Introduction
In the expanding digital community, social media plays a crucial role in ABERSU’s communication, both in how stakeholders interact with the organisation, and in messages being broadcast to stakeholders. Furthermore, the close-nit nature of Aberystwyth has led to social media acting as a primary vehicle for information dissemination and discussion.
As Student Officers, social media will play a large role in your interactions with students and the wider community. The visibility of these platforms and the difficulties involved in separating personal use from representative actions means that officers must officers think carefully about their use of social media. The negative impacts include damage to the officer’s reputation and to the reputation of the Union.
Remember that social media is: ?
- Public: Content posted by staff is visible in the public domain, with the likelihood of being shared with large numbers of users in a short period. ?
- Permanent: All content posted may be copied and republished elsewhere.
This policy has been developed and approved by the Senior Management Team. Officers who are unsure of any elements of this policy, or wish to check their actions abide by the terms set out, are encouraged to contact union.marketing@aber.ac.uk
Scope
This policy applies to all full-time and part-time Student Officers of Aberystwyth University Students’ Union.
The term ‘social media’ is used here to describe the various online platforms that allow users to communicate and share information and resources. This policy applies to all social media platforms, including, but not limited to: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, The Student Room, Google+, LinkedIn, Flickr, Instagram, and Pinterest and micro-blogging websites.
Policy Aims
The purpose of this Student Officer Social Media Usage Policy is:
• to encourage good practice in officer social media usage;
• to protect AberSU and its officers;
• to promote effective use of social media as part of ABERSU’s activities;
• to clarify an appropriate code of conduct when using social media in a personal capacity.
Personal Usage
Officers must be mindful of who can view their social media content and act accordingly. Friends, followers and connections may include colleagues, students, prospective students or University partners, and officers should therefore carefully consider all posted content relating to ABERSU.
As elected representatives, officers will influence and form part of the Union’s online reputation. As such, it is expected that officers will act as natural ambassadors for the Union. Student Officers are the public face of the student community, and should interact online in the same way they would in person – responsibly and professionally.
Officers are free to talk about ABERSU, however instances where ABERSU is brought into disrepute may constitute misconduct or gross misconduct, and disciplinary action will be applied. Comments published cannot be isolated from your representational role and will still be picked up by media and students. As such, you can still be held to account for views expressed.
Under no circumstances should offensive comments be made about Union staff, Aberystwyth University students or ABERSU in general.
Officers must refrain from posting content which could be classed as bullying, harassment or discriminatory against students or staff of ABERSU, for example, by: ?
- making offensive or derogatory comments in relation to race, sex, gender reassignment, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age; ?
- using social media to bully another individual; ?
- criticising or arguing with students or staff; ?
- posting images considered discriminatory or offensive, or links to such content, in relation to students or staff.
Social media postings should not disclose any information that is confidential to ABERSU. This may include aspects of Union policy or information received from internal discussions.
Where there is cause of concern that something on a personal social media presence gives rise to a conflict of interest or concerns about confidentiality or impartiality, this must be discussed with the Communications & Engagement team.
If contacted by the media or press about content posted publically which relates to ABERSU, officers must refer to Communications & Engagement before giving statements or interviews.
Officers should be mindful when accessing social media through the University network of the Information Services Rules and Regulation and the JANET Acceptable Use policy.
AberSU Channel Interactions
All of our social media channels allow our audiences to engage in a range of topics. Whilst we are pleased that officers would like to participate in our conversations with stakeholders, we remind officers that they are expected to conduct themselves appropriately:
When engaging with official ABERSU channels, officers must abide by all of the terms outlined in the previous section ‘Personal Usage’.
Officers should protect the ABERSU brand when posting on an official Union social media presence. Officers are seen to be representing the Union and therefore will have a responsibility to ensure communications are appropriate (both for audience and purpose).
AberSU upholds the policies and guidelines administered by social media websites, and requests that all staff interacting with our channel do the same. AberSU reserves the right to request that certain subjects are avoided, withdraw certain posts, and remove inappropriate comments.
AberSU Offers must consult with the Communications & Engagement team before setting up any official online presences.