Purpose and Scope

WFOP’s social media policy is founded upon our mission: we gather in fellowship to share poetry, support each other as poets and readers of poetry; and bring that love of poetry to communities across the state. This means that WFOP is dedicated to secure fuller recognition of poetry as one of the important forces making for a higher civilization and to create a finer appreciation of poetry by the public at large; to help Wisconsin poets through seminars, constructive feedback and study to perfect their work; and to encourage the study of poetry in the schools of the state. Our social media presence is three-fold. First, to continue our mission and advocacy for poetry at large in the state of Wisconsin. Second, to share about our organization including events, membership, submission opportunities, donation opportunities, etc. Third, to engage with our audience through posts centered on poetry that is inclusive of all.

Roles and Responsibilities

Communication volunteers, namely the Digital Communication volunteer (s) and Website volunteer (s), are responsible for posting on WFOP’s social media accounts. Social media posts are the primary responsibility of the Digital Communications volunteer (s) with secondary responsibility falling to the Website volunteer (s). In addition to the Communication Officers, Org President (s) and Org Vice-president (s) are also able to post on WFOP’s social media accounts as needed. These roles and responsibilities can be adjusted or changed according to the needs of the organization.

In the event that the Digital Communication volunteer is unable to post to WFOP’s social media platforms, for whatever reason, a temporary social media manager from volunteers or members will be named and approved by leadership. This temporary responsibility and access to social media accounts will be removed once the Digital Communications volunteer has returned to their role.

Branding and Messaging Guidelines

All messaging related to WFOP on social media, whenever possible, should include our most-current branded logo. Additionally, since social media is interactive, language, whenever possible, should be conversational yet professional. Finally, WFOP is an advocate of diversity and inclusion. Therefore, social media content will be centered on inclusiveness.

Content Creation and Approval Process

Since the WFOP social media accounts are business accounts, members and other WFOP volunteers are not permitted to share on our accounts without prior approval. Additionally, all posts should be shared with the Digital Communications volunteer for coordinated sharing on social media.

  • WFOP’s Events Calendar is the best place for poetry events to be posted. These events include but are not limited to open mics, readings, book signings, poet showcases, writing workshops, etc. If unable to submit events to our calendar, an email to the Digital Communications volunteer with all relevant information is also an option.

  • Event submissions, when possible, should include a graphic for social media sharing. These graphics can be emailed to the Digital Communications volunteer with relevant information. WFOP is only responsible for creating event graphics when it is a specific WFOP Org event (conferences, workshops, open mics, etc.).

  • Publications, awards, career celebrations, and more that members achieve can be submitted to the Digital Communications volunteer via email. These will be shared on WFOP’s social media accounts.

  • WFOP’s advocacy for poetry includes sharing relevant poetry submission opportunities from other writer organizations, and WFOP wants to partner with fellow organizations; however, information on opportunities from other writing organizations and journals will be posted on an “as able” basis. Writer organizations, literary journals, residency organizations, etc. are highly encouraged to email the Digital Communications volunteer with necessary information on any poetry-related opportunities they want shared on WFOP’s social media platforms.

  • WFOP is unable to share any GoFundMe or other donation-based endeavors on our website or social media platforms. Deciding which endeavors to support, tracking member needs, and making decisions about what does and does not align with our mission is beyond our capacity. We encourage all members, volunteers, and non-members to share, support, and donate to these endeavors as they feel personally compelled.

Engagement and Community Management

The Digital Communication volunteer will manage all social media engagement and community management with a planned minimum of three posts per week as well as interaction with followers.

Further, WFOP encourages respectful discussions on all platforms with members, non-members, and volunteers. Negative feedback from followers is a normal occurrence when managing social media. These will be addressed professionally and politely. However, if a comment from a follower is aggressive, that comment will be removed and the person who posted may be blocked from accessing WFOP’s social media pages in the future.

Since all social media content about events, publication news, readings, etc. goes through WFOP’s Digital Communications volunteer first, WFOP social media accounts will not respond to direct messages on social media. Direct message access will be turned off to followers to maintain manageable communication, eliminate confusion, and avoid lost messages. Members, non-members, and WFOP volunteers should contact the Digital Communications volunteer and Web volunteers via email or the Events Calendar to have their information shared.

While poetry as a medium has always played a huge role in political movements, human rights, and more, WFOP cannot share social media content that is political. To maintain WFOP’s tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status, we are strictly prohibited from any intervention in political campaigns for or against a candidate according to the Internal Revenue Code. Our organization's social media accounts cannot post, like, share, or retweet any content that supports or opposes a specific political candidate, party, or political group. We are further prohibited from posting content that is directly or indirectly related to any political activity. WFOP reserves the right to remove comments that are inflammatory or use the organization’s page as a platform for political endorsements. Members, volunteers, and non-members are encouraged to share their political affiliations and opinions on their own social media accounts.

Personal Social Media Use

WFOP volunteers and members are encouraged to share WFOP social media posts and engage on our social media platforms. However, volunteers and members should refrain from misrepresenting WFOP and share a disclaimer whenever those shares include a personal opinion that doesn’t align with our mission. Additionally, WFOP Volunteers who have access to private organization information should keep that information confidential and not share it in any form with others outside of the organization.

Privacy, Confidentiality, and Data Protection

WFOP will never disclose personal data information to third parties. Member, volunteer, and donor information is confidential.

In addition, WFOP reserves the right to post photos on social media from WFOP public events. Entrance and participation constitute permission to use images online. Photos, videos, etc. are used for promotional, educational, or archival purposes. Further, WFOP occasionally posts photos and videos from non-WFOP-endorsed poetry events to continue our mission of promoting and sharing poetry through the state of Wisconsin. For these non-WFOP events, WFOP is not responsible for participant permissions. Said participant is encouraged to contact the original host of the event who shared the content with our organization.

Social Media Crisis Management

WFOP will address negative or misleading information by first addressing it with officers and then, with the board if needed. Should a correction of the information be required, WFOP will post corrected information as soon as possible on our social media platforms.

Should WFOP experience a hack or security breach, we will inform members and volunteers as soon as the security breach has been effectively resolved. We will address this directly via email and then publicly on social media.

Actions of volunteers and members of WFOP fall upon their responsibility. WFOP is not responsible for the behavior of volunteers and members outside of the organization on their own personal time. Their behavior is not a reflection of WFOP. Should the behavior of a volunteer or member impact WFOP negatively, we will create a press release documenting our decision on said volunteer or member and their status with WFOP. This release will first be sent directly via email to members and then posted publicly on social media.

Monitoring and Compliance

The Digital Communications volunteer will monitor WFOP’s social media platforms and adhere to the social media policy. Further, the Digital Communications volunteer will share analytics with the board at designated board meetings throughout the year and use analytics to monitor the success of social media content.

Policy Review and Updates

Social media is dynamic, and WFOP’s social media policies will evolve accordingly. WFOP will review the social media policy on a regular basis. This social media policy can also be updated on an as-needed basis in response to platform changes, emerging risks, and organizational needs.