Family Services à la Famille Ottawa

Social Media

June 23, 2011

Social Media at FSFO

Intent of social mediaSocial media are meant to “engage” and be a two-way

conversation

Same level of risk as sending out a news release, but goes

directly to individuals

Generally used for sharing info/promoting/creating

communities of interest/raising profile

Purpose at FSFOEnhance services provision

Building community

Knowledge transfer

Social action/advocacy

Agency and programs/services promotion

Social media principles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQLkt5CG8I

FSFO Social Media Policy

Policy developed to guide the use/introduction of FSFO

social media channels

Also guides the use of and contribution to external social

media channels by FSFO staff

Employees are accountable for the content they post on

social media sites (FSFO and others)

Executive Director – sole authority to determine which

programs/services use social media channels, staff members

responsible and allocated resources

Purpose, resources, responsibilities and expectations to be

established in writing prior to introduction of new FSFO

social media channels

Client and staff confidentiality must be protected at all times

FSFO Social Media Policy (cont’d)

All content on social media sites must be relevant to the

agency, its programs and services

Names, passwords, account info managed by FSO’s

technology coordinator

Profiles will link back to FSFO and be consistent with the

brand (e.g., @Tim_FSFO)

Approved staff will identify themselves as employees of

FSFO

Images of individuals (stills and video) will be used with

appropriate written permissions

Profiles should include disclaimers noting that views

expressed do not necessarily represent those of the agency

(e.g., “my views are my own”)

Channels will avoid endorsements, advertisements,

sponsorship (does not apply to Facebook “likes”;

Retweets – to be discussed later)

FSFO reserves the right to delete submissions that

contain content that is not consistent with the agency

(vulgar, personal attacks, offensive comments)

Escalation for problems/concerns – first to program

area supervisor, if necessary supervisor to Executive

Director

Rules of engagement

FSFO Social Media Policy (cont’d)

http://www.globalnerdy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/air_force_web_posting_response_assessment-v2-1_5_09.pdf

Personal use of social media

All employees can participate in social media, using own

computers, on own time

Never post or create anything that would be potentially

embarrassing or offensive for FSFO

Those easily seen to represent FSFO are expected to

consider that relationship and take precautions to ensure

activities reflect positively on the agency.

Policy violations will be subject to disciplinary action, up to

and including termination for cause

Social media 101

Used to share knowledge/info, promote programs

Short statements, including hyperlinks to more information

Not applicable to all audiences

101

101

Getting started:

Set up personal account, photo/logo, profile

Follow the right people/orgs to get the best, most relevant information

(e.g., politicians, researchers, clients, peers) [Tip, look at who your

influencers are following and then follow some of those people]

Find a tool you like (iGoogle, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck) to help you

manage Twitter

Set up searches/mentions

Lurk - get to know the lingo, see what people are posting/sharing

Retweet a few things

Reply to someone

Remember:

Profile should include a disclaimer “My tweets are my own.”

Once a tweet is out there, anyone can share it; you can delete it, but it

will remain on the feed

People will use Twitter to communicate with you; it needs to be

monitored; responses are public unless you do a Direct Message (great

way to disseminate clarifications quickly; dangerous for privacy)

101

Used to share information, promote

programs/events/activities, engage your communities, gather

feedback and insights from clients/stakeholders

Can create events, ask for donations, ask questions and

create polls, start discussions, send links to FSFO website,

“like” other organizations

When you post info, it shows up in all your fans’ news

streams (their home page on Facebook).

If a “fan” likes you, all their friends get a notification

Remember:

When you update your status, everyone sees it

If you post photos, everyone sees them (need permissions)

If you comment on someone’s comment, everyone who has commented sees

your comment

People will use Facebook to communicate with you; it needs to be monitored and

comments need to be acknowledged, if applicable

If you “like” an organization, it shows up on your profile; only “like” official partners

101

101

Blogs 101

Writing a blog

Can be written by various people – different voices, but make sure to identify the

writer; use an informal tone

Great way to share opinions (thought leadership); provide additional information

on a program/event; comment on current affairs, studies, policy; engage your

readers and ask for feedback on ideas/policies/potential programs

Use photos/videos, link to other blogs/studies/websites – make it visually

interesting

Remember: keep the language neutral; refer to the Guidelines

Responding to comments on your blogs

Make sure to keep track of comments and to engage with your readers

(respond)

Example: http://www.child-psych.org/2011/05/breastfeeding-versus-formula-

feeding-and-the-rate-of-early-childhood-obesity.html

Negative comments are okay (remember Rules of Engagement); clarify

erroneous information; add links to additional info if necessary; delete posts that

do not respect Guidelines (link to Guidelines from your blog to help you justify)

Commenting on other people’s blogs

Great way to build your own profile and thought leadership

Remember to respect the Guidelines when commenting

Bookmark websites, articles, stories, pictures, videos

Share them publically by sending out a URL to your

bookmarking page

People can sign up for updates whenever you add a

new link

Tag articles/links based on the content (e.g., children,

adoption, etc.)

Add a link to your home page, Facebook page, email

signature

Value for your stakeholders, clients, colleagues

Social bookmarking sites 101

Social bookmarking sites 101

http://www.delicious.com/Aroundtherainbow

Used to post video (have your videos hosted on YouTube

rather than your website)

Very shareable/easy for people to find

Create your own channels e.g., FSFO Channel

Embed the video on your Facebook page; link to a video

from Twitter

People can “like” or share your videos

Keep in mind the Guidelines

Examples of uses for video/animation:

capture/share events

share news stories about FSFO

create promotional or instructional videos (hope for viral)

PR campaigns

public service announcements

If Facebook is the bar, then LinkedIn is the office…

Professional network – think of it as your professional

association

Used to connect with peers and colleagues

Your profile is your CV

Post updates/include your Twitter feed/share links and

information

Get value from belonging to groups and sharing

information/asking questions

Value on a personal basis or for networking with or

meeting new professionals in your sector

Tools of the trade

iGoogle

http://hootsuite.com/dashboard

www.fusecommunications.ca