Johnson County's Department Social Media Use Policy

Social media may be used by Johnson County departments and offices for business-related purposes subject to the restrictions set forth in this policy.

Departments/offices 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, First Amendment and privacy laws. All departmental/office social media sites or services are considered an extension of the County's information networks and are also governed by appropriate employee handbook policies, including but not limited to:

  • Technology policy
  • Responsibility During Work Policy

Social media sites refer to a collection of online services such as, but not limited to: Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All social media sites used for department purposes must be approved by Johnson County Information Technology. Contact Information Technology for an updated list of approved sites and standards.

Johnson County's website (johnson-county.com) will remain the County's primary and predominant internet presence. Wherever possible, content posted to Johnson County social media sites will also be available on the County's main website. Content posted on a Department's.office's social media site shall contain links directing users back to the County's official website for in-depth information, forms, documents or online services necessary to conduct business with the County.

Departments and offices are responsible for establishing, publishing, and updating their pages on social media sites. Only designated employees may post social media updates, and only with prior content approval by the department head/elected official or designee.

The best, most appropriate Johnson County uses of social media tools fall generally into 2 categories:

  1. As channels for dissemination of time-sensitive information as quickly as possible (for example, H1N1 updates and road closures)
  2. As marketing/promotional channels which increase the County's ability to broadcast its messages to the widest possible audience.

Social media applications can allow users to stream video and music, post photos, and view and subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. While some may be useful to the page's mission, they can cause clutter and security risks. 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 department head or designee.

The County reserves the right to restrict or request removal of any content that is deemed in violation of this social media use policy or any applicable law. Johnson County social media site articles and comments containing any of the following forms of content shall not be allowed:

  1. Posts in support of or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures, or other political activity;
  2. Profane, vulgar or abusive language or content;
  3. Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or status with regard to public assistance;
  4. Sexual content or links to sexual content, with the exception of relevant County programs providing information related to public health issues;
  5. Solicitations of commerce, or promotions of particular services or products;
  6. Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
  7. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
  8. Content that violates a legal ownership intent of any other party;
  9. Personally identifiable medical information;
  10. Personal attacks or threats of any kind;
  11. SPAM or links to other sites.

Best Practices - Security

Security is a paramount concern when creating and using a social media site. Social media sites have become a favorite target of spammers and other individuals that wish to use the sites or their own purposes. A common tactic is to utilize 'phishing' attacks in an attempt to trick site owners into disclosing passwords so they can use the site and information contained within (like contact info) for nefarious purposes. There are important guidelines to follow every time the site is used.

Please refer to the bullet points below to review these tips:

  • Create passwords that utilize both numbers and letters, both upper and lowercase, and special characters for added complexity.
  • Don't share your password with anyone except authorized County personnel. Likewise, do not use your County network password.
  • Do not respond to requests to disclose passwords even when those requests appear to be coming from the host site. Sites like Facebook never request their users to disclose passwords for any reason.
  • After you type your email address and password into the login page, make sure the "Remember me" check box is turned off before you click the Login button and do not allow your browser to save any passwords.
  • Always remember to log out when finished using the social media site.
  • Be sure that information that could compromise the networks or county are not posted or passed on to fans or participants of the sites. This includes confidential information or personally identifiable information (such as addresses or phone numbers).
  • If a site is hacked, discontinue the site immediately and notify the IT department. Indications that the site has been tampered with may include alternation or removal of site graphics or logos, change to expected functionality, or unapproved content postings.

Approved Social Media Sites for Johnson County Departments

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
LinkedIn

Johnson County Facebook Standard

Purpose

This standard is designed for County departments/offices looking to drive traffic to department web sites at www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov and to inform more people about County activities. These standards should be used in conjunction with the County's departmental social media use policy.

Establishing a page

When a Department Head/Elected Official determines it has a business need for a Facebook account, the Department Head/Elected Official will notify Information Technology (IT) and provide login information.

Content

  1. Types of 'pages'
    • The County will create 'pages' in Facebook
    • For 'type' description, choose 'government'
  2. Boilerplate
    • IT will provide a county-approved Facebook image/logo.
    • Departments/offices will include their mission statement and/or department boilerplate. A County boilerplate sentence should follow the department/program description:
      • (Insert department/office) is a department/office of Johnson County, Iowa, www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov. This site is intended to serve as a [department/office] on the listed topics.
    • Each a department/office Facebook page will be set up in conjunction with a County e-mail address, which will allow the receipt of mail from the public.
  3. A link to www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov will be included on the Facebook page.
  4. Page naming
    • Page name should be descriptive of the department/office.
    • Department Heads/Elected Officials will choose carefully with consideration for abbreviations, slang iterations, etc.
  5. Page administrators
    • A successful page requires monitoring. The Department Head/Elected Official or designee is responsible for monitoring the Facebook page.
    • Post should be approved by the Department Head/Elected Official or designee.
    • The Department Head/Elected Official or designee is responsible for making sure content is up-to-date.
    • Make sure the permissions are set to not allow everyone to post, add photos, or videos to the wall.
  6. Facebook does not provide a way to disable public comments; therefore a Notes page should be created which contains the following:
    • "We encourage you to submit your questions, comments, and concerns, but please note this is a moderated online site and not a public forum.
    • Once posted, Johnson County reserves the right to delete comment submissions that contain:
      • comments not topically related to the particular social medium article being commented upon;
      • posts in support of or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures, or other political activity;
      • profane, vulgar or abusive language or content;
      • content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, gender identity, martial status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or status with regard to public assistance;
      • Solicitations of commerce or promotions of particular services or products;
      • Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
      • Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
      • Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any party;
      • Personally identifiable medical information;
      • Personal attacks or threats of any kind;
      • SPAM or links to other sites;
      • Sexual content or links to sexual content.
    • Please note that the comments expressed on this site do not reflect the opinions and position of Johnson County government or its officers and employees. If you have any questions concerning the operation of this online moderated discussion site, please contact (insert your contact information here)."
  7. If you feel that comments posted violate any of the criteria, promptly notify your department head/elected official to decide if the comments should be deleted. Department heads or elected officials may contact the County Attorney's Office if there are questions regarding whether a comment should be deleted. A file should be kept to document all posts that were deleted. This file should include date post was deleted, content of the post and the reason for its removal.
  8. Applications
    • While some may be useful to the page's mission, applications can cause clutter and security risks. An application should not be used unless it serves a business purpose, adds to the user experience, and comes from a trusted source.
    • An application may be removed at any time if IT determines there is significant reason to think it is causing a security breach or spreading viruses.

Johnson County Twitter Standard

Purpose

This standard is designed for County department/offices looking to drive traffic to department web sites at www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov and to inform more people about County activities. These standards should be used in conjunction with County's department social media use policy.

Establishing an account

When a Department Head/Elected Official determines a business need for a department Twitter account, the Department Head/Elected Official will notify Information Technology (IT) and  provide login information.

Content

  • Department Head/Elected Official or designee shall hold and maintain their department's Twitter account.
  • Each department/office will have only one Twitter account, unless otherwise approved by IT.
  • The department's Twitter bio section will read: (Department/office name) - Comments and list of followers are subject to public disclosure
  • Twitter usernames shall begin with "JC" JCPH, JCPZ, and JCBOS). In cases where the username is too many characters, it still shall begin with "JC"
  • Department Twitter account backgrounds will share a standardized Johnson County logo provided by IT.
  • Twitter accounts shall serve three primary purposes:
    • Get emergency information out quickly
    • Promote County staff events
    • Refer followers to content hosted at www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov
  • Information posted on Twitter shall conform to the policies and procedures of the department/office posting the information.
  • Twitter content shall mirror information presented on other existing information dissemination mechanisms. Department Head/Elected Official or designee shall ensure that information is posted correctly the first time since Twitter does not allow for content editing.