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Social Media Policy

The Officers’ Association (OA) recognises that social media offer an additional platform for the charity to connect with our audiences; to consult and engage; and be more transparent and accountable.

This page describes how and why the OA will use social media.

A. Why We Use Social Media

  • To raise public awareness of the charity and the services it offers.
  • To extend the reach of the OA’s messaging by building relationships with relevant audiences.
  • To provide additional channels for audiences to interact with the OA, provide feedback and to contact us.
  • To provide live coverage of activities (such as interviews and events) for those who cannot attend in person.
  • To highlight existing OA website content such as news releases and blogs to encourage traffic to https://www.officersassociation.org.uk and other OA social media channels.
  • To provide a communication channel if other channels become unavailable and as a medium for crisis communication.

B. What We Do on Social Media

  • We post and share articles, news and other content created by the OA.
  • We post and share relevant articles, videos and content created by others.

C. OA Content Principles

  • Social media posts will be clear and use accessible language suitable for the platform on which they appear.
  • Language will be informal in tone, but will reflect the OA’s positon as an established military charity.
  • Updates will be timely, addressing current topics of interest and contributing to public discussion relevant to the charity.
  • Updates and posts will aim to be informative to organisations and individuals, promoting guidance, events and advice with links to relevant websites.
  • In keeping with the knowledge-sharing culture of social media, the OA will pursue opportunities to signpost relevant content elsewhere.
  • Where possible and appropriate, the OA will supplement posts with relevant media such as photos, videos and infographics.
  • The OA will not respond to all comments posted on its social media platforms. Where we receive an explicit request for help, we will re-direct to a secure channel of communication.
  • Social media accounts will be monitored during weekday office hours. The OA cannot ensure comments will be viewed during evenings, weekends or during public holidays.

D. Impartiality

  • Depending on the platform, the OA may connect with or follow other relevant parties via social networks. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of any kind – political, commercial or otherwise.
  • For purposes of engagement, openness and sharing relevant information, the OA may repost the communications of other parties. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of the other party.
  • When posting messages to micro blogging sites such as Twitter and Instagram, the OA may use hashtags (#) to improve search visibility. These hashtags should be viewed in the context of the message and wider discussion. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of any kind – political, commercial or otherwise.

E. Operation of Social Media Accounts

  • The views expressed by OA staff members on personal social media accounts should not be interpreted as those of the OA. Opinions expressed on personal social media accounts should be clearly indicated as such.
  • All staff are required to follow OA policies and procedures in their use of social media

F. Use Of Personal Data

Any personal data we collect via the OA’s social media channels will be used for the following purposes:

  • If you post a comment on any of the OA’s channels and your comment violates the OA’s content principles, we may use the contact information you provided in order to notify you of the policy violation.
  • From time to time, we may organise competitions and other promotions. If you share information with us we may use the email address you provided, with your agreement, in order to notify you of the results.
  • We will use Cookies to monitor website usage trends and improve your user experience and our reporting.

The ICO provide guidance on how to take control of your personal information on social media platforms.

G. OA’s Social Media Platforms

The following is a list of the social media platforms in use by the OA:

*Facebook’s privacy policy is at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation; you can adjust your Facebook privacy settings here.

Facebook uses various cookies when you access our Facebook page whether you are a registered Facebook user or not. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device which can help provide a better user experience. In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information and provide anonymised tracking data. Facebook share with us the information they gather on the age, gender and location, in anonymised format, of people accessing the site, to allow us to profile our users and shape our services.

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