Social media and why the Council uses it
Social media includes web and mobile-based technologies which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among organisations, communities and individuals by sharing information, opinions, knowledge and interests.
At Surrey Heath Borough Council, we feature a wide variety of information from council services and those of partner organisations on our social media channels.
The Council encourages participation in and engagement with social media, to help build local communities and networks in Surrey Heath.
Social media the Council uses
Twitter is a free online social networking service that enables its users to send and read messages of up to 280 characters, known as "tweets".
The Council has a number of Twitter accounts covering different service areas, these include:
- Surrey Heath Borough Council Twitter (external link): tweets include news, events, planning applications, licensing applications and general service updates).
- Camberley Theatre Twitter (external link)
- Surrey Heath Museum (external link)
Facebook is a free social networking service. The Council uses Facebook to connect and interact with local residents and businesses through informative posts, photos and videos.
The Council has several Facebook accounts, including:
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos. The Council produces video material of events and to help promote new services.
Nextdoor
Nextdoor is a free hyperlocal social media platform where people connect with those in the neighbourhood they live in. The Council uses Nextdoor as a public service to connect and interact with local residents in Surrey Heath through informative posts, photos and videos.
Linkedin is a free online professional networking platform which allows individuals and organisations to connect and share information. The Council has a LinkedIn page where it shares relevant information with local people and businesses, and also posts job vacancies.
Statement on using our social media platforms
We’re happy to help you in any way that we can and look forward to seeing your views and feedback via social media.
However our social media platforms are not designed as a way to report issues to us.
Issues should be reported via the website. Alternatively you can call our contact centre on 01276 707100 or email contact.centre@surreyheath.gov.uk (link sends email).
This helps us track the number of incidents reported, and allows us to learn from them and improve our service to you.
To report a non-urgent police matter call 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.
House rules
All users must comply with the social media platform’s Terms of Use as well as the following:
You are wholly responsible for any content you post including content that you choose to share.
We will remove, in whole or in part, posts which we feel are inappropriate.
We will report and remove any social media profiles that are set up using SHBC imagery without permission.
We will block and/or report users who direct posts at us which we believe are:
- abusive or obscene
- graphic, sensitive or offensive imagery
- deceptive or misleading
- in violation of any intellectual property rights
- in violation of any law or regulation
- spam (persistent negative and/or abusive tweeting in which the aim is to provoke a response)
Anyone repeatedly engaging with us using content or language which falls into the above categories will be blocked and/or reported to the associated social media platform.
If you see a post that seems inappropriate, please use the report feature to flag it for moderation.
Responding to users
We’ll do our best to respond to all enquiries within two working days, but in most cases it will be quicker than that.
We’ll try to help you, or direct you to people and/or departments who can, wherever possible.
Please note that our social media platforms are only moderated on weekdays between 8.30am and 5pm (8.30am-4.30pm on Fridays). We’ll deal with posts sent outside of this time as soon as possible when working hours resume.