimer should be hosted on the official agency website and linked to/from relevant social media accounts.

Monitoring social media activities

Responding in a timely manner, particularly to critical issues, requires that agencies monitor the activities on its accounts as well as third party social media accounts, tools and websites (similar to the way mainstream media is monitored). While this may seem a daunting task, customer research and analytics will help inform the selection of sites, tools and terms that warrant the most attention. It is also recommended that agencies establish an incident reporting process for the documentation of significant issues and the action taken.

As part of a risk-managed approach it is advisable that the agency consider scenarios that may occur through social media and document the response as a guide for official social media officer/s. This will help pre-empt and ensure a consistent response to the community should critical incidents occur. Refer to Appendix C – Should I respond? (DOC, 32 KB)

Even if official government accounts do not exist, monitoring what is said about an issue, agency or topic is an advisable source of information for government. Monitoring social media pertains not only to the activities on an official agency account but also third party accounts, networks and groups.

Monitoring can also be applied by third parties observing the interaction with the community. This is advisable for those responsible for the reputation of the agency, incident reporting or records management.

Several tools and services exist to assist in the monitoring of individuals, accounts or terms. For further information, refer to Appendix E - Research and monitoring tools.