The EPA releases guides to using social as an agency employee

As you know, it’s imperative to be cautious about what you’re posting online as a public servant. Representing your agency isn’t something that just turns off after-hours, and it’s important to keep this in mind when using social media. The EPA recently released two documents to help its employees successfully use social as a representative of the EPA. Speaking with Chris Dorobek of the DorobekINSIDER, Jeffrey Levy, the EPA’s director of web communications in the Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education and Jessica Orquina, the EPA’s social media lead explained the utility of the documents.

The documents are great because they encourage employees to still seek guidance from the pro’s at the agency, but also help them think through whether or not certain posts are even worth responding to, and gives them basic guidance. The documents are also platform neutral, which is really helpful considering it’s impossible to foresee the often lightning-quick rise and fall of social platforms. The first document, “Representing the EPA Online Using Social Media”, is a procedural guide for individual employees representing the EPA online.

The second document, “Should I Respond Online on EPA’s Behalf?” is a flow chart designed to help employees gauge whether or not it’s even worth it to respond. It’s really easy for an employee to get emotional when reading criticism of a program that they may have worked on. The chart helps employees work through these emotions and determine logically whether a response is warranted or if the post should be ignored; it gives employees a thicker skin when responding on social media.

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