F. No. 3-3/2019 – MD
Department of Posts
Marketing Division,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Mare
New Delhi 110001
Dated: 06.03.2020
Sub : Guidelines for use of Social Media for promotion of products and services of the Department.
Ref : BD&MD It. No. 18-07/2017-BD&MD dated 21.03.2017
This is regarding promotion of products and services of the Department through Social Media platforms. Earlier, instructions were issued to Circles vide the above subject and reference, regarding Department of Posts Social Media handles.
The handles are quite popular and as on date there are over 2.10 lakh ‘Likes’ on our Facebook Page and over 1.62 lakh ‘Followers’ on Twitter.
2. It is observed that Department of Post has not been able to properly leverage the power of Social Media platform for its public outreach programme. Given its characteristics of immediate outreach and 24*7 engagements, Social Media offers a unique opportunity to the Department of Posts to engage with public and other stakeholders and create awareness about its products & services and major contributions made by the Department in delivering postal, financial and citizen centric services to the public. The Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology has issued “Frame work & Guidelines for use of Social Media for Government Organisations” which is available on net. The Circles may kindly follow the guidelines for use of social media. Some of key caveats that the guidelines highlight and must be kept in mind include:
a. All accounts must be created and operated in official capacity only.
b. As social media demands 24*7 interactions, some responsiveness criteria may be defined and a dedicated team may be put in place to monitor and respond.
c. There should be congruence between responses on social media and traditional media.
d. Relevant provisions of IT Act 2000 and RTI Act must be adhered to. Detailed description and explanations are given in the Guidelines section of the document.
3. Heads of Circles may open Twitter and Facebook account if not yet done, since the Circles are doing a large number of activities which deserve to be shared with public for further improving the trust and goodwill of the Department and its employees.
4. In order to use Social Media extensively and get benefits, following actions are required to be taken by the Circles:
a. Heads of Circle should immediately activate their Social Media accounts and start posting photos and messages of the significant activities done by them. Whenever, they post a message, they should tag it to Directorate/ all Circles and other important accounts mandatorily. The account details of Directorate are Facebook: @PostOffice.IN and Twitter: @IndiaPostOffice.
b. A suitable official may be identified as a nodal point by all Circles making him/ her responsible for posting messages on social media on daily basis. The email of nodal points shall be shared with Marketing Division for coordination at [email protected] and [email protected].
c. Share/ Re-tweet the posts/ comments of other Circles/Directorate.
d. Use of local language.
e. Hold regular press conference at the level of CPMG to inform media about the activities of the Department.
f. Important photographsa of promotional activities along with description may be sent to Marketing Division [email protected] and [email protected].
The Circle are directed to comply with the instructions by 20.03.2020 and send compliance report to Marketing Division.
This issues with the approval of competent authority.
(Puneet Bijaraniya)
Assistant Director General (FS II)
