Field Guide Draft 2 - USCG - DTD 28 Jan 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section I: Official Facebook page ................................................................................. 2
Section II: DOD Live Wordpress Blog ......................................................................... 11
Section III: Official Twitter Account ............................................................................. 19
Section IV: YouTube Videos ....................................................................................... 23
Section V: Flickr Photos .............................................................................................. 30
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SOCIAL MEDIA FIELD GUIDE
The following guidelines will help set up your social media sites IAW Coast Guard Public
Affairs Manual, COMDTINST M5728.2D.
Section I: Official Facebook page
Authority The approved social networking tool authorized for Coast Guard sectors
and units is a Facebook government page. This chosen site is the ideal tool
for building a network at a unit level among both an internal and external
audience including family members, employees, and the community.
Social networks represent a “one-stop shop” enabling an administrator the
ability to use text, images and video in one place to tell the Coast Guard
story. Other social networking sites are not authorized unless a waiver is
granted by CG-0922 and DHS.
The following guidelines will help you set up your page in a manner
consistent with Coast Guard branding and to meet policy requirements.
Training All Coast Guard personnel who post on official social media sites must
have either attended the Coast Guard Public Affairs course at the Defense
Information School or have received training from their servicing public
affairs office.
Commands must provide their servicing public affairs office a letter

designating their social media spokesperson and authorizing them to
conduct official unit communications.
Strong passwords shall be implemented to access all official social media

sites. Due to Facebook settings, page administrators are required to use
their personal account to sign-on and manage their page. Therefore, site
managers shall use a strong password for their personal sign-on. A strong
password consists of at least six characters including a combination of
upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. (NOTE: While a
personal account is used to sign in to Facebook, comments and wall posts
made by page administrators will have the page name and profile picture
vice their personal name and profile picture.)
Access to Since access to Facebook from a Coast Guard workstation is currently

Facebook prohibited, commands must decide if they have the ability to properly
manage a Facebook page IAW chapter 11 of the Public Affairs Manual
before requesting a page. Commands may use unit funds to acquire and
use “stand-alone” computer terminals and Internet connections outside of
the Coast Guard network to obtain greater access to the blocked site
(consult your servicing procurement office for assistance).
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Section I: Official Facebook page (cont.)
Access to While administrators cannot access Facebook from a Coast Guard
Facebook workstation, they can make status updates and upload pictures from an e-
(cont.) mail address. However, they must be careful of operational security
(OPSEC), proper authority to release information and the capacity to
adequately monitor the page and follow-on comments.
To set up mobile access, go to “Edit Page” on your page and then

“Mobile.”
Creating a To create a new Facebook page, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/

Facebook page and select “Create page.”
1. Select “Brand, product, or organization.” In the drop down menu,

choose “Government.”
2. Choose a page name. Your site name shall include “U.S. Coast
Guard” and your unit name or district regional title (same as the
district blog title). Avoid using unclear acronyms or shorthand except
when necessary due to space limitations. The following are examples
for various Coast Guard commands;
a. First District would use “U.S. Coast Guard Northeast.”
b. Sectors should use “U.S. Coast Guard Sector <name>.”
c. Air Stations should use “U.S. Coast Guard AirSta <name>.”
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Creating a d. Cutters should use “U.S. Coast Guard CGC <name>.”
Facebook page
(cont.) e. Marine Safety Units should use “U.S. Coast Guard MSU
<name>.”
f. Aids to Navigation Teams should use “U.S. Coast Guard ANT

<name>.”
g. Small boat stations should use “U.S. Coast Guard Station

<name>.”
3. Click that you are the official representative and have permission
to create the Page.
4. Select “Create Official Page.”
All official Coast Guard social media sites must be registered with
Commandant (CG-092). A link to the registration form is located on the
Coast Guard Compass blog under the Official Sites link. Commands shall
update their registration if their designated social media spokesperson
changes.
Facebook page After your page is created, set up the page IAW the following guidelines.
Wall
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Facebook page 1. Set up a profile picture. The selected profile picture should be easily
Wall (cont.) recognizable, appropriate for the command, and include the word
“Official.” The standard size Facebook uses for this graphic is
200x200 pixels but, due to some clipping when the graphic is
uploaded, it is suggested that you leave a 12 pixel border.
2. Your “wall.” Use your wall to share information, pictures and video
and interact with your fans.
3. Upload content. You can upload content using the standard wall
options or the “Notes” option. Short, quick status updates, links,
photos and video can be uploaded from the wall.
Commands who post photos and/or video on their Facebook page shall
follow policy outlined in Chapter 5 of the Coast Guard Public Affairs
Manual, COMDTINST M5728.2D. Specifically, all video or still
photos must be evaluated by a designated person at the local unit, such
as the CO, OINC, XO, PAO or OOD, before being released to check
for SAPP (Security, Accuracy, Propriety, and Policy) and to ensure
Coast Guard members are wearing the proper uniform and safety
equipment.
Additionally, any photo or video that depicts Coast Guard operations

or newsworthy events must also be uploaded to the Coast Guard
Visual Information Gallery (http://cgvi.uscg.mil). Commands shall
work with their servicing public affairs office to ensure those images
are entered into CGVI. Candid personal photography of non-Coast
Guard operations or non-newsworthy events (e.g. morale events,
sports days, community relations, other daily routine imagery) may be
posted but must be in good taste. All imagery posted to Facebook
reflects the U.S. Coast Guard and should reflect pride and
professionalism.
More in-depth, blog style content can be added using the Facebook
“Notes” feature. To add a Note, click on the “Notes” tab (3) and select
“Add a Note.” Add content like you would for a blog (follow tips
provided in Section II, The Wordpress Blog).
Any member or employee who self-publishes online is personally

accountable for everything they post. Personnel bear a responsibility
for ensuring information disclosed (including personal comments) is
accurate and appropriate. Coast Guard members may be held
accountable for violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for
content posted online. Posts shall follow AP and Coast Guard
Stylebook guidelines. Site managers shall refer to chapter 11 of the
Public Affairs Manual for legal, security and release of information
considerations.
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Facebook page 4. Links. This is how links appear on your wall.
Wall (cont.)
5. Moderate comments. Click on “View Feedback” to review comments
and moderate as necessary. Facebook does not allow page
administrators to moderate comments before they are posted. If left
unmoderated, comment streams can quickly spiral off topic and in an
inappropriate direction. Therefore, page managers must check the
page frequently to ensure the comments are in compliance with the
official Coast Guard Comment Policy. At a minimum, pages shall be
checked twice daily. Depending on frequency of postings and topic,
commands may need to moderate more frequently. If in doubt as to
whether a comment violates the policy or is otherwise inappropriate,
consult your servicing public affairs office. If it is decided to delete a
comment, commands shall ensure they follow proper records
management procedures as outlined in the “Records Management”
section below.
Commands may consider using their servicing public affairs office or

other trustworthy and properly trained party to help moderate
comments or keep the command informed while the unit is underway
or otherwise unable to keep a close eye on the page. If no other options
are available, commands may select to manage their page’s
permissions (see item 1 in image below) and set their page to be
viewable by administrators only (see item 2 in image below). This
should only be used as a last resort option because it effectively
eliminates the page from public view and may lead to misconceptions
that the page has been disestablished.
6. Edit page settings. Using this option, you can manage permissions,
add administrators, update basic information, set your profile pictures,
view your insights, and more (see image above).
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Facebook page Official Coast Guard social media sites shall be publicly accessible to
Wall (cont.) the full extent available. Site managers should set privacy and account
settings to ensure maximum public availability of the content that is
posted.
To maintain editorial integrity, commands shall manage posting ability

of users. The permissions shall be set to NOT allow users to write or
post content, photos or videos on the wall (see 3 in the above image).
7. Edit Information about your page. This box shall have this basic
statement.
8. View insights. Insights allow page administrators the ability to gather

statistics and information about your users, interactions and views.
Facebook page The “Info” tab (1) for your page is the location where all legal disclaimers,
Info tab comment policy, contact information and so on will be placed. The most
up-to-date and accurate disclaimers and policy statements can be copied
from the Coast Guard Facebook page, www.facebook.com/uscoastguard,
Info tab. The following is an example of the content that should appear on
the page.
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Facebook page Although Facebook does not provide specific boxes for adding this type of
Info tab (cont.) content, it can be added in the General Information, Mission and
Descriptions boxes. Use these boxes to include the following:
 Contact information including mailing and e-mail addresses (2)
 Links to other official sites (HQ site, homepage, PIER) (3)
 Appropriate disclaimers and policies as outlined in Chapter 11.D of
the Public Affairs Manual (4)
Records Content and comments posted on social media sites in connection with the
Management transaction of public business may become a federal record and if so it is
required to maintain a copy per the appropriate records retention policies.
Since a records schedule does not exist to identify what must be archived
and for how long, CG-0922 is working with the Department of Homeland
Security and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
to determine the records schedule.
The current guidelines for records retention are as follows and are subject
to change pending final approval by NARA:
1. Original Public Affairs Content

a. Original public affairs content posted on social media sites shall be
retained permanently and transferred to NARA when five years
old. Format in accordance to existing NARA transfer guidance as
outlined in the Information and Life Cycle Management Manual,
COMDTINST M5212 (series).
b. Public affairs content that is a copy or reproduction of content
already scheduled and retained can be destroyed when no longer
current or relevant.
2. General Comments. Comments that do not affect or require any

administrative action, policy decision or special compilation shall
remain posted but are considered obsolete in 10 days. Delete after one
year.
3. Deleted Comments. Comments that do not follow Public Affairs

Social Media Policy will be deleted but retained for one year. The
comments can be destroyed after one year if no other action has been
taken regarding the deletion of comment.
The moderator shall take a screen shot (Shift+Print Screen for PC and
Command+Shift+4 for Mac); label the file with the date, title of
Facebook post and the initials of the person who removed the
comment; and store the file on a shared folder for easy retrieval if a
Freedom of Information Act request or other action be necessary.
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Records Additionally, good practice is to Facebook message the commenter to
Management let them know why the comment is being deleted. You can copy/paste
(cont.) the full comment into the message, professionally address the specific
violation of the comment policy and offer the option to edit the
comment and re-post (see example below). It is important to note that
Facebook will use your personal Facebook page to send the message;
therefore, your personal privacy settings should be restrictive and
profile picture should be in good taste.
4. Information Request Files. Requests for information and copies of

replies, involving no administrative action, no policy decisions and no
special compilations or research and requests for and transmittals of
publications, photographs, and other information literature can be
destroyed when three months old or when no longer needed,
whichever is sooner.
IAW this records schedule, CG-0922 has identified a free online tool,
Backupify (www.backupify.com), to archive content and comments on
official Facebook pages. This tool enables the archival of several social
media sites including both personal Facebook profiles as well as pages.
Coast Guard page managers shall establish a separate, non-personal
Backupify account and maintain the archived data of official page content
and comments.
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Facebook Tips  Once the page is created, establish a Facebook vanity URL for ease of
access and to aid in branding the site. To set up a vanity URL, a page
administrator should follow these steps:
1. Go to www.facebook.com/username
2. Select “Set a username for your Pages.”
3. Choose your Page
4. Official USCG sites shall begin with “USCoastGuard”
followed by a short and easily identifiable name, similar to
your page’s name. Districts shall use their regional title. For
example, the 1st District would choose
www.facebook.com/uscoastguardnortheast.
5. Save
 Commands shall friend/favorite other official FB pages in their chain

of command and within DHS.
 Think about the audience and post things that will interest and engage
them.
 Link to locally relevant regional or national SAR cases, news stories,
blog posts, press releases or web sites about unit/mission.
 Post current/upcoming events or safety/security zones, interesting
facts, historical moments, safe boating tips, news about CG personnel,
auxiliary safe boating courses in your area, and other items of interest
on the wall.
 Make sure to monitor comments and engage when appropriate.
 Make sure to carefully consider copyright issues and intellectual
property rights when using other sources of information.
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Section II: DOD Live Wordpress Blog
Authority In collaboration with units in their area of responsibility, each area and
district public affairs staff will have the option of owning and managing a
blog on the dodlive.mil domain. Commandant CG-0922 will establish and
administer the blog on behalf of Defense Media Activity. District or area
users will be added as needed to add content and monitor the blog.
The DOD Live blogs are the only authorized blogging tool unless a waiver
is granted by CG-0922 and DHS.
changes.
Training All designated DODLive.mil blog users must complete an online training
course at http://pwtraining.dma.mil. A certificate of completion shall be
provided to the servicing public affairs office.
All Coast Guard personnel who post on official social media sites must
affairs office. Commands must provide their servicing public affairs
office a letter designating their social media spokesperson and authorizing
them to conduct official unit communications. Strong passwords shall be
implemented to access all official social media sites. A strong password
consists of at least six characters including a combination of upper and
lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
Start a Post First, sign in to the blog using your unique logon page following this URL
structure – http://blank.coastguard.dodlive.mil/wp-admin (e.g.
http://northeast.coastguard.dodlive.mil/wp-admin). Once logged in, follow
these steps to begin a blog post.
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Section II: DOD Live Wordpress Blog (cont.)
Start a Post 1. Select “Add New” to begin a new post.

(cont.)
2. Add a title, ideally seven words or less.
3. Add content. If you want to copy content from Word, paste into the
“HTML” tab to avoid coding errors. Links must be manually added
using the links button (see 7 below). To view the post as it will appear
when it is published, click on the “Visual” tab.
Feature style writing kept short and simple, usually between 400-600
words, works well for the web audience. Use your insider access to
take readers behind the scenes. Provide a perspective the public
wouldn’t normally receive from traditional media. Posts should follow
AP and Coast Guard Stylebook guidelines. Refer to chapter 11 of the
Public Affairs Manual for legal, security and release of information
considerations.
4. Add tags and select appropriate categories.
5. Add a featured image. This is the thumbnail image that appears on

the blog’s homepage. It is required for all blog posts and must be
100x100 pixels to work with our Wordpress theme. See “Adding
Images” below for more information.
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Start a Post 6. Add an excerpt. The default is the first paragraph of the post unless
(cont.) specific text is placed here.
7. Add links. Use links to lend credibility and sources for more
information. Try to use .gov, .mil, or other reputable sites (NOTE:
Links must be manually added using the link button).
8. Add images. Refer to “Add Images” below.
9. Save, preview or publish the post. Depending on administrative

privileges, these options may not be visible for all users. (NOTE: The
preview option only refreshes every 15 minutes).
10. Spell check. Before publishing, you can use this button to spell check
the post. (NOTE: Don’t forget to manually check spelling in your title,
name, formal titles, facts and figures).
After publishing the post, double check your blog to ensure it posted
correctly.
Add Images Photos are an essential element of a blog post. Imagery can help draw in
the reader and tell a story within the story.
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Add Images 1. Choose a file for upload. The file size cannot exceed 1MB. It is
(cont.) recommended that images be sized to 640x480 pixels, which is
optimized for web use. If you are setting the featured image (aka the
thumbnail), the image must be 100x100 pixels.
2. Select Upload.
3. Add a title. Section 508 requires all non-text elements to have a

textual equivalent. Each photo and graphic shall have an alternate
text coded into the element.
4. Add a caption. The caption shall be placed in both the “Caption” and
“Description” boxes to ensure Section 508 compliance. You can use
the CGVI cutline for your image or put in a new description that
better fits limited spacing available; however, always credit the
photographer. Caption and description are not needed for the
thumbnail (aka “featured image”).
5. Enter a link, if desired. The default is a new blog page.
6. Choose the alignment. Depending on the layout you desire for your
post, choose left, center or right.
7. Choose the desired size. Choose the appropriate size depending on

the layout you desire for your post. If you are setting the featured
image, you may choose the thumbnail (100x100) option; however,
you may prefer to manually crop the image to best fit the small size.
8. If you are setting the featured image, select “Use as featured

image.” This will automatically import the image as the thumbnail.
Click “Save all changes” to exit.
9. If you are adding an image to the post, select “Insert into post.” If
the image is not proportional once it is inserted it into the blog post,
click on the image in the draft, choose to edit it using the quick select
button on the image (1) and adjust the size (2). Select “Update” to
save changes (3).
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Embed Video While current Coast Guard policy DOES allow Coast Guard workstations
to go to YouTube and watch videos, it DOES NOT allow workstations to
view embedded YouTube video (it shows up as empty white space on
websites). Therefore, if you choose to embed video, carefully consider this
limitation. An alternative is to use an image and link to the video in the
“Link URL” box (as seen in item 5 of “Adding images” above).
To embed video on your blog post, follow these steps. (NOTE: This is the
only authorized method of embedding video that complies with privacy
laws and DHS policy and works with our Wordpress theme.)
1. In the “Visual” tab, select the icon that looks like a television set.
2. In the pop-up box, click on the “Portal video” tab.
3. In the “Select video portal” drop-down menu, select “YouTube

CG.”
4. Insert the video ID. The video ID is the series of letters and numbers
after the equal (=) sign in the YouTube URL. For example, in this
YouTube link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvodVIzqWwg -
the video ID would be “jvodVIzqWwg.”
5. Select “Insert.” The embedded video will appear in the blog post as
bracketed code, but the actual post will have the YouTube video.
(NOTE: The default and unchangeable size of the video is 560x340)
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Update a Post At times, it is necessary to update a post after it has been published to add
links, more information or correct mistakes. Commands shall strive to
ensure the information provided on the blog is completely accurate and
conveyed in the proper context.
Despite this commitment, mistakes may occur. When they do, they must
be corrected in a timely manner. Things like spelling and punctuation edits
can be made immediately. However, factual or contextual errors, to
include names, dates, or places, or adding additional information to the
post shall be flagged with the word “Update” at the top of the post
followed by a brief explanation of the changes and why they were made, if
appropriate (1).
Comment Comments shall be moderated before publishing to ensure compliance

Moderation with the official Coast Guard Comment Policy (posted in the “About Us”
tab on every blog).
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Comment Commands should engage when appropriate to respond to questions and
Moderation concerns (1). Make sure to follow guidance in chapter 11 of the Public
(cont.) Affairs Manual when engaging. Comments that are clearly spam shall be
marked as “Spam.” Use the quick select buttons below each comment to
moderate or reply to comments (2).
For records management purposes, comments shall not be deleted (see

Records Management below). Good practice is to annotate, using
moderator’s initials, why the comment was not approved and then retain it
in the queue (3).
Since current policy does not provide a records schedule identifying what
social media content must be archived and for how long, CG-0922 worked
with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) to determine a records schedule.

retained permanently. Transfer content to NARA when five years
old. Format in accordance to existing NARA transfer guidance as

year.

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Records Because blogs are hosted on the dodlive.mil domain, DMA archives and
Management retains content and comments. Therefore, records are retained as long as
(cont.) the content and comments are not deleted from the system. Follow the
guidance on Comment Moderation above.
Blogging Tips  To establish readership and credibility, blog managers should post at
least twice a week. If content or ideas are lacking, a series on a
particular topic of interest to your audience can help to fill lulls (e.g.
environmental issues, green initiatives, history pieces, personnel
highlights and cross posts from the Coast Guard Compass).
 At times, a cross-link or cross-post of a locally relevant regional or

national SAR cases, news stories, blog posts, press releases or web site
is appropriate. Try not to favor any one news outlet and be careful of
inappropriate endorsements. It may be best to write a short
introduction and include a quote from leadership to provide a
command message, and then link to the story.
 Keep your target audience in mind and tailor your posts appropriately.
Tell stories about the missions and the people at your unit in a way that
will engage your audience. Use your insider access to tell a behind the
scenes story that the public normally wouldn’t receive.
 While the blog should never be used as an RSS feed of Coast Guard
news releases or photos, it can be used as an outlet for these products
if they are re-purposed in a suitable way (e.g. feature style story or
short summary with that behind the scenes point of view).
 Make sure to carefully consider copyright issues and intellectual

property rights when using other sources of information.
 After publication of a post, send the link to those who may have an
interest in reading, sharing or cross linking the post (i.e. unit
leadership, subjects, contributors, HQ social media).
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Section III: Official Twitter Account
Authority In collaboration with units in their area of responsibility, each area and
district public affairs staff will have the option of managing a Twitter
account. Official Coast Guard Twitter accounts shall begin with “USCG”
followed by the appropriate district regional title. For example, the First
District would choose www.twitter.com/USCGNortheast.
changes.
The following guidelines will help you set up your Twitter account in a
manner consistent with Coast Guard branding and to meet policy
requirements.
Training All Coast Guard personnel who post on official social media sites must
affairs office. Commands must provide their servicing public affairs office
a letter designating their social media spokesperson and authorizing them
to conduct official unit communications. Strong passwords shall be
implemented to access all official social media sites. A strong password
consists of at least six characters including a combination of upper and
lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
Twitter Posts Since access to Twitter from a Coast Guard workstation is currently
prohibited, commands must decide if they have the ability to properly
manage a Twitter account IAW chapter 11 of the Public Affairs Manual
before requesting an identity. Commands may use unit funds to acquire
and use “stand-alone” computer terminals and Internet connections outside
of the Coast Guard network to obtain greater access to the blocked site
(consult your servicing procurement office for assistance).
While administrators cannot access Twitter from a Coast Guard

workstation, they can make status updates and upload pictures (Twitpic)
from a stand-alone or mobile device. However, they must be careful of
operational security (OPSEC), proper authority to release information and
the ability to adequately monitor follow-on tweets. To set up mobile
access, select “Settings” for your Twitter account and then “Mobile.”
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Section III: Official Twitter Account (cont.)
Twitter Posts Any member who self-publishes online is personally accountable for
(cont.) everything they post. Personnel bear a responsibility for ensuring
information disclosed (including personal comments) is accurate and
appropriate. Coast Guard members may be held accountable for violations
of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for content posted online.
Commands shall engage with their followers when appropriate to answer

questions, correct misinformation and generate dialogue. While AP style
is not essential due to character limitations, good grammar and avoiding
anomalous acronyms and shorthand is advised.
Twitter Basics Commands shall set up their official Twitter account for consistent
branding and to ensure sites provide proper disclaimers. To start a new
Twitter account, go to www.Twitter.com and choose “Sign Up.”
1. Account name. All official Twitter accounts shall start with “USCG”
and then have your unit name. District accounts shall use the same
regional title as their blog (e.g. District One would use
USCGNortheast). The maximum number of characters for a Twitter
username is 15. Commands shall not use acronyms unless absolutely
necessary.
2. Set a profile picture. The selected image should be easily

recognizable, appropriate for the command, and include the word
“Official.” The standard size Twitter uses for this graphic is 73x73
pixels.
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Twitter Basics 3. Set the background. Every official Coast Guard Twitter account will
(cont.) have a background image with the proper disclaimers and a link to the
www.uscg.mil homepage. This background image is explained in
more detail under “Editing your Twitter Profile” below.
4. URL shortener. Due to privacy policy and security concerns, we

have identified two authorized URL shorteners. Preference is to use
Google URL shortener (http://goo.gl/) and our backup is Tweetburner
(www.tweetburner.com).
Edit your Editing your profile (also called “Settings”) is the first thing every Twitter
Twitter Profile manager should do. You must include the following under each Setting
tab:
1. Account tab shall have an official contact e-mail address and Tweets
shall NOT be protected.
2. Profile tab bio entry shall state “An official USCG Twitter account.”
3. The Design tab background image shall set to the standard Coast
Guard theme. Contact CG-0922 at socialmedia@uscg.mil to obtain the
graphic file for upload.
4. Design tab design colors shall be set to the following:

a. Background – white (ffffff)
b. Text – black (000000)
c. Links – blue (1d05fa)
d. Sidebar - white (ffffff)
e. Sidebar border - black (000000)
Records Content posted on social media sites in connection with the transaction of
Management public business may become a federal record and if so it is required to
maintain a copy per the appropriate records retention policies.
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Records 1. Original Public Affairs Content
Management a. Original public affairs content posted on social media sites shall be
(cont.) retained permanently and transfer to NARA when five years old.
Format in accordance to existing NARA transfer guidance as

IAW this records schedule, CG-0922 identified a free online tool,

www.backupify.com, to archive content and comments on official
Twitter sites. This tool enables the archival of several social media sites
including both personal Facebook profiles as well as pages. Coast Guard
Twitter site managers shall establish a separate, non-personal Backupify
account and maintain the archived data of the official Twitter account.
Twitter Tips  Tweet timely, hot-off-the-press information in the moment.

 Tweet about locally relevant regional or national SAR cases, news
stories, blog posts, press releases or web sites.
 Re-tweet and reply as appropriate to mentions using the @.
 Twitter site managers should use suitable hashtags to help with search
engine optimization and Twitter searches.
 Tweet a picture of the day, safe boating tips, things to know, area
familiarization information, unit stats, area safe boating courses, Coast
Guard tidbits, historical data, etc.
 Consider using Twitpic (http://twitpic.com/) to share imagery.
 Feature a “Did you know” series.
 Try not to have Twitter solely rely on a news release feed as this will
not necessarily engage your audience. Individually tweet this
information and add a personal touch.
 Create a hashtags (#) to help people track your posts. As an example,
search #uscg on http://search.twitter.com/.
 Use Twitter services like www.tweetdeck.com or www.hootsuite.com
to easily manage your Twitter presence.
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Section IV: YouTube Videos
Authority In collaboration with units in their area of responsibility, each district

public affairs staff will have the option of managing a YouTube playlist on
the Coast Guard’s official YouTube channel
(www.youtube.com/uscgimagery). Units shall not establish a unique
YouTube channel and shall work with their servicing public affairs offices
to add video to the Coast Guard’s official YouTube channel.
Due to records management requirements and DHS policy, all imagery

posted on third-party online multimedia sites must also be uploaded to the
Coast Guard Visual Information Gallery (http://cgvi.uscg.mil) within a
reasonable amount of time.
The following guidelines will help you upload videos to your specific
playlist for consistent branding and to meet policy requirements.
Upload a new This is a job aid to help you upload a video for streaming on the Coast
video Guard’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/uscgimagery). First, sign
in to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com. Click “sign in” and type the
username and password. (NOTE: Authorized users will share a username
and password for this YouTube channel. Users must practice careful and
meticulous uploading of content to ensure it is properly added IAW these
guidelines. Do not share the username and password with anyone not on
the CG-0922 managed access list.)
While at the YouTube homepage click “USCGImagery” and “My

Channel” in the upper right hand corner.
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Section IV: YouTube Videos (cont.)
Upload a new
video (cont.)
1. Select Upload.
2. Select Upload video.
3. Video privacy settings.

This is the first step after
selecting “upload video”
to prevent the video
from being publicly
viewed until all the
information is properly
added. This allows you
to upload the video and
make modifications
without it going public.
4. Video title. Add a

simple, short but catchy
title. Leave out the file
type (.wmv, .mov, .flv)
and numbers typically
assigned to CGVI
uploads.
5. Description. You can

use the CGVI cutline for
your video or put in a
new description
recounting the video.
Always credit the
videographer.
6. Tags. Add key words to help your video be searched online.
7. Category. For all Coast Guard videos this will be “News and
Politics.”
8. Add to series playlist. You must select your appropriate district

playlist.
24
Upload a new 9. Save Changes. You are now done inputting the basic video
video (cont.) information.
10. Uploaded. When the video is properly uploaded, it will create a

shaded green box at the top of the screen along with the YouTube link
to your video.
(NOTE: Every video must be immediately set to moderate comments. The

default is “Allow comments automatically,” which does not comply with
the Official Coast Guard Comment Policy. Every video must be manually
changed to “Allow comments with approval only.”(See 5 below under
“Edit video information”).
Edit video Once a video is uploaded you may need to make changes, set the privacy
information settings from “private” to “public,” or add captions IAW Section 508
requirements (see “Closed caption videos” below).
Click on “USCGImagery” in the upper right corner of the YouTube

homepage and then “My Videos.” This lists all videos that have been
uploaded. You can watch, delete and edit and caption the video from here.
To make more detailed edits, click “edit.” (NOTE: If a video has been
uploaded as “private” it will still say “Live!” This does not mean it is
viewable to the public.)
1. Video information. Make

edits to the information you
previously entered.
2. Video thumbnail. Change the

default thumbnail for the
video. To upload your own
thumbnail, click “upload
thumbnail.” Image should be
120x90 pixels with a
maximum file size of 256K.
25
Edit video 3. Broadcasting and sharing options. Change the video setting from
information “private” to “public” if desired.
(cont.)
4. Comments. The setting shall be set to “Allow all comments with
approval only.” This must be changed for every video every time.
Comment Because comment moderation settings are set to approval required for
moderation every video, comments made on “Channel Comments” and for each video
will be moderated by CG-0922 in accordance with our commenting
policy. If there are comments that raise questions regarding district units,
personnel or missions they may be forwarded to that district for response.
Closed caption C
Google provides an easy to use application called CaptionTube for closed
videos lcaptioning YouTube videos IAW Section 508 requirements. This is a
requirement for all videos with audio overlays that are uploaded to
C
YouTube (i.e. speeches, audio interview with b-roll video). This is not
lrequired for background audio that may be captured on b-roll alone.
o
s
Before you can build captions for a YouTube video, it must already be
e
uploaded on into your YouTube channel as outlined above. Once it is
d
uploaded, navigate to http://captiontube.appspot.com (1) and logon using
any Google Account (2).
C
a
p
t
i
o
n
i
n
gOnce logged on, select a “Personal Video” from your YouTube channel
(1), select the video you want to caption (2), click on “Import” (3) and
then select “Edit” on the video to add captions (4).
Y
o
u
T
u
b
e
v
i
d
e
o 26
s
s
e
Closed caption To add captions, on the next screen click “Add Caption” to mark the
videos (cont.) caption start time (1).
Click to play the video (2). As the video plays, type what is being said in
the Caption Text box (3). Try to limit the caption to two or three lines of
text (ideally a duration of between six and 10 seconds) (4). Double check
spelling, punctuation and grammar before clicking “Save Caption” (5).
Repeat these steps until you have captioned the entire video. To edit a
caption after it has been saved, use the timeline at the bottom of this
screen to select the caption and edit it (6).
27
Closed caption Use the “Preview” tab to review your work (2). Return to the “Timeline”
videos (cont.) (2) view to “Publish” your captions (3).
Select “Publish on YouTube” (1) and choose “Add as a new track” (2).
Then select “Publish” (3). This will automatically put the closed captions
into the YouTube video file.
As with all good practice, you should go back to your “My Videos” list
and play the video using closed captions to ensure the video is
properly saved.
28
Records 1. Original Public Affairs Content
Management a. Original public affairs content posted on social media sites shall be
(cont.) retained permanently and transfer to NARA when five years old.

year.

IAW this records schedule, whenever a comment is made on YouTube,

regardless if it is approved or not, it is kept in CG-0922 social media
Gmail inbox where it will be archived by Backupify
(www.backupify.com) and managed by CG-0922.
29
Section V: Flickr Photos
Authority In collaboration with units in their area of responsibility, each district

public affairs staff will have the option of managing a Flickr photo
collection on the Coast Guard’s official Flickr site
(www.flickr.com/coast_guard). Units shall not establish a unique Flickr
site and shall work with their servicing public affairs offices to add
imagery to the Coast Guard’s official Flickr site.
Due to records management requirements and DHS policy, all imagery

posted to third-party online multimedia sites must also be uploaded to the
Coast Guard Visual Information Gallery (http://cgvi.uscg.mil) within a
reasonable amount of time.
The following guidelines will help you upload photo sets to your
command’s collection for consistent branding and to meet policy
requirements.
Upload a photo This is a job aid to help you upload a photo on the Coast Guard’s Flickr
account. First, sign in to Flickr at http://www.flickr.com. Click “sign in”
and type the Yahoo! ID and password. (NOTE: Authorized users will
share a username and password for this Flickr site. Users must practice
careful and meticulous uploading of content to ensure it is properly added
IAW these guidelines. Do not share the username and password with
anyone not on the CG-0922 managed access list.)
30
Section V: Flickr Photos (cont.)
Upload a photo Click “upload” in the upper right of the homepage.
(cont.)
1. Choose photos and
videos. Select the photo
you are uploading and
click “open.”
2. Privacy. Under set

privacy click “public.”
3. Upload photos and

videos. The photo will
upload and there will be
a green banner that
appears saying
“Finished!”
4. Click on “add a
description.” Add a
title, description and
tags.
5. Add a title. Add a

simple, short but catchy
title. Leave out the file type (.wmv, .mov, .flv) and numbers typically
assigned to CGVI uploads.
6. Add a description. You can use

the CGVI cutline for your video or
put in a new description
recounting the video. Always
credit the videographer
7. Add tags. To use tags for more

than one word (e.g. Coast Guard),
type the word in quotes (e.g.
“Coast Guard”). Be sure to include the mission area as a tag. Select
save. You can also add more tags once the photo is saved by clicking
on the photo and clicking “add a tag.”
31
Moving photo Your photo is now in the Coast Guard’s official photo stream. Photos can
into a set now be added to sets. These sets will be based on missions or events that
happen in your district. To start, click on the individual photo in the photo
stream.
1. Click “Add to a set.” There are two ways to add the photo to a set. A
and B (on the image above). Right now we will discuss option A.
2. Create a new set. For this example, we create a new set. If you are
uploading a photo to a set that already exists, just click on the desired
set in the sets list.
3. Title the set. This will be the name of the mission or particular event.
4. Describe the set. This will be a short synopsis of what the mission
was or the details of the particular event.
5. Create set.
32
Moving photo 6. Click on your new set. You will know be directed back to the sets
into a set (cont.) lists and you can click on your new set. A green check mark will
appear once it is added to the right of the set’s name to acknowledge it
was successful and will then disappear.
7. Select “done.”
Another way to add your photo to a set is by going into “organize &
create” on the homepage (option B). You will be directed to the organize
& create homepage which defaults to “batch organize.”
1. Click on sets &
collections.
Underneath that tab
will appear “create
a new collection or
set.” Click on the
word “set.”
2. Title the set. This

will be the name of
the mission or
particular event.
3. Describe the set.

This will be a short
synopsis of what the
mission was or the
details of the
particular event.
4. Drag photos into

stream. The bottom
photos are all photos
uploaded to your
photostream. To add
them to a set, click on the photo and drag it into the grey shaded area.
The photos will now appear in your set.
5. Drag a photo for the set’s album cover. By clicking on any photo in
your set, and dragging it over to the upper left image, it will replace
the photo that is currently the set’s album cover.
33
Moving photos Your photo is now in the Coast Guard’s official photo stream and each
into a collection photo is in its set. Photos can now be added to a collection that will
represent each district. You can add the photo to the collection by staying
in the “organize & batch” tab.
1. Drag a set to a
collection. By clicking
on your set (or multiple
sets), and dragging it
over to the left side
where there is a list of
collections, your set will
be added to your
respective collection.
Your photos are now uploaded, in a set and in your respective collection.
To view your photo in the collection go to the Flickr homepage.
2. Click on collections. You will now be directed to a new page with

your respective collection that will include sets you have uploaded.
Deleting a The best way to delete a photo, and ensure that you are not deleting any
photo sets or collections, is to delete the individual photo. Keep in mind that all
deletions, whether it be a set or a photo is permanent.
1. Click on actions.
2. Click on delete photo.

You will get a warning
that this will be
permanent. Click “ok.”
34

retained permanently and transfer to NARA when five years old.

year.

IAW this records schedule, whenever a comment is made on Flickr,

regardless if it is approved or not, it is kept in CG-0922 social media
Gmail inbox where it will be archived by Backupify
(www.backupify.com) and managed by CG-0922.
35

Field Guide Draft 2 - USCG - DTD 28 Jan 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section I: Official Facebook page ................................................................................. 2

Section II: DOD Live Wordpress Blog ......................................................................... 11

Section III: Official Twitter Account ............................................................................. 19

Section IV: YouTube Videos ....................................................................................... 23

Section V: Flickr Photos .............................................................................................. 30

Commands must provide their servicing public affairs office a letter

Strong passwords shall be implemented to access all official social media

Access to Since access to Facebook from a Coast Guard workstation is currently

To set up mobile access, go to “Edit Page” on your page and then

Creating a To create a new Facebook page, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/

1. Select “Brand, product, or organization.” In the drop down menu,

a. First District would use “U.S. Coast Guard Northeast.”

b. Sectors should use “U.S. Coast Guard Sector <name>.”

c. Air Stations should use “U.S. Coast Guard AirSta <name>.”

f. Aids to Navigation Teams should use “U.S. Coast Guard ANT

g. Small boat stations should use “U.S. Coast Guard Station

4. Select “Create Official Page.”

Additionally, any photo or video that depicts Coast Guard operations

Any member or employee who self-publishes online is personally

Commands may consider using their servicing public affairs office or

To maintain editorial integrity, commands shall manage posting ability

8. View insights. Insights allow page administrators the ability to gather

1. Original Public Affairs Content

2. General Comments. Comments that do not affect or require any

3. Deleted Comments. Comments that do not follow Public Affairs

4. Information Request Files. Requests for information and copies of

 Commands shall friend/favorite other official FB pages in their chain

Start a Post 1. Select “Add New” to begin a new post.

4. Add tags and select appropriate categories.

5. Add a featured image. This is the thumbnail image that appears on

8. Add images. Refer to “Add Images” below.

9. Save, preview or publish the post. Depending on administrative

3. Add a title. Section 508 requires all non-text elements to have a

5. Enter a link, if desired. The default is a new blog page.

7. Choose the desired size. Choose the appropriate size depending on

8. If you are setting the featured image, select “Use as featured

2. In the pop-up box, click on the “Portal video” tab.

3. In the “Select video portal” drop-down menu, select “YouTube

Comment Comments shall be moderated before publishing to ensure compliance

For records management purposes, comments shall not be deleted (see

1. Original Public Affairs Content

2. General Comments. Comments that do not affect or require any

3. Information Request Files. Requests for information and copies of

 At times, a cross-link or cross-post of a locally relevant regional or

 Make sure to carefully consider copyright issues and intellectual

While administrators cannot access Twitter from a Coast Guard

Commands shall engage with their followers when appropriate to answer

2. Set a profile picture. The selected image should be easily

4. URL shortener. Due to privacy policy and security concerns, we

4. Design tab design colors shall be set to the following:

2. Information Request Files. Requests for information and copies of

IAW this records schedule, CG-0922 identified a free online tool,

Twitter Tips  Tweet timely, hot-off-the-press information in the moment.

Authority In collaboration with units in their area of responsibility, each district

Due to records management requirements and DHS policy, all imagery

While at the YouTube homepage click “USCGImagery” and “My

2. Select Upload video.

3. Video privacy settings.

4. Video title. Add a

5. Description. You can

6. Tags. Add key words to help your video be searched online.