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Use of Social Media in EU communication

Social media refer to online technologies and practices that are used to share opinions and information, promote discussion, and build relationships. They use a variety of different formats, including text, pictures, audio and video.  

More and more EU citizens are active on social networks. The European Commission therefore uses these platforms to reach out and connect with citizens and stakeholders in addition to the communication which takes place via more traditional channels such as written press, broadcasters and EU publications and websites.

The Commission distinguishes social media use  for the following purposes:

  • Communication on political priorities;
  • Stakeholder and campaign communication;
  • Use of social media in staff members' own capacity.
 

1. Communication on political priorities

The purpose of this type of communication is relaying official announcements, press releases and statements of  in a consistent and coherent way. This communication will be done 'on behalf of the Commission' by a designated group of staff members, the Social Media Network Restricted area: This link points to internal pages and may not work if you are browsing as an external user.(SMN).

This network of mandated staff in the DGs and Representations, will therefore work closely together with the Spokespersons' Service (SPP).

Naming conventons:

Mandated staff are at least connected on Twitter and use branded account names (including EU or EC) such as:

These usernames should, if possible, also be used on other social networks, like Facebook and Flickr to ensure consistency.

Examples:

 

 

2. Stakeholder and campaign communication

The purposes of this type of communication vary from

  • informing citizens,
  • sharing experiences,
  • promoting policies or campaigns, and
  • engaging with stakeholders.

 This form of communication is conducted by the lead DG, service or agency in close coordination with DG Communication and in cooperation with the Social Media Network.

 The lead DG entity develops and revises its own social media strategy based on common good practice guidance jointly developed under the auspices of DG Communication. Any decision to engage on social media must be preceded by a “fitness check”, i.e. whether the planned action is "fit for purpose" including a thorough assessment whether the available resources match the envisaged level of ambition. The EUROPA site provides information on what is already available.

 Social media have an important scope for interaction and engagement with interested groups on EU-related themes and activities, but each DG has to take into account the specific policy, its context, target audiences and the available resources.

Examples:

Find more information and best practices on the Social Media Wiki Restricted area: This link points to internal pages and may not work if you are browsing as an external user..

 

 

3. Social media use by staff in their personal capacity

European Commission staff members who are active users of social media in their personal capacity should note in their profiles that statements and opinions are personal and that they do not represent the official position of the Commission if they mention in the profile where they work.

As Commission official, the participation in social media is subject to the Staff Regulations Restricted area: This link points to internal pages and may not work if you are browsing as an external user.and the Code of Good Administrative BehaviourRestricted area: This link points to internal pages and may not work if you are browsing as an external user., in the same way as participation in other media. DG Communication and DG Human Resources and Security have made for this type of social media particular guidelines "Guidelines for all staff on social mediapdf(41 Kb) Choose translations of the previous link ".

 

 

Resources

 

Guidelines for all staff on the use of Social Mediapdf(41 Kb) Choose translations of the previous link 

DG Communication Social Media team guides all staff in the use of social media. It is in charge of coordinating the Social Media Network. The team provides practical guidance on Social Media use, looks into the best training opportunities, and promotes cooperation between various Commission networks. In addition, the Social Media team is tasked with monitoring trends and the Commission's presence on social media, prospecting the communication landscape for emerging innovative communication tools, techniques and/or approaches, assessing their added value for use in the Commission and managing their implementation.

Other resources: