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This section expands on the Top 5 Rules of Engagement and adds 5 further essential guidelines to help support your social media work.
Be Yourself
Always be honest and always be transparent, honest and
open, but also be aware of the impact your communication
might make to peoples perception of the British Council.
Use your real name and identify that you work for the British
Council. If you make a mistake, be first to come clean and
admit it honesty of this type quickly builds respect among
communities.
Be respectful
The British Council values valuing people, integrity, mutuality, creativity
and professionalism underpin everything we say and do, how we work with
people, how we behave toward customers, partners and our own staff, and
how we communicate. When engaging in social media, please bear these
values in mind and always be respectful of our audience. Never use ethnic
slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or engage in any conduct that would be
compromise our values. Doing so could lead to disciplinary action being taken.
In some regions you need to carefully consider the local context in all that
you post, which means understanding cultural sensitivities and avoid posting
anything that could be considered offensive by anyone who may see it.
Also bear in mind that one thing said on one part of the region can have a
different impact in another part of the region.
Social Media Strategy Pack
Be responsible
You should identify your role in the organisation,
such as authorised communicator for the Corporate
Comms team or teaching professional in the British
Council network. With online social networks, the
boundaries between personal and professional are often
blurred and perception becomes reality. Be aware that
identifying yourself as working with the British Council
creates expectations about your expertise and these
expectations are closely aligned with the brand value and
reputation of the organisation.
These would typically include content that is:
Religious in nature
About sexual topics
 olitically contentious, such as conflicts, border
P
disputes, elections or criticizing host governments
policy. This could erode our position of being politically
impartial, and limit our license to operate in some
countries. If in doubt, check with your line manager
before posting.
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Be creative
You should be aiming to create a buzz and adding
value to a topic or conversation with your social media
activity. The British Council aims to be a major contributor
to dialogue around our strategic strands of teaching and
learning English and the areas of UK Arts, Education and
Society and your social media should be aimed at actively
engaging with audiences in one or more of these areas.
It should be thought-provoking and aimed at building a
community, not just one-off interactions. If it helps our
customers, partners and co-workers to improve their
knowledge or skills, build their businesses, do their jobs
or solve their problems, then it is really adding value.
Be4 you click,
think twice
If in doubt, dont send it out. If youre about to
publish something that makes you even the slightest bit
uncomfortable, dont shrug it off and hit send. Work out
whats bothering you and fix it. If youre still not sure, share
with someone else, such as your line manager. Ultimately,
what you publish is yours, as is the responsibility. The
Internet remembers and search engines and other 21st
century technologies make it virtually impossible to take
something back.
Social Media Strategy Pack
Conversation, not broadcast
Let your own personality shine through when engaging
with your audience and avoid broadcasting at them or
hard-selling as this is just a turn-off and people will see
through it straight away. The most successful social media
practitioners use their own personal style, say whats
on their mind and have content that is open-ended and
designed to invite responses. Your aim should be to create
a space that people will keep wanting to come back to and
will confidently recommend to their friends and network.
Local post,
global significance
Remember that your local posts can have global
significance. For example, the way that you answer
an online question might be accurate in some parts
of the world, but inaccurate (or even illegal) in others.
Always keep that world view in mind when you are
participating in online conversations. The beauty and
the danger of the Internet is that it brings the world to
your doorstep.
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Protect Yourself Protect the British Council

Be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy.
Avoid publishing any personal contact details where they
can be accessed and used widely by people you did not
intend to see them. It is better to contact an individual
outside the British Council web or social media space if you
want to take something off-line. Also be aware that social
media can be a great time-eater so make sure you set-up
your professional participation in a way that it respects
your work/life balance and doesnt encroach on your
free time.
What you write is ultimately your responsibility.
Participation in social media on behalf of British Council
is not a right but an opportunity, so please treat it
seriously and with respect. The British Council has a
worldwide reputation and a brand value worth many
millions of pounds. You should always respect the
brand, trademark, copyright, trade secrets (including
our processes and methodologies), child protection
policy, data-protection policy, confidentiality, and
business-sensitive financial data. If you have questions
or doubts about any of these, please discuss first with
your line-manager or contact Social Media Support
(SocialMediaSupport@britishcouncil.org).

Dealing with mistakes

We are only human and will occasionally make mistakes on social media.
You should take these three simple steps if you make a mistake:

1. Delete the post and apologize for the mistake, explaining that the material was posted by mistake and
is not an official view of the British Council.

2. Post the correct information if the mistake was factual, making clear what youve corrected.

3. Inform your line manager and the SBU or Regional Communications Team for advice on further
handling.

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