AMA Houston Blogging Guidelines
These guidelines relate to the publication of content on the AMA Houston Blog by Board Members of the American Marketing Association – Houston Chapter, related Blogging Volunteers and Guest Bloggers.
AMA Houston Members are free to submit content for submission to the blog, provided it adheres to the guidelines below. AMA Houston has the right to refuse submissions for various reasons, but we will notify you if that is the case. Additionally, if we need to edit your submission for content or length, we will notify you in advance and allow you to make your own edits based on our guidelines. If you are not a registered AMA Houston Blog author, a member of the Blogging Committee will post your article for you, and will include your authorship credit within the post itself.
We are currently seeking content experts from the AMA Member community (you must be a member to submit content), so if you have expertise in the following areas, we would love to hear from you for potential content.
- Oct: Effective Email Marketing
- Nov: Marketing for Social Good
- Dec: SEO/SEM/Content Marketing
- Jan: Marketing Trends
- Feb: Mobile Marketing
- Mar: Marketing Diversity/Multicultural Marketing
- Apr: Marketing in/to the Oil Field (Energy sector)
- May: Video Marketing
- June: Internal Marketing
- July: Marketing/Communications Planning
- Aug: Budgets, ROI
Be Honest
Do not blog anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. We believe in transparency and honesty. Use your real name, be clear who you are, and identify that you are posting for AMA Houston. Nothing gains you notice in social media more than honesty – or dishonesty. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue, or misleading. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out. But also be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and also be cautious about disclosing personal details.
Respect copyright laws
It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others, including AMA Houston’s own copyrights and brands. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else’s work, and always attribute such work to the original author/source. It is good general practice to link to others’ work rather than reproduce it.
Respect your audience, AMA Houston, and your fellow Volunteers
The public in general, and AMA Houston’s Board Members and customers, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory – such as politics and religion. Use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of AMA Houston.
Be the first to respond to your own mistakes
If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses you of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a defamatory comment about them), deal with it quickly – better to remove it immediately to lessen the possibility of a legal action.
Quality matters. Use a spell-checker.
The speed of being able to publish your thoughts is both a great feature and a great downfall of social media. The time to edit or reflect must be self-imposed. If in doubt over a post, or if something does not feel right, either let it sit and look at it again before publishing it, or ask someone else to look at it first.
For any questions, please contact
AMA Houston Social Media Chair Jen Uschold or VP of Marketing Communications Robin Tooms
