Social Media Policies and Recomendations

Which tool is right for you and your office? Take a look at the minimum requirements and recommended practices for each to get a better idea of what it takes to use each tool. Once you have identified the tool that is right for you, fill out the account request form and email your Social Media Coordinator.

Facebook

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
Recommended: Daily or more
Minimum: 3 - 5 posts each week

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: Photo plus 2 - 3 short sentences and a link to more information

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Like, comment, share

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account required to interact

Twitter

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
Recommended: Daily or more
Minimum: 3 - 5 posts each week

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: 140 characters or less with a link to more information

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Reply, retweet, favorite

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account required to interact

Blogs

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
Recommended: Daily
Minimum: Weekly

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: 500 words and photos

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Comment, share

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account not required to interact

Flickr

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters, Regional Offices

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
As content is available

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: Photo with caption, credit, description and tags

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Favorite, comment, share

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account required to interact

Resources

Resources
Management Plan

YouTube

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
As content is available

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: high quality video 3 minutes or less with closed captions and bumper

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Like, dislike, comment, share

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account required to interact

Resources

Resources
Management Plan
(FWS only) Bumper | Lower Third

Instagram

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
Daily or more

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: Photo with short caption, credit and hashtags

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Like, comment

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account required to interact

Resources

Resources
Management Plan

Tumblr

Headquarters, Field Stations, Regional Offices

Approved Use
Headquarters, possible future expansion

Posting Frequency

Posting Frequency
Daily or more

Post Content

Post Content
Recommended: Text with photo and caption and a link to more information

Possible Interactions

Possible Interactions
Like, reblog

Content Accessibility

Content Accessibility
Visible to public
Account required to interact

Our Strategy


Facebook: Facebook is our primary tool for interacting with citizens, and it is driven by geography. Individual refuges, fish hatcheries and field stations maintain their own pages where they discuss wildlife sightings, station news, interesting information and community events. Our eight regional accounts share the best news and stories from individual stations as well as partner organizations. We also have program pages for issue-based news, such as Migratory Birds or International Affairs. Finally, our headquarters account provides a national scope, publishing and sharing the best stories and news nationwide.

Twitter: All eight regions and headquarters maintain active Twitter presences. There are also issue-specific accounts, such as White Nose Syndrome in bats. We use Twitter the way it was intended: we speak, but we also listen. We regularly tweet our press releases, interesting wildlife and habitat facts, event alerts, emergency response news, and other stories of interest. We'll also reteweet and share third-party content we believe is relevant to our audiences.

Flickr: As an organization dedicated not only to protecting wildlife but also to connecting the public with nature, we maintain a robust catalogue of public domain photos from all eight regions and headquarters. Our photostreams are among the highest quality, free-to-use collections of wildlife and habitat photography on the web! Our photographs have been used worldwide in textbooks, documentaries, news publications, and more. All we ask is that if you use one of our photos, please credit the photographer and our agency.

Instagram: As an extension of our enthusiasm for wildlife and habitat photography, we maintain an agency Instagram account. This account is updated daily and features some of our favorite photos from around the country.

YouTube: We have one national YouTube channel that houses all of our online videos from around the country. Our content ranges from quick clips of wildlife or daily agency operations to full-produced pieces.

Last updated: March 25, 2014
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