CAP Talk

General Discussion => The Lobby => Topic started by: ghost22 on January 11, 2020, 08:45:51 PM

Title: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: ghost22 on January 11, 2020, 08:45:51 PM
Hi All,

I didn't know which category to post it under, so I'm putting it here.

So my squadron wants to create social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc).  We have looked through CAPP 152 in regards to posting, but just to confirm: Can cadet PAOs post on squadron social media or can only Senior PAOs post?

I can't really find it in the regs; how do you guys run your PA?

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: Holding Pattern on January 12, 2020, 12:38:30 AM
As long as they are 13 or older (COPPA), and of sufficient maturity, it should not be an issue, but I'd impress the importance of how one screwup on that account can have outsized consequences versus other screwups.
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: RangerConlin on January 12, 2020, 01:26:08 AM
Seconded. Choose carefully the cadets you have work for PAO. Remember that they represent your unit, and most people won't see that the poster is a cadet, or a youth, or whatever.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: etodd on January 12, 2020, 04:11:55 AM
Should be obvious, but just in case ... make sure a Senior member PAO is also an Admin of the page, so they can add/edit/delete quickly if something the Cadet posts needs correction/deletion.
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: CAP9907 on January 12, 2020, 04:34:53 AM
Quote from: ghost22 on January 11, 2020, 08:45:51 PM
Hi All,

I didn't know which category to post it under, so I'm putting it here.

So my squadron wants to create social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc).  We have looked through CAPP 152 in regards to posting, but just to confirm: Can cadet PAOs post on squadron social media or can only Senior PAOs post?

I can't really find it in the regs; how do you guys run your PA?

Thanks in advance!

I don't see where they cannot, but I don't think it's a good idea unless the Cadets are seriously mentored and their posts are filtered through a responsible Senior. YMMV,


~9907
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: NIN on January 12, 2020, 01:57:00 PM
We've let our "cadet PAOs" do that, but with a ton of guidance and mentoring. How to take good photographs, what constitutes a good post, etc.  Not just willy-nilly "Here, post things." And also "Mind what user you're posting as when you post. Because this has embarrassed a lot of people in a lot of industries over the years."

We treat it like a solid lesson in social media awareness.

So far <knock on wood> no problems.
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: TheSkyHornet on January 13, 2020, 02:37:44 PM
Quote from: NIN on January 12, 2020, 01:57:00 PM
We've let our "cadet PAOs" do that, but with a ton of guidance and mentoring. How to take good photographs, what constitutes a good post, etc.  Not just willy-nilly "Here, post things." And also "Mind what user you're posting as when you post. Because this has embarrassed a lot of people in a lot of industries over the years."

We treat it like a solid lesson in social media awareness.

So far <knock on wood> no problems.

This and everything about this.

It's about who you select and the mentoring (not supervision) they need.

We had a C/MSgt (at the time) handling Public Affairs, and he was doing a great job. He'd post updates regularly (I usually handled the photos due to some Photoshop duties required), and he was great with talking to prospective recruits when the page would be messaged.

Wish I didn't have to take him out of that role, but as time moves on, so do duty assignments. Haven't had a quality person fill it enough where I'm comfortable giving access just yet. But I like to make them type up the post in an email, and then I can copy/paste it once we get it to an appropriate level of public outreach.
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: Capt Thompson on February 12, 2020, 01:41:11 PM
I know this is an older post but I'm just seeing it and thought I would chime in. When our Squadron got serious about social media a few years ago, we created a social media team which consisted of the PAO and Assistant PAO, Squadron Commander, Cadet Commander and a few others. The PAO and Assistant PAO were set as admins for the Squadron FB, along with the Wing PAO, and everyone else was set as a moderator. Everyone on the team was added to a group chat specifically for this team.

One of the rules we set up was that every post that goes out on social media is scheduled, not immediately posted, and requires approval from a second member of the team. This rule is for everyone, not just the Cadets on the team, which gives us the ability to have a second set of eyes on every single post that goes out. If someone consistently makes spelling or grammar errors, posts something that violates OPSEC, or just doesn't make good posts, having a second set of eyes allows us to catch the errors before they go public and also more easily mentor the offending individual. Because of this, members of the team are generally more careful when posting in the first place, so errors are very few and far between.

Whenever someone posts to the Squadron FB, they schedule the post for later in the day or the next day, and then post in the group chat to let everyone else know it's been scheduled. A second person then double checks the post and gives it a yes or no, and if it's a no the group can discuss how to improve the post before it goes public. It's a very efficient system and prevents us from having to edit a post after it's gone public.

In response to the OP, some of our best posts have come from the Cadets on the team, so they should definitely be involved in the process.
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: NIN on February 12, 2020, 03:43:14 PM
My old squadron started an Instagram page just 2 weeks ago, and they've been using Buffer as a way to schedule and control social media content (IG, Twitter & FB) by the "subordinate content providers."

The cadets have the Buffer login, and they can use that to put content into a queue where it gets scheduled. If things change and someone is no longer on the social media/PA team, or there's some weirdness, the Buffer password gets changed and you don't have to touch the other accounts.

Apparently their new IG is working: it got featured on PROPS yesterday.

DN
Title: Re: Public Affairs- Cadets Posting/Managing Squadron Accounts
Post by: Capt Thompson on February 13, 2020, 06:35:01 PM
I used to use Buffer quite a bit, and the only issues I ever had with it were because of Instagram's API. The main issue is that Instagram won't allow (or at least not the last time I checked) a 3rd party app to post, so all I could do with Buffer was schedule it to remind me to post, and then load the post for me. If I wanted to schedule a post at a time I wasn't available, I wouldn't see the reminder until later in the day so I had to always make sure that whatever time I scheduled the post I would be available to get the reminder and finalize it. For Facebook and Twitter though, it's a very easy and efficient app!