Social Media Guidelines

For clarity and training contact us at ng.md.mdarng.list.pao@mail.mil or 410-576-6179.

 

Three steps to success​ to have a Winning Social Media Site

  1. Make the MDNG PAO a Facebook admin​ using this email address ng.md.mdarng.list.pao@mail.mil​​
  2. Find your unit/section on the approved social media page list​.
  3. You're done! The MDNG PAO will take care of the rest.

Who can start a social media page?

 

​Elements at all levels, departments, major subordinate commands, wings, and individual units are encouraged to participate in social media. New sites must be approved by the Public Affairs Office​ or department director prior to being released. Currently released sites will be reviewed and approved by the public affairs office or department director.​

Request a new site ​

Approved site/pages​

My leadership wants a Facebook page, what do I do?

 
​Properly maintaining a social media presence while growing and engaging an audience, is a lot of work. Many sections feel that a social media page is a good idea not understanding the work needed to frequently post relevant and timely content. People may be interested in your unit/section and will be discouraged from engaging with your page due to it not being frequently updated. If you don’t care, they wouldn't care. A better option than having 20 people follow your page or the last post being from 2011 is to send content to the Public Affairs Office for them to post​. The MDNG PAO can make recommendations to your leadership and can help you get the page started.​​

What if I already have a page started? (Facebook)

 

​Each new and currently established site requires making the MDNG PAO an administrator and all other personnel will be made editors. Editors and the MDNG PAO will ensure access to the site if any changes are required. Page Roles on Facebook. For other social media outlets, contact the PAO.

ng.md.mdarng.list.pao@mail.mil or 410-576-6179​

What about responding to messages?

 

​Responding to messages from the public is the editor’s responsibility. Only the MDNG PAO will respond to threats, hate speech. Stay in your lane and talk on what you know, your expertise. Messages on upper echelon issues should be referred to the MDNG PAO. The MDNG PAO will setup a language filter that automatically hides comments containing certain words. Sites are family friendly and editors may hide, comments that violate the terms of the page listed in the about section. The terms of the page will be provided/setup by the MDNG PAO and customized to your organization.​

Who should have access the page?

 
Each unit’s site must have an appointed representative on record with the PAO​. This representative can be the Unit Public Affairs Representative​, readiness NCO, first sergeant, unit commander, etc. Multiple people, full-time personnel, and senior leaders work well too. Contact us at ng.md.mdarng.list.pao@mail.mil or 410-576-6179.

​What happens if I move to a different unit or position?

 

To prevent the site from being unmanaged or defunct unit sites will allow admin access to the MDNG PAO. The PAO may post content on the page but will not maintain the site on the unit or section's behalf. Each site must be a component of official public affairs activities and clearly identifiable through use of official logos​a standardized user statement, etc.

The unit or section should assign a new person to manage the site(s) and request the old person be removed. ​​

​What is the minimum for a social media post?

 

The minimum is a graphic (photos and/or video) with a basic caption. The caption to go with a photo or video should explain the WHO/WHAT/WHEN/WHERE/(WHY/HOW) of the event. The use of hashtags and tagging (using @) to tag another page or the installation, city, and or county of the event is encouraged

Example: (WHO) #CitizenSoldiers of A Co., 1st Bn., 175th Inf. Regt., (WHAT) prepare for night land navigation (WHEN) on June 3, 2017, during our 2017 annual training (WHERE)at @US Army Fort Benning.

This post contains all the needed information for the MDNG PAO to clean up and share on the MDNG page for more visibility​. The MDNG PAO will not share posts that have errors in it, no matter how good it is. With the MDNG PAO as an admin, we can tweak it to make it usable for a wider audience. 

post_min.jpg

  • In-use Hashtags, within the caption or at the end: #MDGuard, #CitizenSoldiers, #MDArmyGuard, #MDAirGuard, #MDNG, #MDDF, #MEMA, #MDMilitary, #NationalGuard, #MDChalleNGeLife
  • Longform MDNG Specific: #MarylandGuard, #MarylandNationalGuard, #MarylandMilitary, #MarylandArmyNationalGuard, #MarylandArmyGuard, #MarylandAirNationalGuard, #MarylandAirGuard,
  • Generic: #ArmyGuard, #ArmyNationalGuard, #AirGuard, #AirNationalGuard, #ArmyStrong, #Soldiers, #Airmen, #ArmyForLife,
  • Special Hash tags: #BestWarriorCompetition, #SupportTheTroops, #MarylandStatePartnershipProgram

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