Page 13 - Approved Social Media Framework and Guidelines

· Scope of Engagement – whether the consultation requires daily, weekly, bi-weekly or
even hourly interaction
· Existing Laws – whether existing laws permit use of such platforms and the

requirement under such laws regarding data protection, security, privacy, archiving
etc.

5.1.3 Governance Structure:
Since use of social media is a 24*7 engagement, the extant rules and regulations of media
interaction do not fully apply to them.

Two most important aspects of social media are its:

· viral characteristic – news spreads exponentially; and

· demand for instant gratification – queries, responses and counter-responses are
posted instantaneously.

However, since the official pages of departments must reflect the official position, some
measure of control must be included in the flexible design of communication.

Just as rules and regulations exist for interaction with traditional media, similar rules must
be created for engaging with social media.

Some of the key aspects of such a governance structure include:

5.1.3.1 . Account Governance

Account Creation: A social media account establishes an organisation’s online identity.
Wherever possible, the same name for the different social networking accounts may be
adopted to ensure ease of search on the internet. Another important facet of online identity
is the need for it to be rendered effectively in either long form e.g. website address or in 15
characters or less (this is the Twitter maximum).

Login and passwords: Each new account requires a URL, user name and/or email address
and a password. A proper record of login ids and password must be maintained. This is
critical as multiple people may be authorised to post on behalf of the department.

Account Status: It is important to define whether the engagement may be undertaken
through official accounts only or the officials may be permitted to use personal accounts
also for posting official responses. It determines who says what on behalf of your
organisation and in what form it is published. It also outlines how each piece of published

information is presented where it is published. The most important aspect is whether the
responses are in Official or Personal Capacity.

5.1.3.2. Response and Responsiveness:

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