Developing a Social Media Strategy for Grand Ledge

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DEVELOPMENT OF A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR THE CITY OF GRAND LEDGE
by
Nicholas R. Sizeland
SUBMITTTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
April 25, 2016
APPROVED BY: Dr. Jennifer James Mesloh
DATE: April, 25, 2016

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Table of Contents
Abstract..................................................................................................................................3
Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………………………4
Chapter I: Introduction
Statement of Problem.................................................................................................7
Chapter II: Review of Literature............................................................................................10
State of Local Government Social Media..................................................................10
Crisis Communication ...............................................................................................12
Chapter III: Methodology: Results and Analysis Relative to the Problem............................14
Social Media Policy...................................................................................................14
Facebook Comment Policy........................................................................................15
Protocol and Training ................................................................................................17
Charts ........................................................................................................................18
Chapter IV: Recommendations and Conclusion...................................................................23
Recommendation .......................................................................................................23
Conclusion .................................................................................................................24
References ........................................................................................................................25
Appendix ........................................................................................................................28

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Abstract
In order to move forward with quality communication for the 21st
Century, the City of
Grand Ledge needed to develop a social media strategy that would put the City on a path onward
towards effective communication for the residents of Grand Ledge. In order for this strategy to
work a number of initiatives occurred. A social media policy, Facebook comment policy,
flowcharts and a protocol/training were developed for this process. This process took into
consideration opinions from multiple sources to decide how the City should move forward. The
process set forth has set the City of Grand Ledge in a positive direction for communication with
its residents.

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Definition of Terms
Blog: A regularly updated web page typically run by one individual written informally (Sizeland,
2016).
Charts: A series of charts showing a hierarchy of how a Facebook post shall work and or
response to a comment on Facebook (Sizeland, 2016).
City Administrator: Same as City Manager, an official appointed as the administrative manager
of a city, in a council-manager form of city government (Sizeland, 2016).
Comment Policy: Similar to Social Media Policy except that it provides guidelines for
employees and/or individuals on the content they may post to social media (Sizeland, 2016).
Constituents: A citizen who lives and votes in a particular geographical area (Sizeland, 2016).
Crisis Communication: A plan created to protect and defend an individual, organization or
government facing a public challenge to its reputation (Wikipedia, 2016).
Facebook: Social media application (Sizeland, 2016).
Grand Ledge: City in Michigan, located in Eaton County (Sizeland, 2016).
Grand Ledge Community: Facebook group created by Mayor of Grand Ledge to promote
interaction between the Mayor and its residents (Sizeland, 2016).
One-Way Communication: A limited form of communication that only goes from sender to
receiver and serves to inform (Sizeland, 2016).
Personnel Manual: An official code of conduct for employees to follow as part of an
organization. (Sizeland, 2016).
Protocol: An official procedure or system of rules governing affairs (Sizeland, 2016).
Site Administrator: Oversees social media applications for the City of Grand Ledge (Sizeland,
2016).
Social Media: Websites and applications that enable users to create and share their own on
content or to participate in social networking (Sizeland, 2016).
Social Media Policy: A social media policy is a corporate code of conduct that provides
guidelines for employees who post content on the Internet either as part of their job or as a
private citizen (Rouse, n.d.).
Twitter: Social media application (Sizeland, 2016).

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Two-Way Communication: Allows feedback from receiver to sender (Sizeland, 2016).

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Chapter I: Introduction
Government of all levels, Federal, State and Local, are utilizing and learning how to
communicate with its constituents through various outlets. There is not a perfect means for
communication and it can be a challenge to reach the many levels of constituents a government
has under its jurisdiction. In the past, before the age of computers, much of the communication
was done through radio, TV and newspaper. These methods did work, but they were slower
means of communication, especially if there was any damage control that needed to be
performed. As technology progressed, the internet was used as a tool for distributing
information; governments took advantage and made webpages for their citizens to access
government files, information regarding taxes, events, etc. This was the next step in government
communication tools until the newest leap has come about in social media.
With technology as robust as it is, citizens expect to receive information and news
instantaneously. Social media has changed the landscape for how people communicate and
connect with each other. It has become such an ingrained technology that citizens now expect
social media to be used by the government as another form of communication. As the popularity
of social media soars, the importance that governments places on social media, as a
communication tool to engage citizens, must rise and in turn reflect active dialog with citizens as
a priority (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). In order to provide quality communication to
citizens, governments must provide content to social media that is interesting, useful, and
engaging, while doing this on a regular basis (Andrews, n.d.).The best response to posts includes
videos, behind-the-scenes photos, and posts in which municipalities initiate a two-way
conversation with the public (Andrews, n.d.).

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How people choose to consume their information is constantly evolving, and for governments to
be successful, they will need to continuously engage with the public to understand what types of
content resonates the best (Andrews, n.d.). The City of Grand Ledge, Michigan has gone through
many drastic changes in less than two years. In November of 2014 a new City Administrator,
Adam Smith, was hired from the Village of Mackinac replacing Jon Bayless who had served as
City Administrator for 12 years. In less than two years of the new leadership the city’s strategic
vision and goals have changed, changes to organizational, technological and performance
measures that in the past were lacking. With the changes also came about a vision for reaching
out to the residents of Grand Ledge. The City already had a website, and which was kept up to
date, but the mayor had been hearing from citizens on numerous occasions again that city
communication to its residents was lacking. To improve communication the City decided that it
was time to make a social media presence, starting with the creation of a government Facebook
page.
Statement of Problem
The Mayor of Grand Ledge, Kalmin Smith, created a community Facebook page, back in
the 2008 or 2009 timeframe called “Grand Ledge Community” (Smith, Mayor, City of Grand
Ledge, 2016). This pages intent by the Mayor was to foster communication with residents of
issues that are of importance to Grand Ledge (Smith, Mayor, City of Grand Ledge, 2016).
Specifically the page describes its purpose as “Information regarding activities and thoughts
regarding issues of import to the residents of the City of Grand Ledge” (Smith, Grand Ledge
Community, 2016). At first the page was working great, as the mayor had hoped for; the was city
issues’ were being discussed such as fixing roads, Jaycee Park Master Plan, downtown area
development and advertisement of community related events such as Yankee Doodle Days, 4th
of

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July parade, Color Cruise and other community events (Smith, Mayor, City of Grand Ledge,
2016).
The Facebook page had minimal issues with the occasional person or persons who commented
with vulgar language, off topic issues, trying to sell merchandise, etc. (Smith, Mayor, City of
Grand Ledge, 2016). When the Mayor first created the page it had a following of about 500
people so it was easy to maintain and moderate the page if issues arose. In 2016 the page has
rose to about 9,300 members with more joining the group every day (Smith, Grand Ledge
Community, 2016). What was once a Facebook page of fostering civil discussion and ideas has
turned into complete chaos and a free for all. The page now has numerous residents using it as a
garage sale to sell items online, rants against the City or specific residents, and advertisements of
lost dogs (Smith, Grand Ledge Community, 2016).
The catalyst for change with this page started with an incident that happened during the fall of
2015. A student from Grand Ledge High School wrote graffiti on the wall in the bathroom,
taken from the title of a movie that was perceived to be a threat to fellow students. (WILX10,
2015). Instead of reporting the incident to police or school official’s, two students posted the
incident to the Grand Ledge Community Facebook page (WILX10, 2015). The issue was
resolved and found to be non-credible (WILX10, 2015). The residents afterwards talked to the
Mayor and City Council members asking why the City did not make a statement regarding the
issue on its Facebook page (Smith K. , Mayor, City of Grand Ledge, 2016). That was the
problem; the people saw the Grand Ledge Community Facebook page as an official media outlet
for the City.

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The City Administrator, Adam Smith, and Mayor, Kalmin Smith, sat down and discussed the
advantages and disadvantages of the current community page and an official City Facebook page
(Smith A. , 2016). The Mayor and City Administrator discussed the Community Facebook page
as no longer being a positive community forum and has turned into a free for all, with a bad
association tied to the City (Smith A. , 2016). The decision was made that the City needed to
create a positive City orientated Facebook page in order to disseminate city information to its
residents. The task was then handed to Nick Sizeland to develop a page, protocol, training,
comment policy for residents, social media policy for the personnel manual and posting charts.

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Chapter II: Review of Literature
State of Local Government Social Media
Changing the relationship between citizens and government is often cited as a goal for a
digital government, and new tools such as social media have the potential to improve with
citizens through dialogue (Mosberger, Yonghong, & Crawford, 2013).
“If agencies are interested in maintaining a flow of information with constituents and
providing usable services, they must take the time to understand what social media are
and learn about the relevant tools and how they are being applied in government today.
At that point agencies can make an informed decision about how and when and why they
will choose to use or not to use social media to meet their organizational goals”
(GovLoop, n.d.).
The most significant objective for government organizations, when it comes to social media is
“more effective distribution of information to citizens and communities” (GovLoop, n.d.). The
open and dialogic nature of social media, eliminates many of the barriers in citizen
communication that governments have historically experienced, and the communication with
constituents can be more frequent, targeted, and open (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). A 2013
Pew Research Center report revealed that 72% of US adults utilize social networking sites,
which represents a 6% increase from the previous year (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). One
official mentioned the need for a “push-pull” strategy, so that citizens could be encouraged to use
the City website and participate on different social media platforms (Mosberger, Yonghong, &
Crawford, 2013). As local governments continue to face diminishing budgets and less human
and fiscal resources even for the management of daily operations, it is imperative for local
governments to maximize the efficiency of social media (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015).

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Increasingly, social media is being used, or at least experimented with, in the day-to-day tasks of
state, regional, county, and municipal governments (Bruce, 2012). Most of this is used for the
daily operations: the communications, direction, and coordination of service delivery and the
numerous specific tasks and activities that make it up (Bruce, 2012). “Successful use has been
reported in three key operational areas: public safety, transportation, and infrastructure and
environmental management” (Bruce, 2012).
According to GovLoop, there are 13 outcomes from social media use in local government. Social
media generates revenue to augment tight budgets, as an example governments can provide more
accessible information, guides, maps, and nearly a 24/7 outlet of communication for visitors
(GovLoop, n.d.). Eliciting budget input from community residents, in 2012, one city “established
a “Virtual Town Hall” utilizing Facebook as the communication channel” (GovLoop, n.d.). They
shared with resident’s information about the upcoming budget session and asked for their
feedback through Facebook that could be shared with the City Council members (GovLoop,
n.d.). From this campaign it resulted in over 3,000 unique views and 450 new Facebook fans in a
period of two months (GovLoop, n.d.). Drive followers to a specific website for email sign-ups,
encouraging residents to sign up for email alerts to what they find important is a great way to
engage the resident (GovLoop, n.d.).
Increase event registration, Facebook advertising can be very effective in promoting special
events (GovLoop, n.d.). Reach underserved audiences during key initiatives, “one agency cited a
specific deployment of social media “during our 2012 Bond Referendum education effort”
(GovLoop, n.d.). It helped to get the word out to sections of the town that may not have
otherwise paid attention” (GovLoop, n.d.). Get accurate information out more quickly during

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emergencies, a state level agency indicated that, “Twitter has been a great tool during emergency
incidents or inclement weather” (GovLoop, n.d.). Respond to questions one to many vs. one to
one, one of the many benefits of social media is the efficiency of one to many communication-
with an opportunity for direct, ongoing public dialogue on common questions and concerns
citizens may have (GovLoop, n.d.). Engage with key business stakeholders, “Twitter has been a
great way to connect with our target market in the business sector, Twitter has made it easier to
collaborate with partners and share opportunities in real-time” (GovLoop, n.d.).
Receive valuable data from citizens in real-time, the City of Philadelphia used Twitter during
Hurricane Candy to spread awareness, news and information on the storm (GovLoop, n.d.).
Enable senior leaders to keep geographically-dispersed staff informed, social media has the
ability to be seen and used across the world to inform employees of any issues (GovLoop, n.d.).
Leverage the time and talent of the local community, rather than spending taxpayer dollars to
hire a photographer, one municipality opened a Flickr page and found that it “has been a great
source of free, high quality photos” (GovLoop, n.d.). Avert a public relations disaster, have the
ability to discount a rumor with facts before it spreads like a wildfire (GovLoop, n.d.). Improve
project planning and record keeping, “blogs are fantastic for planning projects, in that you can
create an ongoing dialogue about the process and then have a record of decisions made when the
process is complete” (GovLoop, n.d.).
crisis communication.
The City of Boston utilized social media heavily to communicate with the public during
and the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings in early 2013 (Graham, Avery, & Seijen,
2015). Social Media usage by local governments was also vital during the recent wildfires in
Yosemite National Park as well as the historic flooding in Colorado to get information about the

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crises and safety protocols to citizens and other interested parties (Graham, Avery, & Seijen,
2015). Social media are an important technology for disaster response, primarily because of the
tolls that enable open exchange of information through conversation and interaction (Graham,
Avery, & Seijen, 2015). In the UK police have utilized Twitter as reinforcement for existing
means of communication to collect information from citizens and to alert them to any incidents
(Bruce, 2012). The U.K. Association of Police Chief Officers has attempted to promote the use
of social media as a way to engage the uninvolved citizens in conversations about local policing
work and the consideration of local priorities for policing (Bruce, 2012). The intent is to increase
public participation in crime reduction and encourage it as a shared responsibility as well as
enhancing public trust in the police (Bruce, 2012).
The goal of crisis communication is to convey the right information to the right people, and
social media enables rapid response information exchange (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). In
the results from an American Red Cross survey reveals that Americans are increasingly reliant
on social media and mobile technologies to learn about ongoing disasters and how to seek help
and to share information after emergencies (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). Research shows
that during a crisis an audience’s social media use highly increases, and social media is often
perceived to be more credible sources now than traditional mass media due to the speed of
information posted (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). Today, both journalists and their public
audiences frequently rely on social media for news and information (Graham, Avery, & Seijen,
2015). There is no single social media form preferred for disseminating information about a
crisis and that continued investment is needed in order to ensure many different communication
forms are utilized (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015).

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Chapter III: Methodology: Results and Analysis Relative to the Problem
Social Media Policy
In the personnel manual for the City of Grand Ledge there was no social media policy
for its employees, elected officials and or anyone associated with the City. While reviewing other
local government personnel manuals in Michigan and seeing the impact Social Media can have
on a City, this issue had to be identified. Currently the policy is in draft review by the City
Administrator, Adam Smith (Smith A. , 2016). The main components he wanted to address
within this policy was the workplace use of social media, using social media during personal
time and appropriate conduct of what was posted (Smith A. , 2016). “Eight core elements of
local government social media policy in the United States have (1) employee access, (2) account
management, (3) acceptable use, (4) employee conduct, (5) content, (6) security, (7) legal issues
and (8) citizen conduct” (Bruce, 2012).
Gini Dietrich, founder of Arment Dietrich, urges companies to be thorough and detailed when it
comes to developing a policy (Mozaffari, 2015). “Be specific about what constitutes racism,
sexism or harassment so people know what could get them fired. Get your HR, legal and
communications people involved in creating this policy” (Mozaffari, 2015). In drafting the
Grand Ledge policy, input and ideas were generated from the City Administrator, Assistant City
Administrator, Assistant to the City Administrator and City Clerk. Within this policy, it needs to
be emphasized that employees know that nothing in their social media world is private
(Mozaffari, 2015). A little disclaimer line such as “Tweets/posts reflect my personal opinion and
not that of my employer” is meaningless if the employee does not reflect the rules of the social
media policy (Mozaffari, 2015). The National Labor Relations board has weighed in on the topic
and the law can be quite tricky (Mozaffari, 2015).

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“Workers can vocalize, either in person or via social media, their sentiments and
concerns regarding an employer without fear of losing their job… but only if they are
discussing these concerns with other workers… If it is just one person vocalizing their
own personal frustrations, it is not concentrated, it is just complaining, and a firing is
legal” (Mozaffari, 2015).
While being active on social media can be beneficial for local government, there is also a risk
based on what is posted. Dietrich sums up a great guiding principle for social media posting.
“Don’t ever put something online you wouldn’t want your boss, grandma, kids or customers to
see” (Mozaffari, 2015). The Grand Ledge Social Media Policy can be found at Appendix A.
facebook comment policy.
Respondent’s experiences with social media have a positive effect on their trust in
government at the local and state levels (Hong, 2013). Respondents who interact with the
government through social media were more likely to trust state and local governments than
those who did not (Hong, 2013). “Paying attention to the two-way communication in the social
media space will provide valuable information and feedback” (Smarsh, 2015). It’s worth
dedicating the time to this effort if you can acknowledge that this is a learning process of two-
way communication between the residents and City of Grand Ledge (Smarsh, 2015). The US
Department of Veteran Affairs handles its fair share of negative comments or criticism
(Andrews, n.d.). “If you look at social media more as a one-way communication, which is
outbound, and then turn it into something that’s more of a two-way form of communication, that
is customer service” (Andrews, n.d.). “For example, if people post a concern or negative thought,
if we can, we’ll take their information, screenshot the issue, and send it over to out counterparts,
and see what we can do for follow-ups” (Andrews, n.d.).

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In developing the comment policy there were a number of areas the City focused on. Every
comment or reply is a public record and residents should expect no expectation of privacy in
what they comment (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The comments and replies to the posted topic
must be related; anything of high priority concern must be notified to the City by phone, email or
filling out a concern form (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The comments and replies posted to the
City page are monitored by City employees and the City hold no responsibility for settling
disputes between individuals (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The City lists a number of
unacceptable forms of content that may be removed by the City without notice or warning to the
individual (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The City will respond to comments or questions posted
within two business days between 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. if the comment warrants a response
(City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The City will also not collect any personal information available
on the Facebook page of the City other than to communicate with individuals (City of Grand
Ledge, 2016).
As Facebook and other social media platforms evolve the City realizes that this policy will have
to be amended frequently in order to keep up with the newest technological advances (Smith A. ,
2016). Despite all of the best planning, sometimes things go awry and you have to plan for the
worse case scenarios (Smarsh, 2015). “Human beings ultimately drive social media activity,
mistakes, often inadvertent, do happen; sometimes the wrong sentiment is expressed, human
emotion creeps into an exchange, or erroneous information is shared” (Smarsh, 2015). In
creating the Facebook Comment Policy it is essentially important to pull in legal counsel, human
resources, or other departments to specify the consequences of non-compliance with the

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Facebook comment policy (Smarsh, 2015). The Facebook Comment Policy can be found in
Appendix B.
protocol and training.
Who will manage social media training (Smarsh, 2015)? In the case of Grand Ledge the
task was handed to Nick Sizeland to come up with a comprehensive protocol and training for
municipal employees and city council members. This would review why the City is initiating a
Facebook page and the steps the City can take in order to have a smooth social media presence.
To easily disseminate information in an easy format for everyone to understand, a PowerPoint
presentation was created to give an overview of the Facebook operation. Equipping the content
creators, curators (and content approvers) with the special knowledge, skills and best practices
they need to use social media effectively, while protecting the City’s agency mission and
principles was an important aspect in this training and protocol (Smarsh, 2015).
A goal behind the training and protocol was to articulate to City employees the need for the City
to enhance communication with residents. Often time’s resident complaints, to the Mayor and
City Administrator was the lack of transparency or communication to residents of what the City
is working on (Smith A. , 2016). The Facebook page had to be promoted and how was the City
to do this? The new Facebook page has a link now on the website, mayor promoting it through
his newsletter, city council members talking to constituents, advertisements around city hall and
the Police department advertising the City page on its own Facebook page (Sizeland, Nick,
2016). The type of content that City was looking to post about to residents include, Police,
Finance, Zoning, Public Service, Clerk, Assessing, Building and the City Administrator
(Sizeland, Nick, 2016).

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A very important aspect the City Administrator wanted this training and protocol to focus on was
the type of content posted to the page making sense to the public (Smith A. , 2016). Often times
the City may use terms to describe something that the general public may not know, as an
example often times the City will use the term non-compliance to articulate a failure in
something. Instead, the city could use disagreement or refusal as the proper word instead of
putting non-compliance into a post. There had to be a check and balance system put into place
for the City Facebook page to review content and make sure a post is clearly communicated. A
series of charts were made in order to show the Facebook site administrators how the process
should work. Goals were set for the City of Grand Ledge Facebook page, these included in the
first year the city would try to attain 4,000 “likes, second year 8,500 likes and the third year an
unlimited amount of “likes” (Sizeland, Nick, 2016).
Reviewing this protocol and training frequently to make adjustments and chart progress of what
is working and what is not will help achieve the City’s organizational goals (Smarsh, 2015).
Research and development of this protocol and training came from past experience with
Facebook and reviewing workshop materials from the Michigan Municipal League for ideas.
Credit for the help and assistance with this presentation goes to, Jodie Willobee the Assistant to
the City Administrator, Adam Smith, City Administrator, Amee King, Assistant City
Administrator and City Clerk, Greg Newman. The protocol and training can be found in
Appendix C-X.
charts.
In order to facilitate a hierarchy of how Facebook content should be created for the City
page, a series of charts was created that would show site administrators how the process should
work. Site administrators were designated by the City Administrator to write and edit content,

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respond to comments and have full access to the Facebook page and future social media
platforms. The site administrators are the City Administrator, Assistant City Administrator,
Assistant to the City Administrator, Finance Director, Graduate Intern, City Clerk, and Public
Service. Local governments with more staff members devoted to effective communication efforts
are more likely to have a stronger social media presence than governments with smaller staffs
(Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). These members have a working knowledge of Facebook and
felt comfortable being a part of the Grand Ledge social media presence. The intended goal of this
chart is to facilitate information across different levels of City Hall staff without being caught off
guard if asked by the public.
The City Administration chart process starts with a drafted post from a site administrator with
content ranging from the Finance, Assessing, Zoning, Administration and Clerk department
information to be disseminated (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). Once post is drafted an email will
be sent to the City Hall front desk to review (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The front desk staff
will review the draft post and comment with any spelling errors, punctuation or let the
administrator know the drafted post needs clarification (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). After the
front desk reviews, and/or comments on the post, it is then sent back to the originating site
administrator who drafted the post (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The originating post will then
be sent to one of the other site administrators for a final review before the originating site
administrator posts to the Facebook page (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). City Administration draft
chart can be found at Appendix Y. The Department of Public Service has a similar chart as well.
The only difference in that chart is if an employee of the DPS staff has something that he or she
feels is important to put on the Facebook page it must be considered first by the Director of

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Public Service before the whole draft post process starts (City of Grand Ledge, 2016).
Department of Public Service chart can be found on Appendix Z.
The Grand Ledge Police department has its own Facebook page and manages itself quite well
and, has a following of 3,038 “liking” the Facebook page (Grand Ledge Police Department,
2016). The City Administrator did not want to burden the Police department with the same
rigorous approval system of posting since they have handled themselves well with e good public
image (Smith A. , 2016). The required Police department content that is to go on the City page
has to be information that pertains to all residents (Smith A. , 2016). This may include traffic,
warning about scams, criminal activity, positive police stories and anything else that is for the
general well-being of the residents and City (Smith A. , 2016).
The Police department chart starts with a post that may or may not already be on their own page
(City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The Police Lieutenant, who is the Grand Ledge Police department
site administrator, will then send through email the drafted post to at least two site administrators
of the City Facebook page (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The City Facebook site administrators
will then review the post to check for clarity and appropriateness to the City page (City of Grand
Ledge, 2016). After a review by the City site administrators, an approval is sent to the Police
Lieutenant to post onto the City page (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). Having the Police department
and City Facebook pages with the same postings will reach the residents at a greater volume and
enhance communication between the two entities. The Police department chart can be found in
Appendix AA.
An Emergency posting chart was created as well for the City just in case there is a need to post
something onto the City Facebook page quickly. The Emergency post chart is for all municipal

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employees and site administrators (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). An emergency situation,
whether it is natural or unnatural, requires the need to notify city residents as soon as possible
(City of Grand Ledge, 2016). Whoever encounters a situation (natural or unnatural emergency)
and feels the need for the public to know must consult with the Police department first to notify
of situation if the situation is necessary of police involvement (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). If the
situation is not in need of police assistance, then the next step is to notify the City Administrator
by phone or text (City of Grand Ledge, 2016).
If an employee cannot get a hold of the City Administrator, then he or she will move onto the
Assistant City Administrator to notify by phone or text (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The City
Administrators will then post to the Facebook page, or if unavailable as well will delegate the
task to other site administrators (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). If the City Administrator or
Assistant City Administrator cannot be reached within 15 minutes, then the employee shall move
onto wither the City Clerk, Public Service Director or the Finance Director to notify of situation
(City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The Public Service Director, City Clerk and Finance Director must
consult between the three who will write the post and take responsibility for it (City of Grand
Ledge, 2016). The intent would be to submit a post to Facebook within 20 minutes from start to
finish (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The Emergency Facebook chart can be found in Appendix
AB.
One of the greater concerns by the City Administrator was for the ability of residents to comment
on an “official” City Facebook page and either bash the City or be harmful to other residents
(Smith A. , 2016). The City Administrator was hoping, in the creation of this page, to limit
resident engagement by only allowing “likes” and disallowing postings or comments to the City

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Facebook page. The only problem was per Facebook rules you cannot disallow comments from a
page (Facebook, 2015). After notifying the City Administrator of this issue, it was pertinent to
create a system of how to respond to comments if they are deemed viable (Sizeland, 2016).
In response, a post response flowchart for the Grand Ledge Facebook page was created. The
responsibility falls upon the site administrators to comment on behalf of the City if it necessary
(Smith A. , 2016). The chart has three areas to identify what type of comment is on a post: is it a
compliment, a complaint or is it another issue (City of Grand Ledge, 2016)? The administrator
must identify who wrote it: complimentary author, unhappy author, misguided author, rager
(very unhappy author) or troll (computer bot) (City of Grand Ledge, 2016)? At this point the site
administrator can respond to the comment, ignore or refer to City Facebook comment guideline
(City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The most important factors in responding to an author should be to
direct the author to City sources, or content on the website (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). Before
responding, it is encouraged to think first and take time to create a good response and talk with
another site administrator if need be (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). Respond in a tone that reflects
the City of Grand Ledge in a positive manner (City of Grand Ledge, 2016). The Facebook post
response chart can be found at Appendix AC.

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Chapter IV: Recommendations and Conclusion
Recommendation
While evaluating the process of developing a social media strategy, there is still much
work to be done. Now more than ever, people want choices of social media platforms to receive
their news and quality service from their local government. “Efficiency, convenience,
accountability, transparency, citizen involvement, and improved trust and democracy are among
the cited benefits of social media use in government (Graham, Avery, & Seijen, 2015). In the
state and local governments throughout the world, they have played a significant role in helping
to put the eyes of citizens on operations that range from tracking money and where it’s spent to
filling cracks in the sidewalk (Bruce, 2012).
The City of Grand Ledge is moving forward with its social media strategy and learning every
day about how Facebook will help the interaction between its residents and the City. Over time
best practices will be cultivated and evaluated for what works and what does not. In the future as
the City grows in its social media knowledge it should start to explore the endless possibilities of
social media. Explore developing a City Twitter account, make a YouTube channel showing
council meetings, have an Instagram account to highlight the natural beauty of Grand Ledge and
its sandstone ledges. As each social media platform is made the City should ask itself how we
can train our staff to use this new tool effectively. Does it require an amendment to the social
media policy; do we need to make a PowerPoint presentation for a protocol and training, should
we make a flow chart? These are questions that should be asked and evaluated. Social media
allows the City every day to ask itself, what can we do to improve our social media presence,
what can we do that has never been done before for Grand Ledge?

24
conclusion.
The City of Grand Ledge is moving forward in the 21st
century communication of local
government with its development of a social media strategy. Social networks may be particularly
appealing for the interaction and engagement with citizens because of the increased participation
of sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr (Mosberger, Yonghong, & Crawford,
2013). “A survey by the Pew Intemet and American Life Project found that 59% of American
adults used at least once social networking site” (Mosberger, Yonghong, & Crawford, 2013). An
individual’s trust in government is well-known to have considerable influence on the individual’s
perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of the community (Hong, 2013). Specifically, those
individuals with a high level of trust in government are more likely to be satisfied with
government when they are communicated too openly.
Social media enhances the communication between government and citizens, it allows for
government to share its story and for citizens to voice their satisfaction or concerns. The sky is
the limit for the City of Grand Ledges social media strategy going forward, everyone has to start
somewhere and as of now Facebook is that start. Remembering “government of the people, by
the people, for the people” from the Gettysburg address by President Abraham Lincoln speaks to
the notion that we as a government serve the people and must not ever be forgotten (Abraham
Lincoln Online, 1863).

25
References
Abraham Lincoln Online. (1863, November 19). The Gettysburg Address. Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, USA.
Andrews, C. (n.d.). The Governments Guide to Using Facebook. Washington, DC: GovLoop.
Bach, M. (2016, February). Social Media Director, Michigan Municipal League. Ann Arbor, MI,
USA.
Bruce, P. (2012). Social Media Sites at the state and Local Levels: Operational Success and
Governance Failure. State and Local Government Review, 44(1), 67-75.
City of Dearborn. (2013, April 18). Facebook Comment Policy. Dearborn, Michigan, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2015, May). Personnel Manual. Grand Ledge, Michigan, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2016, March 14). Acceptable Use: Facebook Comment Policy. Grand
Ledge, Michigan, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2016, February 8). City Administration. Facebook Message Draft Chart.
Grand Ledge, MI, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2016, February 9). Department of Public Service. Facebook Message
Draft Chart. Grand Ledge , MI, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2016, March 8). Emergency Post Chart. Emergency Facebook Message
Chart. 2016, MI, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2016, February 12). Police Department. Facebook Message Draft Chart.
Grand Ledge, MI, USA.
City of Grand Ledge. (2016, March 15). Post Response Flowchart for Grand Ledge Government
Facebook Page. Post Repsonse Flowchart. Grand Ledge , MI, USA.

26
City of Grand Ledge. (n.d.). Concern Form. Retrieved from grand-ledge: http://www.grand-
ledge.com/Portals/1018/Concern.pdf
City of Hampton. (2014, July 4). Social Media Policy. Hampston, Virginia, USA.
City of Hillsdale. (2016). Social Media Policy. Hillsdale, MI.
City of Madison Heights. (n.d.). Social Media Policy. Madison Heights, Michigan, USA.
Facebook. (2015). Help Community. Retrieved from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=10200714837656784
GovLoop. (n.d.). The Social Media Experiment in Government. Washington D.C.: GovLoop.
Graham, M. W., Avery, E. J., & Seijen, P. (2015). The role of social media in local governmet
crisis communications. Public Relations Review(41), 386-394.
Grand Haven Charter Township. (2015, August 25). Social Media Policy. Grand Haven Charter
Township, MI.
Grand Ledge Police Department. (2016, April 20). Grand Ledge Police Department. Retrieved
from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrandLedgePD/timeline
Hong, H. (2013). Government websites and social media's influence on governmet-public
relationships. Public Relations Review(39), 346-356.
Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee. (2013).
Social Media Use, Model Policy and Guidelines. Livonia: Michigan Municipal Risk
Management Authority.
Mosberger, K., Yonghong, W., & Crawford, J. (2013). Connecting citizens and local
governments? Social media and interactivity in major U.S. cities. Government
Information Quarterly(30), 351-358.

27
Mozaffari, C. (2015, April 2). The Dark Side of Social Media: An Inevitable New Service.
Retrieved from MrMediaTraining: http://www.mrmediatraining.com/2015/04/02/the-
dark-side-of-social-media-an-inevitable-new-service/
Rouse, M. (n.d.). Social Media Policy. Retrieved from searchcompliance.techtarget.com:
http://searchcompliance.techtarget.com/definition/social-media-policy
Sizeland, N. (2016, April 20). Personal Communication. Grand Ledge, MI, USA.
Sizeland, Nick. (2016, February 2). Processes, Procedures and Steos to an Effective
Communication Tool. City of Grand Ledge Facebook Page. Grand Ledge, Michigan ,
USA.
Smarsh. (2015). The Public Sector Guide to Social Media Strategy and Policy. Portland: Smarsh.
Smith, A. (2016, April 4). City Administrator, City of Grand Ledge. (N. Sizeland, Interviewer)
Smith, K. (2016, April 15). Grand Ledge Community. Retrieved from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/grandledgecommunitypage/
Smith, K. (2016, April 12). Mayor, City of Grand Ledge. (N. Sizeland, Interviewer)
Village of Lake Isabella. (n.d.). Social Media & Website Policy. Lake Isabella, Michigan, USA.
Wikipedia. (2016, April 4). Crisis Communication. Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_communication
Willobee, J. (2016, February). Assistant to the City Administrator. Grand Ledge, Michigan,
USA.
WILX10. (2015, October 6). Grand Ledge Superintendent Says School is Safe. Retrieved from
WILX10: http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/Grand-Ledge-Superintendent-Says-
School-is-Safe---
330988352.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WILX_News_10

29
Appendix A
Social Media Policy for the City of Grand Ledge
Social Media Policy
Policy Purpose
At the City of Grand Ledge we understand that social media can be a fun and rewarding way to
share your life and opinions with family, friends, and co-workers around the world (Michigan
Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013). However,
use of social media also presents certain risks and carries with it certain responsibilities
(Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013).
To assist you in making responsible decisions about your use of social media, we have
established these guidelines for appropriate use of social media (Michigan Municipal Risk
Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013).
Applicability
This policy applies to all employees who work for the City of Grand Ledge.
Definition
In the rapidly expanding world of electronic communication through various communication
devices such as computers, laptops, smart phones or tablets “social media” can mean many
things (City of Hillsdale, 2016). “Social media”, as that term is used in this policy, includes all
means of communicating or posting information or content of any sort on the Internet (Michigan
Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013). This policy
will apply to multi-media, social media networking websites such as Facebook, Myspace,
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, blogs and wikis or any other similar business or personal use
aliases (Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee,
2013).
Guidelines
The same principles and guidelines found in the City policies apply to your activities online
(Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015).Ultimately you are solely responsible for what you post
online (Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015).Before creating online content, consider some of
the risks and rewards that are involved (Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015). Keep in mind
that any of your conduct that adversely affects your job performance or the performance of
fellow co-workers, or otherwise adversely affects members of the public, contractors, people
who work on the behalf of the City of Grand Ledge, or the City of Grand Ledge legitimate

30
business interests may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination (Michigan
Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013).
Know and Follow the Rules
Carefully read these guidelines, as well as the Computers, Internet, Email and Cell Phones (3.18)
Sexual Harassment and other Unlawful Harassment Policy (8.6) and the Violence in the
Workplace (8.11) policy outlined in this manual to ensure your postings are consistent with these
and all the City policies (City of Grand Ledge, 2015). Inappropriate postings that may include
discriminatory remarks, harassment, and threats of violence or similar inappropriate or unlawful
conduct will not be tolerated and may subject you to disciplinary action up to and including
termination (Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory
Committee, 2013).
Be Respectful
Always be fair and courteous to fellow employees, customers, suppliers, or people who work on
behalf of the City (City of Hillsdale, 2016). Keep in mind that you are more likely to resolve
work relates complaints by speaking directly with your co-workers, supervisor or by utilizing the
concern form rather than by posting complaints to a social media outlet (Grand Haven Charter
Township, 2015).Nevertheless, if you decide to post complaints or criticism, avoid using
statements, photographs, video, or audio that reasonably could be viewed as malicious, obscene,
threatening, or intimidating, that disparage customers, employees, or suppliers, or that might
constitute bullying (Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015). Examples of such conduct might
include offensive posts meant to intentionally harm someone’s reputation or posts that could
contribute to a hostile work environment on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, national origin,
age, height, weight, family status, marital status, disability, genetic information, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law or City policy (Michigan
Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013)
Be Honest and Accurate
Make sure are always honest and accurate when posting information or news, and if you make a
mistake, correct it quickly (Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative
Advisory Committee, 2013). Be open about any previous posts you have altered (Michigan
Municipal Risk Management Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013). Remember
that the Internet archives almost everything you do on social networking websites. Therefore,
even deleted postings can be searched (Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority
Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013). Never post any information or rumors that you
know to be false about the City, fellow employees, members of the public, suppliers, or people
working on behalf of the City (City of Hillsdale, 2016).

31
Post Only Appropriate and Respectful Content
A. Maintain the confidentiality of City private or confidential information (Grand Haven
Charter Township, 2015). Do not post internal confidential communications (Grand
Haven Charter Township, 2015).
B. Do not create a link from you social networking, blog, or website to a City website
without identifying yourself as a City employee (Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015).
C. Only individuals authorized by the City Manager have the authority to speak or
communicate on behalf of the City (City of Hillsdale, 2016). Any individual who is
employed by or affiliated with the City, or who chooses to identify himself or herself as
affiliated with the City, may be viewed as a spokesperson. (City of Hillsdale, 2016). If
you do publish a blog or post online related to work you do or subjects employed with the
City, make it clear that you are not speaking on behalf of the City” The views expressed
are my own and may or may not reflect the views of the City of Grand Ledge” (Michigan
Using Social Media at Work
Refrain from using social media on equipment the City provides while on work time, unless it is
work-related as authorized by the City Administrator (Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015).
Do not use City email addresses to register on social media networks, blogs or other online tools
utilized for personal use (Grand Haven Charter Township, 2015). Any conduct pertaining to this
policy that adversely affects job performance, the performance of a co-worker or otherwise
adversely affects members of the public or those who work on behalf of or represent the City,
may result in disciplinary action.
Retaliation is Prohibited
The City prohibits taking negative action against any employee for reporting a possible deviation
from this policy or for cooperating in an investigation (Michigan Municipal Risk Management
Authority Administrative Advisory Committee, 2013). Any employee who retaliates against
another co-worker for reporting a possible deviation from this policy or for cooperating in an
investigation will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination (Michigan

32
Appendix B
City of Grand Ledge Acceptable Use: Facebook Comment Policy
City of Grand Ledge
Acceptable Use: Facebook Comment Policy
Welcome to the City of Grand Ledge Government, official and verified Facebook page.
Communicating with the City of Grand Ledge through Facebook enables you to interact with the
City in an immediate and direct way. Any user that comments or replies to material on the City’s
Facebook page does so with the clear expectation that there is full agreement to this policy and
its standards (Village of Lake Isabella, n.d.). The Facebook site is maintained and monitored by
the City of Grand Ledge.
All individuals engaging with the City of Grand Ledge Government’s Facebook page, shall
agree to the following:
1. Every comment or reply you make is a public record and may be dispersed, reproduced,
or copied by the City or any other person without any further action or notice by the City
of such (City of Dearborn, 2013). Individuals agree to having no reasonable expectation
of privacy in anything posted to the City’s Facebook page (City of Hampton, 2014).
a. For sensitive or confidential matters, please contact the City of Grand Ledge
directly at (517) 627-2149 or city hall@grand-ledge.com
2. Comments and replies must be related to the posted topic. The City’s Facebook page is
not meant for comments that do not directly relate to the purpose or topic (Willobee,
2016). For general comments or concerns, please contact the City of Grand Ledge
directly by calling (517) 627-2149, sending an email to cityhall@grand-ledge.com or by
filling out a concern form available at City Hall, Monday-Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00
P.M. or online at http://www.grand-ledge.com/Portals/1018/Concern.pdf (City of Grand
Ledge, n.d.).
3. Comments and replies posted to the City’s Facebook page are monitored by the City.
While comments will not be edited by the City, all or portions of a comment may be
removed if it violates any part of this policy (City of Dearborn, 2013). The City does not
hold responsibility for settling disputes between individuals, nor will a comment be
removed solely at the request of an individual (City of Dearborn, 2013). The City will be
courteous and professional in any posts, comments and responses and ask that
individuals do the same (Bach, 2016).

33
4. Comments and replies containing any of the following forms of content are not allowed
and may be removed by the City without warning or notice: (Village of Lake Isabella,
n.d.)
 Comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to a
political office or any ballot issue (Willobee, 2016);
 Promotion or advertisement of a business or commercial enterprise, or
solicitation of commerce (City of Madison Heights, n.d.);
 Pictures, videos or links to sites that do not comply with these guidelines (City of
Hampton, 2014);
 The use of profane, obscene, threatening, or harassing language (City of Madison
Heights, n.d.);
 Blatant spam, including advertising commercial services or products (Bach,
2016);
 Any content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of
race, gender, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin,
actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other
category protected by federal, state, or local law (City of Hampton, 2014);
 Sexual content or links to sexual content (City of Madison Heights, n.d.);
 Any content that violates the protected privacy interests of any person (City of
Madison Heights, n.d.);
 Any content advocating illegal activity (City of Dearborn, 2013);
 Any content containing viruses or computer code (City of Dearborn, 2013);
 Any content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party; or
 Information that may compromise the safety or security of the public (City of
Dearborn, 2013).
The repeat violation of the above comment policy by the author to the City of Grand Ledge
Government page may cause the author to be blocked (City of Dearborn, 2013).
5. When warranted, the City will generally respond to comments or questions posted on the
page within two business days and between 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.
a. Any individual with information to share that requires an immediate response
should call City Hall directly, (517) 627-2149.
b. Any indiviudal with information regarding an emergency should call 9-1-1 or the
Grand Ledge Police Department, (517) 627-2115
6. Any content posted to the City page is the personal opinion of the originating author and
not the opinion City of Grand Ledge. Publication of a comment to a City post does not
imply endorsement or agreement of that comment by the City of Grand Ledge (Village of
Lake Isabella, n.d.).

34
7. Individuals may only post their own, original content. Reproduced or borrowed content
that reasonably appears to violate third party rights will be removed (Willobee, 2016).
8. The City of Grand Ledge does not hold responsibility for the content provided on
“related”, “sponsored”, or “promoted” ads that are accessible from this Facebook page
(Willobee, 2016). Additionally, the ads do not reflect the opinions and position of the
City of Grand Ledge government, its officers, or employees (Willobee, 2016).
9. The City of Grand Ledge does not collect, maintain or otherwise use the personal
information available on this Facebook page in any way other than to communicate with
individuals (Bach, 2016). Individuals may remove themselves at any time from the
City’s Facebook page by “un-liking” the page (Bach, 2016).
c. Individuals should be aware of Facebook’s own privacy terms and follow these
policies accordingly (Bach, 2016).
i. https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
PLEASE NOTE: The City of Grand Ledge reserves the right to block any individual from the
City’s Facebook page that violates any of the policy above. The City of Grand Ledge reserves
the right to amend or modify this policy at any time.

35
Appendix C
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Title Page

36
Appendix D
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Social Media Statistics

37
Appendix E
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, What do we want to accomplish?

38
Appendix F
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Site Administrators

39
Appendix G
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Department Content to be Posted on City Facebook Page

40
Appendix H
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Review of Content Before Posted to Facebook

41
Appendix I
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Sample Draft Email to Front Desk or Site Administrator

42
Appendix J
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Timing of Post and Review

43
Appendix K
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, How Many Times to Post?

44
Appendix L
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, How to Manage Between Personal Facebook Page and City
Page

45
Appendix M
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, How to Log on to City Facebook Page

46
Appendix N
City of Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, How to Switch Back to Your Personal Facebook
Page while on the City Page

47
Appendix O
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Published Content by Site Administrators

48
Appendix P
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Municipal posting Examples

49
Appendix Q
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, DPS (Department of Public Service) Post

50
Appendix R
Grand Ledge Training and Protocol, City Administration Post

51
Appendix S
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, City Clerk Post

52
Appendix T
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Police Department Post

53
Appendix U
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, PSA (Public Service Announcement) and Employment
Opportunities

54
Appendix V
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Comments

55
Appendix W
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Response to Comment Offender

56
Appendix X
Grand Ledge Protocol and Training, Set a Goal for Grand Ledge

57
Appendix Y
Grand Ledge Facebook Chart, City Administration

58
Appendix Z
Grand Ledge Facebook Chart, Department of Public Service

59
Appendix AA
Grand Ledge Facebook Chart, Police Department

60
Appendix AB
Grand Ledge Facebook Chart, Emergency Post

61
Appendix AC
Grand Ledge Comment Chart, Post Response Flowchart for Grand Ledge Government Facebook
Page

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