Five ways charities can improve their social media use

Social media can be a powerful tool for charities but it’s also fraught with risk, ranging from online abuse to legal issues. Here’s how you can use it your advantage.

Like it or loathe it, social media is here to stay and plays an increasingly prominent role in our lives. For those working in the third sector, it can be a useful tool to raise awareness of campaigns and projects, and gain supporters and potential donors. But there are also risks, including people using social media to criticise initiatives or spread misinformation, and there’s legal requirements to adhere to. 

The following tips offer some guidance on how charities can use social media effectively: 

Make social media work for you

Initially, you’ll need to think about who within the organisation is responsible for a charity’s social media accounts. This might be in-house staff, trustees or volunteers but it’s important to have a consistent tone of voice and approach to posts. 

The Charity Commission is clear that charities have a responsibility to campaign with respect, tolerance and consideration. Particular care should be taken around posting inflammatory statements or material; while this can be beneficial in drawing attention to posts, there’s also a possibility that it will generate unwanted responses. “You need to make sure that your social media content is in support of, and consistent with, your charitable purposes,” says Elizabeth Jones. 

Set out some ground rules

It’s recommended to establish a social media policy which sets out how your staff use social media, and the social media guidance issued by the Charity Commission in September 2023 can help with this. Joseph Harris points out that what a social media policy looks like will differ according to the size of the charity; larger charities with a team of communications professionals, for instance, will take a very different approach to much smaller, trustee-led charities. 

Another area to consider is the use of social media by individuals connected to the charity in a personal capacity; something that has been highlighted recently (albeit in a non-charity context) with the furore over Gary Lineker’s posts while working for the BBC. “This is a very tricky area and the Commission recognises that,” says Harris. 

“Essentially, the question is to what extent can content posted by trustees, volunteers or employees reasonably be treated as reflective of the charity’s own views?” Often this will come down to seniority, he adds; a prominent CEO is more likely (rightly or wrongly) to have their views treated as those of their charity than a more junior employee. 

Any HR or IT usage policies will need to be considered and, where necessary, updated to reflect a charity’s social media policy. 

Understand the legalities

There are several legal issues to think about when it comes to social media posts. These include data protection; privacy; intellectual property/copyright law; defamation; whistleblower protection; and equality and human rights law. Charities could also breach criminal law if communications constitute a hate crime, are malicious, threatening, indecent or grossly offensive. Staff responsible for managing a charity’s social media accounts will need to be trained in these areas, so they understand what they can and cannot do. 

With a general election coming up, there are also electoral law rules which must be followed. Harris says that charity law remains in place during the period running up to an election, but that charities engaging in regulated activity during the 12 months leading up to an election may need to register with the Electoral Commission, if they exceed specified spending thresholds (currently £10,000) on regulated campaigning activity. 

“Regulated activity refers to public-facing activity which meets the purpose test set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000,” he says. Broadly speaking, this test says that activity is regulated if it can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voter behaviour at an upcoming election. As charity law prohibits promoting the interests of parties or candidates, it’s unlikely that many charities will carry out activities which satisfy this test, but it can happen, he adds. Those charities that are carrying out regulated activity will need to produce transparency statements for any hard copy or digital literature. 

Decide how to handle criticism

Anyone engaging in social media is likely to face criticism. If needed, apologise swiftly for any posts that with hindsight may have been a misstep, while redirecting attention to the charity’s core position. Remember, there is a silent majority out there that are listening and can be appealed to.

If charities do post material that causes or risks serious harm, including damage to reputation, charities may need to report this to the Charity Commission under the reporting of serious incidents regime.

A more likely scenario is how to handle content that has been posted by others which is directed at the charity, particularly if this crosses the line into abuse, harassment or defamatory comments. “To some extent the unpleasantness and toxicity of social media platforms is a reality that has to be tolerated,” says Tom Rudkin. 

But for more serious issues where content is clearly abusive or untrue, it’s advisable to approach the platform itself and ask it to remove content. A last resort would be to engage with the individual in question, he adds, with the threat or reality of legal action. 

In the UK, the Online Safety Act, which became law in October 2023, creates some greater accountability for both social media platforms and users. 

Be mindful of the emotional toll

Finally, it’s important to make sure those who oversee social media accounts on behalf of charities do not become affected by the hostility which may be directed towards them. 

Ensure staff do not respond to abusive comments and impose limits on the amount of time they spend on social media as part of their roles. You can also direct them to further sources of support should that be necessary, such as an employee assistance programme or charities such as Mind. 

This article was first published on Third Sector.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, June 2024