Statement of Purpose
The goal of ICC Austin's social media is to build positive awareness about our organization. We want to show the world who we are, what we do, and highlight our communities and members. We aim to showcase our core values (Community, Equity, Cooperation) and demonstrate through visual media how those values translate into day-to-day, cooperative living. We also intend for our social media platforms to be a forum for potential new members to gather information about the organization, to attract questions and supply answers. ICC Austin will maintain organization-wide social media accounts for Facebook and Instagram.
Each ICC Austin community may establish their own social media accounts to be maintained by current members. All community-level social media accounts must follow the organization guidelines set forth below in addition to any further rules established by the community.
Social Media Guidelines
- There will be no posting of inappropriate and/or offensive content, language, and/or images.
- This includes but is not limited to:
- Hate speech or any other form of speech that belittles, degenerates, or disempowers a person or group of people based on their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, weight, height, class, national origin, physical and mental ability, age, and/or religion.
- Obvious illegal drug or excessive alcohol use of any kind
- Minors in possession of alcohol
- Pornographic images
- Inappropriate swearing
- There will be no endorsement of political candidates on any organization or community-level social media platforms. 501c-3 organizations are prohibited by the IRS from endorsing candidates for elective public office.
- Social media account managers (i.e. any person with permission to post) represent ICC Austin and their community and must identify themselves as such by using "we" not "I" language.
- Account managers should not engage in public arguments or debates. If a negative or inappropriate comment is posted, account managers should follow the Best Practices outlined below.
- The distribution or discussion of personal information pertaining to any former, current, or future member is strictly prohibited unless written consent is received to share such information. This includes an individual's name, address, phone number, email, and other personally identifying information.
- For each social media platform, there should be, at minimum, two current, active account administrators with:
- Access to and responsibility for passwords (keeping them secure, changing them when needed, etc)
- By request, ICC Austin staff can store/maintain community-level account information in the central LastPass vault.
- Authority to control posting and editing permissions
- Any account manager who is no longer affiliated with ICC Austin as a current member or staff member must be removed from accounts and all passwords changed immediately.
- Account managers may not post copyrighted materials without expressed consent from the owner. Section 107 of the Copyright Act outlines the parameters for fair use content. If in doubt on copyright issues, don't post it.
- Account managers must agree to and abide by these guidelines in addition to any further parameters established at the community level.
- Any person concerned with content posted on an ICC Austin or community-level social media account is encouraged to contact us. Current members concerned about content should speak to their Trustee, CoOpCo Rep, or submit an incident report.
Social Media Best Practices
Best Practices
- Define your community using three adjectives. Use these to guide the tone, message, and look of each post. This keeps your messaging consistent across platforms. Communities should review their words every semester to ensure they are accurate and represent the current culture and community vision.
- Keep posts short, between 100-250 characters or less is recommended across all platforms
- Make posts visually appealing
- Post often and regularly
- Interact and answer questions publicly and positively, keeping in mind the above guidelines. If interactions turn negative, move them away from public forums.
Negative Comments & Reviews
- Never delete a negative comment unless it is false information, obscene, or inappropriate as established above and by community guidelines
- Attempt to understand the root cause of the comment by asking for more information via private chat, phone, or email.
- Address the posters concerns as soon as possible
- Develop a pre-written initial response to avoid emotionality and haste
- Direct negative conversation away from public forums
