Tools for Social Media Success

This post explores how programs can develop and implement an effective policy to support volunteers, clients and staff social media activities. 

Social media is everywhere. It’s estimated that nearly 4 billion people regularly use social media. That’s more than half the world’s population! Social media allows us to connect, keep in touch and share information like never before, and it’s a powerful way for programs to engage with audiences.

While most programs have established policies for when and how social media is to be used by employees, it’s just as important to develop social media guidelines for volunteers, and to address the issue of social media with clients. Guidelines can empower your most passionate advocates to leverage your brand and extend your reach in powerful ways. But this leverage can be dangerous without guidelines and the exact opposite can happen! 

Your guidelines should include policy on how social media may be used. For example, can the volunteer create a social media account specific to a dog they are caring for, or do they have to use their personal social media account? If they are creating a dog specific account are there naming conventions you want followed? Ensure you provide specific instructions on what kind of accounts they are allowed to create and how you would like them to include the program's official accounts. 

Ideas for Guidelines for Volunteers 

Avoid "naughty puppy" posts.
We are aware that puppies will engage in typical puppy behavior, but it is important to discourage volunteers from posting photos of "caught in the act" moments. These types of posts can create issues for several reasons. They often suggest a lack of supervision, which is not the image we want to project for our volunteers. Additionally, if such posts are seen by the client or their family, it may raise doubts about how the dog will behave in their home. Furthermore, if the puppy happens to be wearing an program-branded vest in the photo, it can lead to negative perceptions.

Emphasize positivity and authenticity.
While sharing the frustrations of puppy-raising can be cathartic, it is not always productive. Encourage volunteers to maintain a positive tone in their social media posts, while still being authentic and genuine. Some examples include: 

• In situations where a dog is refused public access, it is crucial that volunteers do not post about it on social media. Instead, they should be instructed to reach out to the appropriate staff member. This allows for an opportunity to provide education and guidance privately, without the program being subjected to public criticism or negative attention.
• Volunteers may want to share training challenges on social media but should be advised to direct any challenges they encounter to the appropriate staff member for advice. Well-meaning fellow raisers, friends, and self-proclaimed "dog experts" may offer training recommendations that do not align with staff recommendations. By seeking guidance from staff members, we can ensure consistency in the training approach.
• While it is important to maintain positive posts on social media, it is also necessary to strike a balance. Donors and supporters who are heavily invested in the puppies may be following our social media activity. If volunteers consistently portray a "perfect puppy" image on social media, but the dog is eventually career changed, it can lead to frustration among these supporters who feel blindsided. Encourage volunteers to frame their posts with authenticity by saying things like “we decided to take a quiet couple of days for the puppy to decompress because they’ve felt a little overwhelmed in public lately” as a way to frame things that keeps some authentic reality but doesn’t invite advice.  

Reeling in rule breakers.
There are two schools of thought around this topic - where pictures are shared of puppies engaged in unauthorized activities are posted - neither is right or wrong but both require a dedicated approach. You may also decide on a hybrid approach, where you leave the more harmless posts and educate, but request that posts that pose reputational risk are removed.  

It’s important you communicate in advance with your volunteers what your policy is though - so if it’s to “leave posts and educate,” let your volunteers know this so they are aware if they see a photo of a puppy on furniture (for example) that does not mean that the rule about “no puppies on furniture” has been retired.  Volunteers have a responsibility to follow published policy, not what they see others doing on social media.

• Approach 1 - Educate: Asking volunteers to remove social posts can often be very punishing to them, where instead it could be a learning opportunity - and like puppies, people learn better when we reward good behavior rather than punishing negative behaviors. The educate approach means that when staff sees posts of puppies engaged in unauthorized activity they take it as a cue to do more teaching with your volunteers around what is allowed or not. Obviously if a post is in clear violation, or portrays something that puts the program in a position of reputational risk, asking for it to be taken down is still an option.
• Approach 2 - Enforce: Take care to make sure puppy raisers are familiar with program rules. One puppy-raiser posting a photo of a puppy engaged in an unauthorized activity for fellow raisers to believe said activity is suddenly allowed. Word travels fast both on the internet and among networks of volunteer puppy raisers! Most of the time, such photos are the result of ignorance of, not willful disregard for, program rules. Make sure to frequently remind raisers of key program rules and let them know in advance you’ll ask them to remove posts that represent inappropriate activity.  

Encourage accessibility.
Teach puppy raisers to use accessibility best practices when sharing social media posts. Encourage them to use #CamelCase when posting hashtags, alt text when sharing images and captions and video descriptions when sharing video. Ensure your internal social media team and staff also set a good example by doing the same. 

Respect the privacy of others.
In a time where, “If it’s not on social media, it didn’t happen!” is often the mindset, it can be easy to innocently snap and post a photo without considering the privacy and feelings of others. Ask that raisers seek permission before posting photos of human subjects - particularly children and clients. 

Taking the time to develop and share clear guidelines for how program dogs are to be represented on social media will help volunteers better support the program by ensuring posts consistently reflect the program in a positive light.

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Stephanie Colman is a non-profit communications/media relations specialist and dog trainer in Los Angeles, California. She’s also a regular contributor to Whole Dog Journal and a hobby “iPhoneographer” who loves to capture fun moments with her own dog, Saber.

Tara has been crafting communications for Pacific Assistance Dogs since 2009 and sits on both the ADI Marketing Committee and the Blog subcommittee.

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