Social Media Guidelines

Last summer I wrote some proposed social media guidelines for the Kenosha for Bernie group. See if you think these guidelines would work for your group.


 

A very basic rule of politics is that you never want to alienate anyone. This doesn’t mean we have to dumb down content, but we do need to keep everything “clean” and suitable for readers of all ages and not just our content, but also the content we link to.

I don’t think there should be any debate about not swearing on the FB or Twitter pages, but links are worth talking about. Already our FB followers have submitted links to content that contained the f-word. We have not posted those links. I would recommend against doing so, but the real question is what policy should be about which sites we link to.

An article can be ‘clean,’ but on a site with questionable advertising or bad language in other stories. Some sites are ‘clean,’ but radical. Where do we draw the line? If you think about it, even Jill Stein doesn’t embrace PETA, and for good reasons. PETA has been known to make people angry. Likewise BLM, OWS, Greenpeace, WAMM, NARAL, etc. What does the group think?

Perhaps the most important part of the KFB FB page will be the calendar of events. All Bernie events, KFB and other Bernie group meetings should be posted. I would also recommend listing all WI Democratic meetings and related activities with the exception of any Clinton, Webb or O’Malley events.

I would like to see the About page expanded to include permanent links to various Bernie and Democratic sites, altho a KFB web page would be a better place for that.

Pictures are great! Humorous pictures should be used with restraint. Politics is about negatives, and Hillary’s people will beat us to death with any “humor” that’s a little bit off.

Perhaps most important locally, we need lots of local event pictures, and as soon as possible after an event.

Ideally, FB content should be updated at least once a day.

Twitter should be used to promote meetings on the day of the meeting. All Bernie events should be tweeted, as well as links to other content that meet the following criteria: Timely, pro-Bernie, and from a ‘clean’ site. 

Basic concepts for social media. Mostly, don't offend anyone.  Since writing these guidelines, I've come to rethink social media. Facebook is not all that ideal. It's great for regular readers, but unlike a website or blog, old content is quickly forgotten.

I'd also recommend not drowning your readers with Facebook content. If your group also tweets, that's a great place for posting links. Instagram? Tumblr? It depends on your group. What your group uses is the best platform for you. But for outreach, consider a small website where you can post meeting times at the top of the page and then leave them there. e-mail 'blasts' (c'mon, it's still spam) and texts? Whatever your people use, that's what you use. 

Don't impose social media on others. Use the social media they're already using. The Kenosha group's Twitter account is already moribund because no one was reading it, but the Facebook page is very popular. Each group will be different, especially yours.

One last recommendation and this runs contrary to many groups on the left. Not everyone should be able to post content. Social media should be handled by a small group of people serving as gatekeepers. Without them, you may get way too much content. Some people are very enthusiastic, and think everyone should read a dozen Bernie stories a day. Well, there aren't twelve good Bernie stories every day. But some are timeless. Save those for slow days. And make sure you have fresh content every day!