10-0002: Social Media

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish consistent requirements and appropriate use of social media administered by Sacramento County, including protocols and procedures to mitigate associated risks. 

Authority

• Office of Public Information has authority for this policy

Scope

Social media technologies are primarily internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Next Door, and Snap Chat. 

This policy covers social media administered by Sacramento County. The County has both a business and public service need to augment traditional communication methods with the use of social media. The County Executive has an overriding interest and authority in deciding what is announced or shared on behalf of the County. 

This policy does not cover personal use of social media by County employees or County commissions. ​

Policy

A. Branding 

Social media pages developed by Sacramento County departments will, whenever possible: 

• Include the official logos and a text statement such as: "This is an official Sacramento County page." 
• Use a standard naming convention, e.g. twitter.com/SacCountyCA 

B. Social Media Tools and Account Approval 

a. Sacramento County’s Public Information Director must approve social media tools for use by the County and its departments and instruct departments about the expectation of use of the social media tools to meet their goals. 

b. The County desires to communicate to the public with one voice, one brand; however, there are times when the main County voice does not work for a program and specific social media accounts may be warranted. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and new social media accounts may not be opened without the approval of the Public Information Director. 

C. Emergencies

During emergencies, all social media content and postings must be coordinated with the Public Information Director as part of emergency support functions. Depending on the incident, the County department social media account administrators (“account administrators”) may be asked to direct their audiences to specific social media sites that will serve as the main source(s) of information such as https://sacramentoready.saccounty.gov or the primary County social media account. 

The Public Information Director reserves the right to publish content directly to any official County social media site during an emergency. Advance notification to account administrators will be made when possible, but during an emergency, the Public Information Office must have access to all County department social media instances and the ability to provide content. 

D. Risk Reduction

The Public Information Director or Department Directors may prevent some tools on social media websites, such as instant messaging, file exchange, and “friends,” to reduce the risk of exposing a government user to a link that leads to inappropriate or unauthorized material.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Social Media Account Managers

• ​All official Sacramento County social media sites are considered an extension of the County’s information networks and are governed by the “Web Accessibility Policy” contained in the “Sacramento County Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual.”
• County-created social media forums must be structured to focus on a particular service, program or interest of Sacramento County.
• Wherever possible, links should direct users back to the County’s primary official website for more information, forms, documents or online service. All social media accounts must be created to allow for ease of administration and security. Social media accounts must:
  • have a standard naming system, e.g. “– (Dept)(Platform)name 1”
  • be set to enforce multifactor authentication whenever possible for the social media platform
  • have a county email address, equivalent in name, used to administer each platform.
• Create standard social media account usernames for each individual administrator
• Ensure social media account usernames and passwords are not shared
• Provide a list of all social network domain names in use and the names of all employee administrators of these accounts to the Public Information Director.

Public Information Director

• ​Oversee requests to use social media sites and associated social media strategies, including discussion of target audiences, objectives, goal integration, message development, resources, appropriate social media tools, related activities, potential partners, legal risks, technical capabilities, potential benefits, and a definition of success.
• Maintain a list of all social network domain names in use and the names of all employee administrators of these accounts. Adapt social media strategies as needed to ensure ongoing relevancy.
• Monitor and may direct changes to content on each department social media site to ensure adherence to the Sacramento County Social Media Policy and for appropriate use, message and branding consistent with the goals of Sacramento County.
  

​​Violation of this policy may result in removal of department pages from social media outlets or the removal of a particular administrator from the page. Sacramento County retains the authority to remove information. 

​Department

• ​Prior to authorizing use of social media for Countyrelated purposes, the Department shall conduct an assessment of the potential risks in launching social media for their services and create a mitigation strategy for the risks including:
  • Effect of social media use on employee productivity
  • Potential risk of harming reputation to department and County
  • Potential avenue for exposure or leakage of sensitive or protected information
• Designate employees who will represent the department:
  • Department Public Information Officer (PIO), if not already assigned.
  • Two account administrators for each account. Notify the department’s PIO and the County’s Public Information Director when the account administrators have been assigned.
  • Workforce members who are authorized to approve and who must approve social media content, including public comments. Comments from the public are welcome on social media sites, but must be monitored by the department regularly to ensure they meet Principles of Conduct and Rules of Engagement/Disclaimers, defined below.
• Departments that use social media are responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state and county laws, regulations, and policies. This includes adherence to established laws and policies regarding copyright, records retention, First Amendment, privacy laws, employment laws, and information security policies established by Sacramento County.

​Social Media Account Administrators

• ​Establish, publish, and update their pages on social media sites.
• Update the Pubic Information Director and department PIO if new accounts are created.
• Authorized account administrators that manage official County social media sites from mobile devices must use County mobile devices rather than personal devices. If an account administrator loses a device that accesses County social media accounts they must alert the Sacramento County Department of Technology (DTech) and the Public Information Director immediately to suspend administrative access to the accounts.
• Shall represent the County on County social media outlets as representatives of Sacramento County at all times. Employees who fail to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner according to County guidelines may be subject to disciplinary action.
• Shall not use County accounts for personal reasons.