Social Media & Governance: Using It to Advance Your Mission

Social media and governance: Does one have anything to do with the other? Yes!

Be a champion

One of a board’s responsibilities is to make sure the organization is leveraging its networks to advance its mission. Social media is an important tool in accessing these networks. And while we all know that its great elements come with a few that just plain stink, it is no longer a matter of if an organization uses social media, but how it uses it. Yet one of the biggest complaints I hear from nonprofit staffers is that they can’t get their board to invest in social media for the organization. Here’s your opportunity! Being a social media champion means ensuring that it is on your organization’s radar and that it is integrated into all of your plans.

To begin with, your board needs to ensure that your organization has the knowledge and financial and human resources it needs to use social media to advance its mission. Is your organization budgeting for training, consultation, and implementation? It’s the board’s responsibility to ask that question. Ideally, every organization would either share social media responsibilities across the organization or hire a staff person with this expertise to plan, implement, and evaluate effectiveness.

No matter where your organization is on the social media continuum, there are resources that can help it progress to the next stage. If you’re just starting to use this form of communication, it’s important to familiarize board and staff with the landscape and best practices. There is a complex web of options for social media platforms and strategies for each. Suggest that your organization invest in an in-service training for staff or make arrangements for them to attend outside trainings, and consider a board development activity around it. Consultants are another great resource, as they can provide a comprehensive approach to social media usage from training to planning to policy creation. A consultant will be able to help your organization identify platforms, develop strategies, and measure the effectiveness of its efforts.

Advocating for resources and board support are great ways to get your feet wet as a social media champion.

Volunteer your time

Board members wear a variety of hats. When board members are in board meetings, they wear their governance hats, but there are opportunities outside those meetings to don another cap and volunteer for the organization. This is when the organizational chart gets flipped, and board members report to staff.

Participating in social media management is one of those activities that board members can help with as a volunteer for the organization. Board members with expertise in using social media as part of marketing, fundraising, and/or program development can support the organization by

Board members interested in offering volunteer time in these areas should work closely with staff to determine the needs of the organization and how they best fit those needs.

Develop policies

Given the interactivity of social media, every nonprofit that uses it should have policies that pertain to it. Why? Because they provide a type of “insurance” — internally and externally. They provide guidelines and boundaries and set professional standards and best practices for staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders. While violations are rare, your organization will be happy it has policy to fall back on if and when boundaries are crossed. Staff generally drafts and implements social media policies, but the board should ensure that they exist and that they cover the critical elements.

An internal policy provides direction for all staff and organizational volunteers, including board members, and whether it is their responsibility to use social media on behalf of the organization or not. The simple fact is that all staff and volunteers represent the organization in some way or another. An internal policy indicates what content is appropriate and inappropriate to share on behalf of the organization as well as what is appropriate or inappropriate to share on a personal platform, such as a blog. An internal policy should include consequences for violation of the policy as well as an explanation for why it is in place. Along with your social media plans, it should be shared at board and staff orientations and be included in employee handbooks and board materials.

Without established boundaries, your staff and volunteers will be left guessing what is and what isn’t appropriate to share when using social media. Providing them with best practices in representing the organization will set you up for success and help you develop great ambassadors for your mission.

An external policy addresses users outside the organization. In other words, this policy is for those who participate in social media interactions with your organization, such as those who leave a comment on your LinkedIn page or your blog. Similar to an internal policy, this policy should outline what is appropriate and inappropriate for sharing and the consequences of violating the policy. At a minimum, on any platform, you should state that your organization reserves the right to ask a participant to leave the conversation for inappropriate language. Whatever your policy, share it publicly on your organizational website and refer to it regularly on your other platforms.

Researching sample policies is as easy as using your search engine, but keep in mind that policy creation and implementation are as much art as they are science. There is only so much that these policies can protect or account for. Some amount of flexibility is needed for unanticipated situations and you will need to adapt your policies as new platforms appear.

Use social media to be an organizational ambassador

Once your organization has an internal policy in place, board members should think about the ways that they can use their personal social media to share the story of the organization with their personal and professional networks.

If the organization has a Facebook page, you should be a fan; if your organization has a Twitter page, you should be a follower (assuming you have accounts on these sites, of course). Facebook shares and Twitter retweets may seem like insignificant contributions (or even the dreaded ‘slactivism’), but they can be fun and easy ways to help your organization tell its story and can possibly help people in your network find a volunteer or donation opportunity. And should you be new to or hesitant about fundraising, you may find that talking about your organization on social media makes fundraising conversations easier.

Sample Social Media Policies

The sample policies mainly guide employees in appropriate social media interactions.

Sample 1: This policy provides straightforward guidelines for responsible social networking.

1. Be honest about your identity.
2. Make it clear that the views expressed are yours alone.
3. You speak for yourself, but your actions reflect back to XYZ.
4. Use your common sense.
5. Play nice.
6. Remember that all communication remains in the cyberspace.
7. Respect the privacy of offline conversations.
8. Don’t write anything you can’t say in public.

Adapted with permission from The Ford Motor Company

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Sample 2: These guidelines are for employees who communicate about work outside of the official
organizational media.
As XYZ employees, you are encouraged to interact and be a part of social media communities where XYZ is present. As you are participating in these social networks, you represent XYZ.

• Blogs, wikis, and other forms of online discussions are individual interactions, not company communications. Use common sense and be mindful that what you write will be public for a long time.
• Identify yourself—name and, when relevant, your role at XYZ—when you post something about our organization.
  Clarify that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of XYZ.
• If you blog outside of XYZ, and it relates to your work, use a disclaimer such as this: “The postings on this site are
  my own and don’t necessarily represent XYZ’s positions, strategies, or opinions.”
• Respect copyright, fair use, and financial disclosure laws.
• Don’t cite or reference clients, partners, volunteers, or vendors without their approval

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Sample 3: This template will help you draft a comprehensive policy. It specifies which circumstances may require a response or action from the organization.
XYZ understands that many employees participate in social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest) and chat rooms, and create and maintain personal websites and blogs.

XYZ respects employees’ online social networking and personal Internet use. However, your online presence can affect XYZ as your words, images, posts, and comments can reflect or be attributed to XYZ. As a team member, you should be mindful to use electronic media, even on your own personal time, responsibly and respectfully to others.

Because employees’ online comments and postings can impact XYZ and/or the way employees are spending their time at work, XYZ has adopted the following guidelines that employees must observe when participating in social networking sites and/or engaging in other forms of Internet use on and off duty. It shall be considered a breach of acceptable team member conduct to post on any public or private website or other forum, including but not limited to discussion lists, newsgroups, listservs, blogs, information sharing sites, social media sites, social or business networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., or any other electronic or print communication format, any of the following:

1. Anything that may harm the goodwill or reputation of XYZ or any disparaging information about XYZ.
2. Any disparaging, discriminatory or harassing information concerning any customer, employee, vendor, or other person associated with XYZ. XYZ’s policies prohibiting harassment apply online as well as offline.
3. Any confidential information, trade secrets, or intellectual property of XYZ obtained during your employment, including information relating to finances, research, development, marketing, customers, operational methods, plans and policies.
4. Any private information relating a customer, employee or vendor of XYZ.

In compliance with applicable regulations of the Federal Trade Commission, employees endorsing XYZ’s products or services must disclose their employment relationship with XYZ and must ensure that endorsements do not contain representations that are deceptive or cannot be substantiated. If you are speaking about job-related content or about XYZ, you must either clearly identify yourself as a XYZ employee, or speak in the first person and use a disclaimer to make it clear that the views expressed belong solely to you. In addition, the following statement must be used, “The opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of XYZ.” This policy applies regardless of where or when employees post or communicate information online. It applies to posting and online activity at work, home, or other location and while on duty and off duty. XYZ reserves the right to monitor and access any information or data that is created or stored using XYZ’s technology, equipment, or electronic systems, including without limitation, e-mails, internet usage, hard drives and other stored, transmitted or received information. Employees should have no expectation of privacy in any information or data (i) placed on any XYZ computer or computer-related system or (ii) viewed, created, sent, received or stored on any XYZ computer or computer-related system, including, without limitation, electronic communications or internet usage.

Employees who violate XYZ’s social networking policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

 

 

201 Resource | Last updated: July 30, 2019

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Resource: Generate Buzz! Strategic Communication for Nonprofit Boards