Social Media Policy and Guidelines

Facebook

  1. Postings should represent the values and shared decisions of New England Yearly Meeting in all ways possible.
  2. Postings will be daily, during times of high traffic and suggested extended media reach, monitored by social media consultant.
  3. Postings may be timed using an automatic posting service such as Hootsuite.
  4. Postings will use allowed graphics/photos, with permissions, and non-copyrighted materials.
  5. Postings will strive to use varied representation of people of diverse ages, races, and experiences.
  6. Postings will promote first events and gatherings of the New England Yearly Meeting organization.
  7. Graphic “quotation” posts will be identified with a standard NEYM logo, using Asul font.
  8. Postings will use photographs of New England Friends and meetinghouses to highlight New England Friends’ ministries and meetings.
  9. Postings will use primarily verified quotations from Quakers (living or dead).
  10. Sharing of information from other sources should contain a direct relation to Friends in New England (their meetings, ministries, or ministers).
  11. Identification of Friends mentioned in posts should include meeting affiliation, including state location of meeting, and link to meeting’s Facebook page or website if possible (example: Eden Grace, Beacon Hill (MA) Friends Meeting).

Instagram

  1. Posts 1 or 2 times a day, during high traffic times to “feed” (not stories).
  2. Reposts will be from associated Quaker organizations (primarily NEYM) and individual New England Friends engaged in ministries supported by their monthly meeting/church or NEYM.
  3. Reposts will be made using a repost app, retaining watermark of original source whenever possible.
  4. “Quaker quotations” graphic content will follow Facebook protocol of use of logo and font.
  5. Page admins will only “follow” individual instagram accounts with a direct connection to NEYM ministries and Friends. Page admins may “like” posts representative of NEYM values and concerns.
  6. Instagram feed content may repost directly to NEYM Facebook accounts, as appropriate to target varied audiences.
  7. Shared photos from other sources will be identified by IC: (image credit) and name of account/photographer whenever possible. Their instagram handle may also be shared in the text content of post.
  8. Locations (such as meetinghouse, event venue) will be tagged in posts whenever possible.

YouTube

  1. Video platform will be used primarily for sharing videos produced by/featuring New England Friends and ministries.
  2. Content will be organized into “playlists” for easier viewing.
  3. In most cases: commenting will be turned off, embedding will be allowed, video stats (such as views) will not be public.
  4. Video content will be public, unless involving sensitive information.
  5. Comment section will link back to NEYM website whenever possible for supporting information.
  6. Thumbnail will be standard format, including NEYM logo, date, featured speaker, relevant link URL.

Information Shared

Information will be shared/reposted from the following primary sources (and their social media feeds):

  • Facebook pages of New England meetings, worship groups, and churches
  • The Yearly Meeting website (events and news)
  • Yearly Meeting public statements (as soon as possible after being released/published)
  • Yearly Meeting e-newsletter(s)
  • Yearly Meeting Affiliations (Friends United Meeting, Friends General Conference, Friends World Committee for Consultation)
  • Subgroups/ministries of NEYM associations (example: Ramallah Friends School)
  • New England Friends Schools (Moses Brown, Friends School of Portland, Cambridge Friends School)
  • Facebook groups of ministries supported by Friends in New England and Friends’ meetings in New England (examples: Interfaith Vigils of NH, Quakers Concerned with Immigration Justice)
  • National Quaker organizations (American Friends Service Committee, Friends National Committee on Legislation)
  • Occasional additional posts from other yearly meetings (news of the wider Quaker world)

Addressing Platform Limitations and Concerns:

  1. Postings are allowed only by Administrators of the pages.
  2. Followers of the Facebook page may request a post for an item; however, it must be “released” by an Administrator (if/when meets posting guidelines) to be seen by others on the page. Not all posts will be shared.
  3. Primary posting and attention to activity is the responsibility of the contracted social media consultant, with oversight by YM Secretary and Office Manager.
  4. Questionable content/comments not using respectful language will be deleted.
  5. Repeat offenders of posting standards may be blocked from the page, after consultation with the Yearly Meeting Secretary, by the social media coordinator or an Administrator of the page. Before being blocked, the person posting such comments will be notified and asked to refrain from objectionable behavior.