Do’s and Don’ts – Best Practices for your local association platforms

DO use gmail, yahoo or a similar platform to create an email address to affiliate with the association account rather than your personal email. Never use your school district email to create an association account.

DO consider every electronic communication a record.

DO know how to use social media privacy settings and their limitations.

DO remember that you are speaking for the association and not yourself as an individual whenever you post on your page and when you engage with members or the public.

DO keep confidential information offline.

DO expect to be held accountable for what you post.

DO consider your tone. Humor, especially sarcasm, is difficult to convey.

DO use images in your posts whenever possible—it increases engagement.

DO write tight. Facebook and Instagram cut off text at about four lines on most mobile devices. That is how the majority of users will see you, so keep it in mind when posting.

DO develop policies to deal with comments and delete comments that run afoul of those policies.

DON’TS

DON’T post inappropriate activities, images, or words.

DON’T bad mouth students, colleagues, your boss, parents, or the community.

DON’T automatically delete comments critical of your association. Such action damages the association’s credibility. But don’t give opponents the platform they want by engaging in back-and-forth arguments. If they are asking a legitimate question that leads to constructive debate, engage them. If they’re trolling, ban them.

DON’T post during work hours or use work materials. Even timed posts can be interpreted as having been posted during hours when you should have been working.

DON’T allow union officeholders or challengers to use the union page as their personal campaign page.

DON’T post or share information of questionable accuracy.

DON’T follow, friend or add students.