01.10.23 Work SessionWelcome to the January 10, 2023,
Prosper Town Council
Work Session Meeting.
Call to Order/Roll Call
Agenda Item 1.
Social Media Training.(RB/MR)
Tips for survival for public officials on public platforms.
HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
AND MAKE IT PUBLIC.
▪Let your followers know what they should expect from you and what you will expect
from them.
▪Let them know, specifically, what you will tolerate on your page and what you will
not allow.
▪Set your rules for disengagement so that no follower is ever surprised if they are
dismissed from your followers.
▪The constitution protects “a profound national commitment to the principle that
debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it
may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on
government and public officials.”
IF YOU WANT YOUR ACCOUNT TO REMAIN “PERSONAL,”
DON’T USE IT FOR OFFICIAL PURPOSES.
▪Many would argue that public officials have no personal platforms. The fact is, a
public official is elected or appointed 24/7/365.
▪If you choose to attempt to have a personal page, identify it as such, carefully select
your followers, and keep posts personal.
▪If a user labels a page as “personal” but uses the forum to share public information,
they may easily find themselves struggling to legally defend the personal nature of
the page.
▪One of the safest methods for differentiating between the two is to have your public
page and then a political/campaign page.
▪Remember 24/7/365.
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO GIVE CREDIT TO SOURCES.
▪This is becoming one of the most critical rules of social media engagement for
elected people.
▪When you’re posting photos, quotes or videos from others, make sure you clearly
attribute it to them, or you could face public or even legal scrutiny.
▪The best rule of thumb is to only post material that can only be attributed to you.
▪You always have the ability to share/retweet someone else’s material if you truly
want to share someone else’s material.
▪Groups exist today that scour the social media world for copyright infractions; don’t
fall prey to their efforts.
DON’T BECOME THE KEYBOARD WARRIORS WE DESPISE:
BE A REPORTER OR RESPONDER; NOT REACTOR.
▪You may be a news reporter, a news responder, or a news reactor. (Warning: the
short list gets more dangerous as it progresses.)
▪A news reporter simply reports the news. Elected officials have a responsibility to
communicate with their constituents and to inform the public. Beyond this point,
proceed at your own risk.
▪A news responder takes facts and inserts feelings to create an oftentimes blurry
presentation of news.
▪A news reactor is one who takes facts and inserts politics. While this is occasionally
a positive and powerful tool, too much of this will earn a user the reputation of
being a political hot head.
BUILD A POSITIVE IMAGE.
▪To build a positive image on social media, be positive!
▪Find every opportunity to share good news, create uplifting content and celebrate
your town and constituents.
▪During times when negativity and controversy stir around the community, respond
with grace and kindness.
▪Who you follow can influence how you post…choose carefully.
USE YOUR FRIENDLY COMMS SHOP;
DON’T BE OVERLY PROMOTIONAL.
▪Far too many elected officials spend time trying to break news. Make (good) news;
let someone else break it.
▪Understand municipalities and agencies have communications professions who
work and produce content under careful scrutiny. They know all the rules and they
work to guard the brand more than anyone; share/retweet their material.
▪If you promote everything, you really won’t be promoting anything.
▪Avoid self-promoting. Audit your posts occasionally and keep track of how many
include something about you.
▪Savvy users can find the balance between entertaining, educational, and
promotional content to keep your followers engaged and following you.
PRACTICE GOOD “HASHTAG HYGEINE.”
▪Please? Love, all of us.
FREQUENTLY MONITOR YOUR ACCOUNTS.
▪Monitoring your social media accounts is one of the most prudent uses of time for a
public official.
▪Such exercises allow you to carefully listen to constituents, casually engage with the
community, and critically remove potential crisis posts or people.
▪Monitoring social media accounts requires thick skin—don’t try this on a day that’s
already gone awry.
▪In the same manner, this exercise can strengthen your leadership, expand your
respect in the community, and often open your eyes to the things that matter to the
people you serve.
AS YOU MONITOR AND/OR MODERATE COMMENTS IN
YOUR ACCOUNT, BE REASONABLE AND CONSISTENT.
▪If you use a social media account for official purposes, don’t block people or delete
or hide their comments because of differing or critical views.
▪Never hesitate blocking people who make open threats or vulgarity in their
comments.
▪Blocking followers or deleting posts is often a bigger story than whatever the
problem is, so proceed cautiously.
▪Whatever you decide you will block (as you lay out in your personal social media
policy), make sure you do it across the board—whether it’s a supporter or an
opponent.
▪Never make a reactionary delete to a post or block of a person.
NEVER FORGET: HUMOR IS NOT UNIVERSAL!
▪People in your constituency come from different backgrounds, reflect different
cultures, speak different languages, and laugh at different jokes.
▪Humor attempts are some of the most awkward and least universal mishaps on
social media.
▪A best policy is to laugh at yourself, not others.
▪Remember 24/7/365.
Adjourn