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A. Purpose. Facebook is a social networking site. Businesses and governments have joined individuals in using Facebook to promote activities, programs, projects and events. This standard is designed for city departments looking to drive traffic to the city’s website and to inform more people about city activities. These standards should be used in conjunction with the city’s social media use policy. As Facebook changes these standards may be updated as needed.

B. Establishing a Page. When a department determines it has a business need for a Facebook account, it will submit a request to the city manager via the information technology committee. Once approved, the information technology committee will create the boilerplate business page for the department. Applications are not to be added to a city Facebook site without approval by the committee. All city provided branding images must meet city branding standards.

C. Content.

1. Type of Pages.

a. The city will create “pages” in Facebook, not “groups.” Facebook pages offer distinct advantages including greater visibility, customization and measurability.

b. For “type” description, choose “government.”

2. Boilerplate.

a. The information technology committee will standardize and provide the Facebook page’s image, consisting of a picture and the city’s logo.

b. Departments will include a mission introduction on the Wall page and send users first to the Wall to connect them to the freshest content. Boilerplate policy text regarding public disclosure and comments will be created using the Facebook Markup Language (FBML) static page application. A city boilerplate sentence should follow the department/program description:

(Insert department) is a department of the city of Palmer, www.palmerak.org. This site is intended to serve as a mechanism for communication between the public and [department] on the listed topics. Any comments submitted to this page and its list of fans are public records subject to disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act and Palmer Municipal Code 2.90. Public records requests must be directed to the (insert department) public disclosure officer.

3. If comments are turned on, the Wall page should include a link to a comment policy tab with the following disclaimer:

Comments posted to this page will be monitored. The city reserves the right to remove inappropriate comments including those that have obscene language or sexual content, threaten or defame any person or organization, violate the legal ownership interest of another party, support or oppose political candidates or ballot propositions, promote illegal activity, promote commercial services or products or are not topically related to the particular posting.

4. Link to the City.

a. A link to www.palmerak.org will be included on the Info page.

b. City department and project pages should be page “favorites” of other city Facebook pages.

5. Page Naming.

a. Page name should be descriptive of the department.

b. Departments will choose carefully with consideration for abbreviations, slang iterations, etc.

c. The information technology committee will approve proposed names.

6. Page Administrators.

a. A successful page requires “babysitting” by the designated department employee responsible for monitoring the Facebook page. Posts should be approved by the employee or a designated alternate.

b. The designated employee is responsible for making sure content is not stale. Departments will designate a back-up administrator in the employee’s absence.

7. Comments and Discussion Boards.

a. Comments to the Wall generally will be turned off but may be allowed on a case-by-case basis with request from the department and approval from the city manager.

b. Discussion boards should be turned off.

8. Style.

a. City Facebook pages will be based on a template that includes consistent city branding. The information technology committee will provide departments with the template.

b. Departments will use proper grammar and standard AP style, avoiding jargon and abbreviations. Facebook is more casual than most other communication tools but still represents the city at all times.

9. Applications.

a. There are thousands of Facebook applications. Common applications can allow users to stream video and music, post photos, and view and subscribe to Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds. While some may be useful to the page’s mission, they can cause clutter and security risks.

b. An application should not be used unless it serves a business purpose, adds to the user experience, comes from a trusted source and is approved by the information technology committee.

c. An application may be removed at any time if there is significant reason to think it is causing a security breach or spreading viruses.

D. Archive.

1. Each Facebook page will be set up in conjunction with an information technology committee designated city email account.

2. Content that cannot be retrieved from Facebook via the Application Programming Interface (API) and needs to be retained as a record must be printed and maintained according to the city records retention policy. (Ord. 12-001 § 3, 2013)