Social Media Policy

Find the City of Bentonville social networks for City departments, services and initiatives in one spot.
Follow and like our Facebook and Twitter pages from the links below.

facebook Opens in new windowtwitter

Social Media Policy

PURPOSE

To take advantage of wide-reaching and increasingly effective options for communications, the City of Bentonville may use social media tools to communicate messages to a broader audience in order to keep the public informed about the services and activities of its government and encourages the use of social media tools to further the goals of the City and the missions of its departments, where appropriate.

The City of Bentonville has an overriding interest and expectation in assuring the accuracy and consistency of what is "spoken" on behalf of the City on social media sites. This policy establishes guidelines for the use of social media tools for communication between the public and city departments, divisions and staff. 

GENERAL

  1. All City of Bentonville department social media sites are subject to approval by the Mayor in consultation with the Community Relations and Economic Development Director (Community Relations staff).
  2. The City of Bentonville’s main webpage (www.bentonvillear.com) will remain the City's primary and predominant internet presence.
  3. The best, most appropriate uses of social media tools for the City of Bentonville fall generally into two categories:
    • As channels for disseminating time-sensitive information as quickly as possible (example: emergency information).
    • As marketing/promotional channels that increase the City's ability to broadcast its messages to the widest possible audience.
  4. Wherever possible, content posted using social media tools will also be available on the City's main website.
  5. Wherever possible, content posted using social media tools should contain links directing users back to the City's official website for in-depth information, forms, documents or online services necessary to be better informed about services or to conduct business with the City of Bentonville.
  6. Departmental staff will be responsible for the content communicated via social media tools utilized by their department, in coordination with the Community Relations staff.  Department staff is expected to ensure any content communicated via social media tools is maintained and current. The use of social media tools shall comply with all applicable City of Bentonville policies and standards, and more detailed administrative bulletins and guidelines specific to social media are authorized. 
  7. The content communicated via social media tools is subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. 
  8.  All social media tools utilized shall contain Terms of Use and Privacy statements that are available via a prominent link on the primary landing page and/or signup/registration page of the tool.
  9.  Content posted or communicated using City of Bentonville social media tools, either by city staff or the public, will be monitored. Public comments should not be deleted from Social Media Accounts, but some platforms allow an administrator to hide comments.  Content containing any of the following may be immediately regulated in a manner consistent with constitutional free speech rights of the comment writer:
    • Violates the Social Media Platform’s terms of service;
    • Contains information about that is legally deemed confidential and should not be made public;
    • Considered pornographic, obscene, or defamatory in nature, including links to inappropriate sexual content;
    • Openly advocates for violence or the threat of violence;
    • Openly discriminates against others or advocates for discrimination based on race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, genetic information, sex, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class;
    • Solicitations of commerce or marketing of private business enterprises;
    • Encourage or promote illegal activity;
    • Include information that may compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
    • Appear to violate the intellectual property or copyright of any other party;
    • Content that is clearly off-topic or repetitive and detracts from the original City Social Media Content.

If posted content does not fall under one of the categories listed in 9(A) through 9(J), it shall not be hidden. These guidelines must be included in the Terms of Use statement(s).

ADMINISTRATION OF CITY SOCIAL MEDIA SITES 

  1. The Community Relations and Economic Development Director will maintain a list of social media tools that are approved for use by City departments and staff.
  2. The Community and Economic Development Director will maintain a list of all City of Bentonville social media sites, including login and password information. This document of logon and password information is not subject to public disclosure pursuant to an exception included in the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Login and password information shall be in the custody of the Community Relations staff and the IT Manager.
  3. The City must be able to immediately regulate non-allowed content from social media tools in a manner consistent with constitutional free speech rights of the comment writer.
  4. Each social media tool approved for use by the City must comply with City and departmental standards and must be operated according to applicable law and industry best practices regarding various social media platforms.