Flintshire Council embraces social media with new Facebook pages

Flintshire Council will have corporate Facebook pages in the New Year after councillors voted in favour of the plans.

There will be two pages, one for English and one for the Welsh Language, launched and managed by the Customer Service & Communications Team.

During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (December 19), councillors heard how there have been service-specific Facebook pages, but never a corporate account for the council.

During the meeting, Cllr Chris Bithell (Lab) said that it would be a “great tool” but asked if there was “any downside” to the proposals, mentioning online abuse. He asked if there were “any safeguards for members” against abuse online.

The Cabinet heard that the pages will be moderated and comments can be responded to, and if abusive, can be removed.

Another benefit of the pages is that it would be the correct channel to use on Facebook, with the council aware of unofficial groups.

Cabinet supported the introduction of a corporate Facebook account to help achieve priorities outlined in the Council Plan and Digital Strategy.

Councillors also supported a recommendation to “champion” the introduction of a corporate Facebook account and use the platform to share messages with customers.

By Emily Ash – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).