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NAPNAP Social Media Guidelines The following is a guide for NAPNAP members, volunteers and staff using Social Media: Guiding Principals: ethical safe standards of conduct 1. Follow Appropriate Industry Laws and Guidelines a. Keep in mind privacy laws such as HIPAA b. Follow all Direct Marketing Organization guidelines, such as opt-in and data protection c. Communications must not contain confidential, proprietary or trade-secret information. 2. Be Informed and Interesting – and Listen a. Write shorter entries more often to show you are engaged. Entries do not have to be long, just
well thought out. b. Announce campaigns, appeals and successes to keep your online audience informed with up
-to-the-minute information. 3. Always Be Respectful, and Be Polite When Disagreeing a. Think of the constituency that reads your posts as an extension of the constituency you serve in
person. Your readers could be relatives, self-advocates, peers, competitors or just people who
stumble upon your postings. Provide them with the same respect that you would to someone in person. b. Do not respond negatively to comments with which you do not agree. Alternatively present opposing
viewpoints, multiple sides and diverse content when addressing entries from the public to illustrate
you are being thoughtful and mindful of their comments. c. When responding, state that you understand or see their point of view. This approach allows you to
show that you've read their comments and tried to walk in their shoes, and will encourage them to do
the same. Then explain in a courteous tone why you disagree. 4. Make Sure You Properly Attribute All Content a. Try to have a partner within your organization that you take turns with in checking your entries to help
reduce the chance of missing an attribution or providing incorrect or inappropriate information. b. Make sure that you review the Creative Commons license or any copyrights of any photos or text that
your are citing. 5. Be Responsive a. Be timely in responding to posts or discussion threads about your organization and/or campaign
utilizing your resources and internal staffing effectively. Response time depends on the size, location
and scope of your organization and/or campaign. b. Define to what issues your organization can and wants to respond. Negative posts are not always the
best to respond to quickly. Fueling an agitator or engaging them in nonproductive exchanges may not
be the best use of resources. 6. Use Discretion At All Times 7. Transparency, Honesty, and Integrity Are Paramount a. Transparency: Full disclosure, attribution and transparency are critical when representing an
Organization.
i. Never write or comment anonymously, or use a fake profile.
ii. For any work or social media activity you engage in on behalf of Organization or Affiliate
Organization, identify yourself and your employment. b. Honesty: Always be upfront and truthful.
i. Be the first to admit and respond to your own mistakes. If you make an error, be honest and up
front about it, and immediately correct it.
ii. In a blog, if you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so, and
indicate date of change or update. c. Integrity: You should take care to check and conform to your Organization’s branding and
communications guidelines to ensure that both integrity and uniformity of these items are
maintained through all social media. 8. Professional postings a. Blurring public and Private
i. Write entries in a professional and ethical manner. This does not mean you can't be witty,
serious, etc., but always write with taste and your audience in mind. ii. What is published on the Internet generally cannot be removed. Always ask, ―Is this posting
appropriate? and ―Would I want my current or future supervisor to read this? 9. Posting approval a. Posting from the organization should be reviewed by the Director of Membership, Chapters and
Communication and or the Communications Chair. Some requests may be reviewed by the
communication committee. b. Be sure you don’t publish content that contradicts the organization's mission or values. For
example, if you work for a large medical research organization that prominently and frequently
states that it does NOT engage in stem cell research as a policy, you must take extraordinary
care if you choose to Tweet or post opinions or images that imply criticism of that policy. Be
sure to identify yourself as an employee of the organization on any such postings, and use care
not to reveal or discuss any privileged information or knowledge. 10. Respond to Violations of Standards a. Individuals may be held personally liable for defamatory, proprietary or libelous commentary. NAPNAP reserves the right to remove any individual from its social media site that engages in defamatory or libelous commentary.
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