Social Media Best Practices

City Best Practices

External and Internal Policies
Setting clear and consistent policy is essential for staff and elected officials, limiting exposure to legal risk and promoting effective communication. 

External policies include terms of use and guidelines for the public. This should include a disclosure on public records maintenance and requests, guidelines for public discourse and commenting that outlines acceptable parameters and how the city will enforce them, and contact information for questions or issues. 

Internal policies provide guidance to employees, departments, elected officials, and others who represent the city on both official and personal social media use. This policy should cover who posts and can moderate official social media channels, what constitutes public social media channels, records maintenance, and other practices. 

Comments and Moderating
City social media channels are subject to public records laws, open meeting laws, record retention and access laws, and First Amendment protections. When it comes to channel moderation, adopted policy and consistent enforcement are crucial. Your policy should state when and how content will be moderated, comments and posts may be removed, and turning off comments on posts. In consultation with legal experts, this policy will lay out how the city will act. It is then up to the city to be consistent and precise with their enforcement. Be transparent and keep records of enforcement actions. 

Public Records
Any electronic communication created or received by a public employee or official in their capacity is subject to public records retention and disclosure law. It is important for city officials to first understand that the state code does not stipulate social media records to be kept for any length of time, leaving it up to each city to determine how long to store them. Being clear in your policy is essential.