Guidelines & Sample Policies

State guidelines & best practices

The Office of the Governor and numerous state agency representatives worked collaboratively to create guidelines to assist agencies currently using social media and to encourage social media use to engage Washington state citizens.

• Guidelines and Best Practices for Social Media Use in Washington state (PDF) (Nov. 2010)

The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for social media use in Washington state government. State agencies can use these guidelines as a component of agency policy and procedure development as they see fit.

These guidelines are based on the shared experiences of other states, state agencies, industry best practices, and social media research. Given the evolving nature of social media, agency guidelines and policies related to social media should be reviewed and updated periodically as technologies or law develop. Staff should be trained accordingly.

State agency policies

• Attorney General, Office of the - all consuming blog comment and use policy

• Attorney General, Office of the - In General Blog Comment, Use Policy

• Attorney General, Office of the - Social Media Best Practices and Education  

• Employment Security Department - Social Media Policy, Procedure & Sample Request Form  

• Enterprise Services, Department of - Using Social Media for Agency Business  

• Financial Institutions, Department of - Using Electronic Communications Systems 

• Insurance Commissioner, Office of - Social Media Policy (Feb. 2015) 

• Licensing, Department of - Blog Use Policy

• Military, Department of - Social Media Policy (Nov. 2013) 

• Military, Department of - Social Media Memo to Guardsmen (Dec. 2014) 

• Retirement Systems, Department of - Social Media Policy (Mar. 2013)

• Secretary of State - From Our Corner blog use policy

• Superintendent of Public Instruction, Office of - Social Media Policy (Oct. 2014) 

• Transportation, Department of - Social Media Best Practices (Aug. 2014) 

• Washington State Historical Society - Social Media Policy (May 2014) 

• Washington State Parks - Public Use and Public Comment on Agency Social Media and Employee Use of Social Media  

City department policies

• City of Seattle - Social Media Policy (Oct. 2009) 

• Seattle Police Department - Social Media Policy (Feb. 2014)