2O23-2O24 Communications Committee Resources

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The Communications Committee plays a vital role in the organization by helping to amplify our message and share the important work being done by both Leadership Florida and our members.

Committee Meetings:

All meetings will be held via Zoom:

Thursday, September 7, 11:00 – 11:45 AM (EST)
Thursday, December 7, 11:00 – 11:45 AM (EST)
Thursday, March 7, 11:00 – 11:45 AM (EST)

Roles & Responsibilities

Leadership Florida Communications Staff:

Establishing best practices for all communication planning and execution
Implementing new communication initiatives for Leadership Florida as needed
Engaging membership via social media and other outlets
Working with Region Communication Chairs on Region social media efforts and events
Providing resources to committee members to facilitate achievement of goals
Keeping Statewide and Region Communication members informed of events/happenings to be promoted

Communications Statewide Committee Co-Chairs:

Collaborating with Communications Staff on overall communications strategy, brand integrity, and best practices for all messaging
Engaging committee members to support communications efforts as needed
Providing insight regarding challenges of committee members and assisting in developing strategies to overcome these challenges including future resources

Region Communications Chair

Managing communications on the Region Facebook page on a weekly basis. Posts can include but are not limited to: Region event promotions; assisting with member engagement in Leadership Florida projects, such as Giving Challenge, recruiting new members, awards, etc.; holiday posts within Leadership Florida’s policies, and shout-outs to fellow members.
Collaborating with the Statewide Communications Co-Chairs and Leadership Florida staff on Region communications plans
Keeping Leadership Florida staff informed on Region communications and effectiveness
Attending Region events and updating the Region’s Facebook page with content and media
Providing Leadership Florida staff with images/videos within 48 hours after each Region event, including member names and appropriate details if possible for archiving purposes
Assisting with preparing and submitting the Event Planning form in collaboration with the Events and Experiences Chair for potential region events

TIME COMMITMENT

Committee members should plan for the following:

Periodic collaboration calls (schedule will be determined in August/September)
Event attendance as needed
Photo/video captured during Region events
Submitting photo/video to resources to be shared with other members
Sufficient time to engage members through the Region Facebook pages (i.e., schedule weekly posts whenever possible)

COMMUNICATION METHODS

Several types of messaging are used to produce ongoing and timely communications, including:

Email

Region-wide emails are always sent by Leadership Florida staff. Region emails are generally developed by Leadership Florida and/or the Region Council and approved by the Region Council Chair prior to transmission. Final approval is by Leadership Florida staff.

e-Cast Newsletter

Leadership Florida’s communications staff produces and distributes a monthly e-newsletter. News that may be of interest to members statewide may be submitted to Leadership Florida staff via email or through an online form at leadfla.com/submit-news.

Social Media

Leadership Florida utilizes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn to promote events and share information with Leadership Florida members. Currently, each Region has a closed Facebook group to share information with fellow Region members. Leadership Florida staff, the Region Chair, Region Communications Chair, and the Communications Co-Chairs will be administrators for the group page. Individuals wishing to join the group are to be reviewed and approved by Leadership Florida staff as only members may join the groups. To ensure timely posts, messages on the Region Facebook pages do not need to be reviewed. Social Media guidelines may change at any time in order to protect the organization. Posts will be deleted if they do not follow the organization’s mission or social media policy.

Examples of inappropriate posts are:

Supporting or promoting any political candidate (congratulating upon winning is acceptable as long as political angles are not included)
Supporting or promoting any non-profit organization or company
Supporting or promoting any fundraiser, regardless of cause, including personal fundraising efforts such as “Go Fund Me” and similar platforms
Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day are the only holiday posts allowed.

Social Media Guidelines

A. Members are permitted to associate with Leadership Florida when posting on social media, but they must clearly brand their online posts as personal and purely their own. The organization hereby disclaims any responsibility for member-posted content.

B. Content pertaining to sensitive organization information should not be shared with the outside community. Unless with explicit permission from the member, divulging member contact information or discourse and events in private Leadership Florida programming and activities is prohibited. This supports information in our Class program policy: “Participants in Leadership Florida programs should have the expectation that their discussions during the annual class program and other Leadership Florida- produced programs and events will be held in confidence by their fellow participants.”

C. Dishonorable content such as racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, and physical disability slurs will not be tolerated.

D. Leadership Florida values, respects, and upholds intellectual, ethical, and honest discourse and intellectual property rights of its members on Leadership Florida social media pages and groups.

E. Leadership Florida retains the right to edit or remove any content posted on Leadership Florida social media pages or groups.

F. With respect to group communications disseminated through social media where the communications are not administered by Leadership Florida but are administered in a manner that utilizes Leadership Florida’s name, a Leadership Florida class name, or relies upon personal associations resulting from membership in Leadership Florida, the person responsible for the post will shall ensure that:

The communications group is limited to members and staff only of Leadership Florida.
At least one member of the Leadership Florida staff is included in the communications group.
Communications that entail political advocacy with respect to candidates, political parties, or political issues to be voted upon by the electorate are prohibited and, if disseminated, are immediately removed.
Communications that entail advocacy or fundraising for other non-profit organizations are prohibited, and, if disseminated, are immediately removed.
Dishonorable content, including racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, and physical disability slurs, is not disseminated and, if disseminated, is immediately removed.

Media

Television, internet, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and other media outlets may be given permission to cover an event or interview a Communications Council Member regarding a Region event. All interviews must be approved by the Region Chair and Leadership Florida staff. Generally, the Region Chair will represent the Region in interviews. The Communications Chair may request interviews or provide press releases to external media outlets outlined in the communications plan or upon request by the Region Chair. The Region Communications Chair will convey communications to external media outlets with Leadership Florida staff.

Photography/Videography

Photographs and videos will be used by Leadership Florida year-round to promote events to members and share on social channels after an event has taken place. The Region’s Communications Chair will be the official photographer and videographer for the Region and will need to attend all Region events or appoint a representative. Photos and videos from each event will be sent to Leadership Florida staff to share on Leadership Florida’s social channels and will be shared by the Region Communications Chair on the Region Facebook page. When possible, the Region Communications Chair will share all photos with communications staff within 48 hours of the event.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

All communication submissions should be reviewed for accuracy prior to being submitted to Leadership Florida for final approval and transmittal. Generally, the submissions are developed by the Region’s Communications Chair and provided to the Council and/or Council Chair for review 48 hours prior to submission for final approval and transmittal. The transmittal will be conducted by Leadership Florida or the Council Chair based on the content of the document.