{{{edit-button 'social_media.html' 'section'}}} {{#markdown}} ### What are social media? Social media allow online publication with interactive communication, including, but not limited to, social networks, blogs, Internet forums, and wikis. Examples of social media include, but are not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wordpress, and Instagram. ### Guidelines Because social media blur the lines between personal and institutional voice, we have put together these guidelines to help you make effective use of social media as part of your work here. We encourage staff to use social media in either a personal or institutional capacity, but ask that you clearly label your personal accounts as such. Lab/team/group/official accounts should follow our guidelines. You do not need to ask permission before starting an account, but please let Rodica Petrusevschi in External Relations know. She is on hand to help you participate effectively and professionally on social media, and works with Laura Howes in the Heidelberg communications team. If you're on Twitter, Rodica and Laura can also add you to the directory of EMBL users. ### Types of social media usage We distinguish between the following types of usage: - Private: you work for EMBL, but you use a social media channel in a personal capacity and your link to EMBL is not acknowledged or stated overtly. - Associated: you work for EMBL and while your use of a social media channel is largely personal, you have declared an association with EMBL via that channel (for example in a Twitter bio). - Representative: your use of a social media channel is representative of a part of EMBL, such as a service, department or laboratory. The EMBL Staff Rules and Regulations, particularly 1 3.03-04 and R 1 3.03-05 and Internal Policy 54 apply to staff members using social media. Please make sure you are familiar with them. The EMBL logos and emblems are protected, and should not be used for private purposes. ### Using social media in a 'private' or 'associated' capacity Treat professional social media space and communication like a professional workplace. Always keep in mind that you are representing the organisation - all of us - in a public space. If a particular type of behaviour is inappropriate at work, then that behaviour is also inappropriate on professional social media. Even if you only have a few followers, you should be aware that anything you say is public. Please be especially mindful of this during important events. ### Using social media in a 'representative' capacity Social media are open, visible channels that foster open exchanges and learning and can allow our message to be amplified by other users. Using platforms such as Twitter and Facebook helps EMBL access an audience in the many millions, and to foster positive relationships with target groups including researchers, partners and collaborators, the public and employees. Through a collective social media presence, EMBL aims to join, shape and inspire conversation, and open up a respectful and knowledgeable interaction with people on the internet. Social media are important tools that complement our work in media relations, print and online communications and outreach events. ### Before you start Before launching into social media, ask yourself:
### DO | ### DON'T |
Test the waters first. Launch a placeholder blog/account and see how you do with it. Then go for the official thing. | Leap in without thinking |
Provide a link to more information | Fret too much about how your audience will experience each post |
Add context | Just tweet a number without a story or hook for context |
Stay focused on your main message | Be afraid to experiment sometimes (but gather data!) |
Establish roles and responsibilities: Who manages the account? What happens to it when they leave? | Launch an account if you don't have time to plan the content, post it and follow up. |
Add value to a retweet by commenting | Work in a vacuum. This media is always changing. Make sure you have someone to talk to when you're planning content. |
Look at how far your tweets go. You should have a clear idea of what works and what doesn't. | Launch an account just because someone told you to! |
Post regularly - ESPECIALLY for blogs. If you only have a couple in you, consider writing a guest post instead. | Launch a blog if you haven't already drafted a few posts. |
Talk to the Comms team! We are here to help you. It's our job. | Ignore EMBL rules and guidelines |
Share events you're involved in (especially EMBL/EMBL-EBI ones!) | Forget to mention people/events/organisations. Mentioning/tagging will increase your reach. Plus, it's a nice thing to do. |
Find the right #hashtag. This will take a little time if you want to do it well. | #fillyourtweetwithhashtags |
Find your heroes! Who do you think does this well? Why? |