Minnesota cities use social media to communicate with residents, learn their concerns, share information, build community relationships, and celebrate success stories. City staff may monitor social media accounts, respond to comments, and post information. If you’re considering starting a social media account or already have one created, this webinar is for you. During this webinar, we’ll discuss social media as a two-way street, including comment policies and processes for page creation, an overview of First Amendment implications and considerations, including which types of comments can be deleted, and successful engagement techniques. 

After attending this webinar, you will: 

  • Acquire takeaways for comment policies and a process for page creation, including who should sign off for approval before it’s live. 
  • Understand the implications surrounding the First Amendment, including which types of content are unprotected/protected and when you can delete content. 
  • Be able to identify and set reasonable expectations for leadership and your elected officials, including what the overall goal of the account will be, what the city should expect to get from social media, and how to use it as a tool.   
  • Identify what success looks like and scale it appropriately for your city.   

Register for the webinar!

Date

Tuesday, March 18

10 – 11 a.m.

Fee

Free!

Participating Moderator

Kyle Hartnett, assistant research manager/staff attorney, League of Minnesota Cities

Presenters

Lisa Needham, staff attorney, League of Minnesota Cities 

Ben Hayle, communications manager, City of Blaine 

Audience

Communications staff, administrators/managers, clerks, city attorneys, and other staff who manage official social media profiles for your city. 

Background Material

“Read the Comments, But with Care and a Plan,” a Message Matters column by Ben Hayle in LMC’s Minnesota Cities magazine. 

Questions

Do you have questions for our team?  Please submit them to us ahead of the live broadcast by email ([email protected]) on or before 10 a.m. on Monday, March 17. We will answer as many as we can during the live broadcast and will take questions during the webinar as well.