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ArchiveSocial •

Industry Report

The maturity of social media as a communication channel is reflected in the level of experience of this year’s survey respondents. Roughly 26% reported ten years or more using social media as part of their regular responsibilities, up almost 16% year-over-year (YoY). It’s a good thing, too, as that experience is needed to deal with the myriad of challenges facing to￾day’s communicators, including controversial topics, online criticism, and misinformation.
ArchiveSocial •

Positive Stories To Share on Social Media

Social media is great for crisis communications because it disseminates news quickly and broadly. Its wide reach also helps communicators keep community members informed about updates and policy changes. We’ve seen how important these messages can be throughout the pandemic and during extreme weather events – social media provides a lifeline for many residents to their communities.

While these posts are vital, you don’t want everything you post to be serious announcements or emergency alerts. C
ArchiveSocial •

State of Social Media: Stats and Recommendations

The 2022 State of Social Media in the Public Sector report is here. We surveyed over 700 government communicators to find out how they use social media to share vital updates, connect with their communities, and more. ArchiveSocial’s resident digital compliance communications expert Marcus Smith shared a preview of the results in a live webinar earlier this year and answered attendees’ questions about how to get the most out of your social media presence. You can watch the webinar replay here. O
ArchiveSocial •

ArchiveSocial now archives TikTok

We are excited to announce that ArchiveSocial is now archiving TikTok! Agencies and schools already using TikTok can save all their content in one place. If you’re already an ArchiveSocial customer, learn more about connecting your TikTok account here. If you’re not already an ArchiveSocial customer but want to archive TikTok, start your archive here.

According to this year’s State of Social Media in the Public Sector survey, roughly 7% of agencies and school districts already have a TikTok acc
ArchiveSocial •

2022 State of Social Media in the Public Sector

Our third-annual State of Social Media is live!

ArchiveSocial’s State of Social Media in the Public Sector report is an annual survey and report that provides an inside look at how public agencies and school districts are leveraging social media to reach their communities and accomplish their goals. This year, we surveyed over 650 government communicators to learn more about their struggles and strategies, and now we’re sharing the results with you.

With most restrictions lifted and fewer emer
ArchiveSocial •

Legal Considerations for Record Keeping and Retention

Disclaimer: The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are for general informational purposes only. Please consult with your Agency’s Legal Resource for specific guidance in your respective region.

ArchiveSocial has been lucky to have attorney and government communications expert, Mark Weaver, join us for several webinars in the last few years and again recently to discuss how the First Amendment governs F
ArchiveSocial •

Incorporating accessibility into your every day

Our recent webinar, Intro to Web Accessibility for Government Communicators, started the conversation of what web accessibility is and why it’s important. You can watch the recorded webinar here and read a detailed recap here.

But there’s a lot that goes into determining how to best incorporate accessibility into your websites and everyday work. Website accessibility is an ongoing process rather than a single task. Because websites grow and change over time, accessibility is a mindset we have t
ArchiveSocial •

Intro to web accessibility

ArchiveSocial is committed to building trust in digital communications. To build trust with our communities, creating and maintaining websites that are accessible to everyone is so important. Our sister brand, Monsido, specializes in optimizing organizations’ digital presence and communications for accessibility and compliance. So we partnered with Monsido’s web accessibility expert, Josh Ditthardt, to share information on web accessibility that all government communicators should know. Read on
ArchiveSocial •

Is Social Media a Public Forum?

Disclaimer: The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are for general informational purposes only. Please consult with your Agency’s Legal Resource for specific guidance in your respective region.

The answer is… it depends. As outlined in a high-profile case settled in 2019, a social media account or page is not a public forum by default. However, the way one uses social media can cause it to become one.
ArchiveSocial •

Incorporating Digital Accessibility into Social Media

May is Global Accessibility Month. Digital accessibility is important to us at ArchiveSocial, so we’re sharing some information and best practices.

Thursday, May 19, 2022, marks the 11th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and we’re celebrating here at ArchiveSocial. GAAD was started in 2012 by two technology professionals who connected online over a shared belief in the importance of digital accessibility. Their purpose in creating this observance was to shine a light on the importance
ArchiveSocial •

Applying ESSER Funds to Social Media Archiving

Using ESSER funds to cover social media archiving and risk management

Having a social media archiving tool is critically important for educational agencies to be in compliance with most state records laws. And yet it rarely receives a line item in school budgets. Many schools saw increased engagement online – both positive and negative – during the pandemic, escalating the need for social media management tools like ArchiveSocial. If you need help fitting this technology into your budget, consi
ArchiveSocial •

Modern Records Management for the Digital Clerk

Tyrene Bada, records management specialist, shares lessons learned from building a records management system from the ground up

Tyrene Bada joined ArchiveSocial in a recent webinar to discuss her experience building a records management system from scratch at Portland Community College. It was a formative experience for her in her career, and she shared with us some of the major lessons she learned along the way.

Connect with a community of your peers.

When Tyrene Bada started working in reco
ArchiveSocial •

Sunshine Week 2022

Started in 2005 by the News Leaders Association, Sunshine Week is now widely celebrated around the US. Public agencies and news organizations will spend the week highlighting the importance of access to public information through special communications and events. And we here at ArchiveSocial are celebrating, too! It’s our mission to strengthen trust in digital communication between public agencies and private citizens.

What is Sunshine Week all about?

Sunshine Week’s motto is “Open government
ArchiveSocial •

Social Media Guidelines for School Districts

Steps for school districts to develop a positive relationship with social media

While social media platforms can be fraught and complicated, they have become a necessary part of a school’s online presence. They allow administrators and staff to tell the story of their school – news and announcements, student achievements, local events – directly. They can even engage students, parents, and community members through comments and messages.

So, where does the school district enter the conversatio
ArchiveSocial •

5 Successful Social Media Strategies for Education

Two successful social media managers in education shared their best advice on how to get the most out of your school’s social media.

Schools and school districts around the US use social media to share emergency announcements, upcoming events, stories, and more with their followers. It’s a valuable tool to keep students, parents, and community members informed. So how can schools maximize the impact of their social media presence? We asked two school social media experts to share their best tip
ArchiveSocial •

Why Does Social Media Archiving Matter?

What is Social Media Archiving for Government, Education & Healthcare?

These days, public agencies have to be active on social media to effectively reach their citizens and ensure they are informed, educated, and engaged. With platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, agencies can share upcoming events, make emergency announcements, and even post recordings of recent meetings. The benefits are clear – open lines of communication improve transparency and bolster public trust, and higher lev
NextRequest •

New Feature: The Custom Holiday Calendar

NextRequest is excited to announce a new feature – the Custom Holiday Calendar! The Custom Holiday Calendar allows administrators to set custom holidays in their Portal Settings to ensure records requests are always fulfilled on time.

NextRequest’s built-in holiday calendar follows federal government holidays and factors those holidays into request due date calculations. But not all state and local agencies and school districts follow these exact holidays. Some may not take Presidents’ Day off
NextRequest •

FOIA request vs. records request: Is there a difference?

Is there a difference between a FOIA request and a records request? Not really. The idea is all the same. All public agencies are required by law to retain certain records, like internal emails, invoices, social media posts, and more. Learn more about what constitutes a public record here. Public agencies are also required to release these upon request.

The Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, requires the federal government to retain records and release them when requested. So a federal record
NextRequest •

Finding Funds to Upgrade Your Records Requests Management System

Having a records request management tool is critically important for public agencies and organizations to stay on top of records requests. And yet it rarely receives a line item in agency budgets. Many agencies increased the frequency of communications during the pandemic, creating more records, and also saw an increase in records requests, especially around controversial topics like COVID-19, masks, and remote learning. If you need help fitting this technology into your budget, consider applyin
NextRequest •

The Real Costs of Public Records Requests

Many government agencies have seen the number of incoming public records requests increase drastically in recent years. Responding to these requests takes time: the request must be processed, documents reviewed and redacted, and then the response must be approved before release. Each part of the process can be time-consuming but is also integral to compliance with state records laws.

Agencies are having to balance their traditional workloads with this influx of requests for information from the