Social Media Guidelines

Volunteer Coordinators of Cultural Institutions VCCIAugust 21, 2012

This presentation was originally given at the 2012 Texas Association of Museum’s annual conference. Mary Beth Tait @marbt from the Dr. Pepper Museum was the second presenter.

Catherine Kenyon@cookwithaview

What is Social Media?

• Social media are web or mobile services that revolve around the participation, interaction and content distribution among the users themselves.

• Social media are built upon the spread of content like text, articles, images, podcasts and videos.

• What distinguishes social media is that the content can be spread to other services.

Why Use Social Media?

• Seize the opportunity for your volunteers to be the voice of your brand and institution.

• Social media is a unique opportunity to speak globally to your expertise.

Types of Social Media

Get Everyone on Board

• Create an open and welcoming approach to new technology rather than a restrictive approach.

• Be an advocate for social media in your institution. • Get beyond the stereotype that social media is a

time waster.• Empower volunteers to use social media under the

umbrella of the employee code of conduct and written social media guidelines or a policy.

Why Have Social Media Guidelines or a Policy?

• The line between the personal and the professional sphere is officially blurred.

• The line between “official” news media and social media is also officially blurred.

• Institutional information is available from many sources, some not controlled by you (Yelp, Foursquare).

• Users spread information about brands, programs and events.

• Volunteers naturally talk about your organization – and some of them are online.

• Good news travels fast.• Bad news travels even faster.

A Social Media Policy Isn’t for Everyone

• A separate social media policy at a small institution may be overkill.

• It depends on staff involvement, both professionally and personally, online presence of the institution, desired objectives, etc.

• Some organizations with a robust social media presence don’t have formal policies.

Three Little Rules

Beck Tench the Director for Innovation and Technical Enlightenment atThe Museum of Life and Science in Raleigh, NC, uses these three ruleswhen staff or volunteers present a new project using social media.

• 1) Yes first. EVERYONE at the museum has the opportunity to engage in the museum's online presence if they have the desire to do so.

• 2) If it gives you pause, pause. Beck is always available to discuss how to handle situations online (to post or not to post? how to deal with a certain kind of commenter, etc.)

• 3) Beck will have your back if something goes wrong. If you mess up, you'll have an advocate in your corner defending your actions. Beck says “Failure is often just as valuable as success.”

For example…

Think twice, publish once Be transparent Don’t speak outside your expertise Get permission to speak on behalf of the organization Don’t post anything you don’t want your family to read If you associate yourself in any way with the

organization on social media, what you say can be used against you.

Things to Consider & Include

Additional Things to Consider

• Who pays for the hardware associated with managing social media? Phone plans Apps Data usage

What to Include

• Common expectations• Institutional and Employee policies• Definitions• Monitoring institutional online presence • Policies and procedures for handling a crisis• Staff responsibilities

Institutional Policy

• Policies regarding participation in social media Who represents the institution What information can be distributed on social media How to handle feedback on staff produced content

• Procedures when institution is mentioned in social media Negative comments and unhappy visitors or

stakeholders Positive comments

Employee/Volunteer Policies

• Policies regarding personal blogs Policy about disclosing personal blogs to management. Disclaimer to differentiate the bloggers opinions from the

organization’s. Policy about personal blogging during work hours. Secrecy and discretion in regards to institutional matters.

• Policies regarding social media Policy about using social media services during work hours. Secrecy and discretion in regards to institutional matters. Policy in regards to Institutional groups on Facebook, LinkedIn,

Twitter, Pintrest etc.

Handling Crisis

• Policies for handling crisis in social media Answer critiques directly through institutional channels DO NOT censor the opinions of followers or online visitors DO take down posts with excessive violence or vulgar

language and define this in your policy Know when to take legal actions Know when to contact social media services directly (block a user, etc.)

Monitoring Institutional Online Presence

• Develop a routine to stay informed of your institution in online media. Blog monitoring Social media monitoring Google/Keyword alerts

• Policies for employees Inform staff where and how to report news and

information found online regarding the institution. Encourage all staff to help with monitoring online media.

Plan for Rapid Change

• Stay current on trends in and out of the museum field.• Use well researched resources like the NMC’s Horizon

Reports – museum and K-12 editions.• Join the Museum Computer Network (MCN) or the

Nonprofit Technology Network and attend their annual meetings.

• Keep your eye on how other museums use Social Media.

Cautionary Tales

The Red Cross “Rogue Tweet”

This tweet from Red Cross social media specialist Gloria Huang was meant for her personal account:

Cautionary Tales

The Red Cross “Rogue Tweet”

The fix and response was light-hearted and apologetic. It resulted in donation and support from Dogfish Head beer, too!

Resources

• New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report – Museum edition http://www.nmc.org/publications/horizon-report-2011-museum-edition

• New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report – K-12 edition http://www.nmc.org/horizon-project/horizon-reports/horizon-report-k-12-edition

• Online Database of Social Media Policies – includes policies of some of the largest corporations and some non-profit agencies http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php#axzz1mOAwImkA

• Smithsonian Web and New Media Strategy - wikihttp://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Strategy+--+Table+of+Contents

• Walker Art Center Blog Guidelines http://newmedia.walkerart.org/nmiwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WalkerBlogGuidelines

• Why Your Social Media Policy May Be Illegal by Eric Schwartzman http://socialmediatoday.com/464675/why-your-social-media-policy-may-be-illegal

• Social Media Policy Template Updated to Comply with 2012 National Labor Relations Board Guidance by Eric Schwartzman http://ericschwartzman.com/pr/schwartzman/social-media-policy-template.aspx

• Dooce.com http://dooce.com/about

Resources

• The Red Cross “Rogue Tweet” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/16/red-cross-rogue-tweet_n_824114.html

• Social Media Governance Online Database of Social Media Policies http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php#axzz1mHQwR1vn

• • Mashable Business “10 Must-Haves for your Social Media Policy”

http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/

• The Gen Y Guide to Web 2.0 at Work by Sacha Chuahttp://sachachua.com/blog/2008/05/the-gen-y-guide-to-web-20-at-work/

• Tweet Freely: Your Social Media Policy and You BY AARON LESTER http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10291:tweet-freely-your-social-media-policy-and-you&catid=153:features&Itemid=336

• http://www.stopblocking.org/• http://museums-social-media.wikispaces.com/

ResourcesGeorgina Goodlander @bathlander - Georgina is the Web & Social Media Content Manager at Smithsonian American Art Museum-- I manage stuff at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. I love my job and a good cup of tea.

Sara Banks @sbanks20 - Audience Engagement Specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The views expressed are my own.

Nancy Procter @NancyProcter - Mobile geek working with museums; loves art, history, languages, travel, feminist theory, good food and nice people. Views expressed here are my own.

Mary Beth @marbt - Knitter, Interneter, Pomeranian owner, and Dr Pepper Museum lady. I lurve you Twitter!

Catherine Kenyon @cookwithaview - cook, photographer, travel junkie, and museum educator dedicated to the arts and humanities and all things cultural. The views expressed here are my own.

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