WYTHE COUNTY SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

PURPOSE

To address the fast-changing landscape of the Internet and the way residents communicate and obtain information online, county departments may consider participating in social media formats to reach a broader audience.  Wythe County encourages the use of social media to further the goals of the County and the missions of its departments where appropriate.

The Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator have an overriding interest and expectation in deciding who may “speak” and what is “spoken” on behalf of Wythe County on social media sites.  This policy establishes guidelines for the use of social media.

The Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator shall approve what social media outlets may be suitable for use by the County and its departments.  Departments shall be educated on how to best use various social media outlets to achieve their goals.

POLICY

A.  All official Wythe County presences on social media sites or services are considered an extension of the County’s information networks and are governed by the Electronic Media Usage Policy contained in the Wythe County Employee Personnel Policy.

B.  The County Administrator will review department requests to use social media sites and may delegate this review function to the Public Information Officer.

C. Departments that use social media are responsible for complying with applicable federal, state, and county laws, regulations, and policies. This includes adherence to established laws and policies regarding copyright, records retention, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), First Amendment, privacy laws, and information security policies established by Wythe County.

D.  Wherever possible, links to more information should direct users back to the County’s official website for more information, forms, documents, or online services necessary to conduct business with Wythe County.

E.  Employees representing the County government via social media outlets must conduct themselves at all times as representatives of Wythe County.  Employees that fail to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner shall be subject to the Disciplinary Procedures outlined in the Wythe County Employee Personnel Policy.

F.  The Public Information Office will monitor content on each of the Department’s social media sites to ensure adherence to the Social Media Policy for appropriate use, message and branding consistent with the goals of Wythe County.

G.  Violation of these standards may result in the removal of the department’s pages from social media outlets.  The Public Information Officer retains the authority to remove any information.