Social Media Guidelines and Best Practices January 2016

Transcription

1 Social Media Guidelines and Best Practices January 2016 Social media has changed the way the world communicates. As an institution of higher education, Youngstown State University embraces new technologies in social media to connect to students, employees, alumni, prospects and friends. Youngstown State University supports the participation of colleges, departments and other units on campus within social media communities. This handbook provides guidance on how to engage in social media platforms effectively and within university standards. These guidelines and best practices are updated by the YSU Office of Marketing & Communications as social media evolves.

2 Table of Contents What Is Social Media?...3 How Youngstown State University Uses Social Media...3 Creating Your YSU Social Media Site...4 Branding...6 Best Practices for Official Sites...7 Best Practices for Student Organizations...9 Best Practices for YSU Athletics..10 Crisis Communication Procedure...11 Make Your Content Accessible.12 Tips for an Effective Social Presence...13 Contacts

3 What Is Social Media? Social media refers to websites, applications and platforms used for online communication and interaction. These sites allow individuals to create and publish content, which others can then view, comment on or share with other online networks. Popular social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Snapchat. How Youngstown State University Uses Social Media The goal of official Youngstown State University social media sites is to: 1. Engage audiences students, alumni, prospective students, employees, the Youngstown community, friends in online conversations. 2. Communicate the news and culture of the university with online audiences. 3. Uphold the university s brand. The Office of Marketing Communications maintains a social media presence on behalf of the entire university via several platforms, including: Facebook: facebook.com/youngstownstate Twitter: twitter.com/youngstownstate YouTube: youtube.com/youngstownstate Instagram: instagram.com/youngstownstate LinkedIn: linkedin.com/edu/school?id=19158&trk=tyah&trkinfo=tas%3ayoungstown Google+: plus.google.com/+youngstownstateuniversity Snapchat: youngstownstate There are several other official YSU social media sites that are maintained by separate colleges, departments, offices and units on campus. See for a full list of official university sites. 3

4 Creating Your YSU Social Media Site Follow the steps below to be considered an official social media site of Youngstown State University. Note: Official university sites exclude student organization sites and employee sites; however, the best practices and general tips found in this guide can be useful for these affiliated sites as well. 1. Understand your platform. Social media comes with its own language. Before jumping in, take the time to research the channel you re interested in using. Get to know the norms, the unspoken etiquette and the how- tos in setting up and maintaining an account. 2. Define your goals and strategy. Write down your goals, including who your target audience is, what your message will be and how you will communicate this message on a daily basis. Create a content plan for the types of posts you will make in the first weeks or months after the site is launched and a list of responsibilities for those in charge. 3. Secure approval. Complete a social media application form, found online at web.ysu.edu/smapply. You will need to designate an administrator of your social media site on the application; any changes to this position should be promptly communicated to the Office of Marketing & Communications. Administrators must adhere to all university policies relevant to participating in an online environment when maintaining the social media site. 4. Create it. Now you can create your account on your chosen platform. Most sites will provide step- by- step instructions for you as you go through the process. While setting up your site, keep in mind YSU naming and branding conventions and profile photo/logo suggestions (see following section on branding for details). 5. Market it. Be aggressive in letting people know that your new page exists. Make sure all fellow colleagues or members of your group follow the page and share its posts. potential followers to let them know your group has a new page; include a link to it and a request for a follow. Include a link to your page in your signature. Connect your social site to your YSU web page. Include social media icons on any print materials so that others know where they can find you online. 4

5 Follow other YSU sites. This will make them aware of your page and encourage a friendly follow back. Interact with your fans to keep them connected to you. Social media advertising is always an option but requires a budget. 6. Maintain it. Stick to your content plan and keep posting even if you think no one is listening. Your fan base will grow, but it takes time. Keeping your page s information accurate, your photos fresh, and your posts updated will show visitors that you have an active, valuable page. If at any time you are unable to maintain your site, please delete it and notify Marketing & Communications rather than keep it abandoned. 5

6 Branding Branding is essential in conveying an overall uniform and credible university presence on social media. YSU naming conventions. It is recommended by the Office of Marketing & Communications that you clearly and concisely identify your department, college or YSU organization when naming your Facebook page, Twitter account or other social site. Include Youngstown State University before your unit name. In cases where the full institutional name will not fit or seems unreasonably long, opt for using YSU instead. If you use only the acronym in the title, include the full university name in another section of your site. Include in your site s description that you are the official page/account/channel/etc. of your YSU unit for example, The official Facebook page of the Department of Communications at Youngstown State University should be included in the About section of that Facebook page. YSU Logos and Wordmarks. Make sure all profile photos or icons for your social media pages are being used consistently within the university s Graphic Identity Standards, are fully visible on your page, do not appear distorted or pixelated, meet the size requirements of your social media platform and are relevant to the university unit you are representing. The Office of Marketing & Communications can provide assistance with graphics and logo design. Please see YSU s Graphic Identity Standards for full instructions on using the YSU trademark, mascot and other logos on your official YSU social media sites. Do not use the YSU logo, athletic logo or any other YSU marks or images on your personal online sites or to promote or endorse any product or cause. 6

7 Best Practices for Official Sites All YSU employees participating in social media should familiarize themselves with this set of best practices for guidance on how to use social forums effectively, safely and within university standards. Understand guiding principles of social media. The keys to success in social media are being honest about who you are, being thoughtful before you post and understanding the purpose behind your presence. Be transparent. Be honest about your identity. Clearly identify your unit as officially being a part of YSU. Keep all published content honest and accurate. Be respectful. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you are constructive and respectful while posting, discussing or responding to any conversation. Be a valued member. If you join a social network, make sure you are frequently contributing valuable insights to your audience that are relevant and true to the unit you are representing. Think before you post. There's no such thing as "delete" on a social network. Search engines can turn up posts years after the publication date. Comments can be forwarded or copied. Archival systems save information even if you delete a post. Be accurate. Have all the facts before you post. It's better to verify information with a source first than to have to post an edit or retraction later. Cite and link to your sources whenever possible. If you make an error, correct it quickly and visibly; this will earn you respect in the online community. Maintain confidentiality. Do not post confidential or proprietary information about YSU, its students, its alumni or your fellow employees. Use ethical judgment and follow university policies and federal requirements. Protect your identity. It is a good idea to create a separate address to be used only with your YSU social media sites. Monitor comments. Most people who maintain social media sites welcome comments it builds credibility and community. Allowing others to comment on your YSU site requires time to monitor new comments daily in order to respond in a timely manner, delete spam comments or ads, and block any individuals who repeatedly post offensive comments to maintain an open and safe community. 7

8 Post guidelines to commenting. YSU sites should ask all users to comply with a set of guidelines for commenting and use. Comments that violate these guidelines may be removed by the site administrator. YSU social sites should publish or refer to the following comment guidelines on their pages: The [page title] page is maintained by [your YSU unit] at Youngstown State University. We encourage visitors to join in discussions and share information about the university, but we reserve the right to delete any content we deem inappropriate, offensive or spam. Know how to properly respond to comments. Encourage positive comments with a response or a like. In general, it s recommended to avoid deleting critical comments when they are posted in an appropriate manner on your page. If the critical comment is inaccurate, respond politely with the correct information. If it s a comment that cannot be easily resolved, do not delete it even if you do not respond directly to it; in these cases, sometimes the community will resolve or respond to a difficult topic for you. You can also suggest taking the conversation to a private place (an or a private message). If the comment is inconsistent with YSU s comment guidelines (above), delete the comment. Serious and threatening comments should be reported to University Police; take and save a screen shot of the comment and let the Police advise you on when to delete it. Choose friends wisely. Consider carefully whom you will friend/follow as a YSU page to avoid creating the impression that the university endorses a particular individual, cause or business. In general, stick to following other YSU pages, Youngstown organizations and relevant industry pages. Respect university time and property. University computers and your work time are to be used for university- related business. You must maintain your personal sites on your own time using non- YSU computers. Don't use the YSU logo or make endorsements on personal sites. Do not use the YSU logo, athletic logo or any other YSU marks or images on your personal online sites. Do not use YSU's name to promote or endorse any product, cause or political party or candidate. For your YSU sites, please see YSU's Graphic Identity Standards and the Branding section in this guide for full policies on using the YSU trademark, mascot and other logos. 8

9 Best Practices for YSU Student Organizations Registered student organizations are recognized members of the YSU community, and their actions are a reflection of the mission and values of the university. Social media serves as a powerful tool for student organizations to communicate their purpose, grow membership and promote the events and activities of the organization. To best achieve these ends, organizations are encouraged to adopt the Social Media Best Practices outlined by the university in the previous section of this guide. In addition, and to best support positive and engaging use of social media by student organizations, the university will: 1. Provide social media training to student organization leaders at the annual Student Leadership Summit (August) and Student Leadership Retreat (January); 2. Collect web addresses for student organization social media sites as part of the annual student organization registration processes; 3. Maintain a connection to active student organization social media to support the promotion of organization membership and involvement. Student behavior is expected to be consistent with that outlined in The Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct. Any student violating these policies, through personal or student organization social media sites, shall be held accountable accordingly. 9

10 Best Practices for YSU Athletics If you are part of a YSU Athletics program and either have or wish to set up a social media site, please follow the best practices outlined in this guide and in the Student Athlete Handbook. In addition, contact the YSU sports information department for further compliance guidelines. For a full list of official YSU Athletics pages, visit 10

11 Crisis Communication Procedure If you are aware of an emergency situation on campus, contact the YSU Police first ( ), and then the Marketing and Communications office ( ). Do not post about the situation on social media until official messaging is released from the university. During an emergency situation on campus, the Youngstown State University Twitter account Youngstown State University Facebook page, YSU Police Twitter and Youngstown State University Police Facebook will post information regarding the crisis. If you control an official social media page of the university, look for these posts and update your own page by sharing or retweeting any of these four accounts. Do not try to craft your own message or retype the message on your own. Sharing the exact post from YSU's accounts or the Police's accounts will help ensure that a unified campus message is presented. Note that this plan does not apply to student organization accounts. In addition, during an emergency on campus, be sure to: Check to make sure that no content is scheduled to be posted on your YSU social media accounts until the end of the emergency. If content is scheduled, delete it. Refrain from posting to your YSU social media sites after sharing official messaging/posts. Refrain from engaging with followers during this time so that timelines do not get cluttered. This gives important updates more of a chance of being seen. If you receive private messages on your YSU accounts, reply by referring the individual to the main university sites or the YSU Police sites for information. 11

12 Make Your Content Accessible Youngstown State University is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to students, prospective students, employees, guests and visitors with disabilities. There are steps you can take to ensure your social media page is also more accessible for these individuals. All official university social media administrators should review the university s commitment to accessibility ( accessibility- compliance). Tips for making social media content more accessible include: Providing on your page additional ways to contact your department, such as a phone number or . Putting your main content first while keeping hashtags mentions near the end of your post to help screen reader users. Indicating if a tweet contains an image, video or audio link by using the prefix [PIC], [VIDEO] or [AUDIO] at the beginning of the content. Avoiding acronyms, abbreviations and text- messaging shortcuts. Ensuring proper HTML markup for blog headings, paragraphs and lists. There are also online tools available to help with accessibility issues in social media: EasyChirp Twitter keyboard shortcuts Facebook keyboard shortcuts Easy YouTube caption creator Google+ accessibility app for Hangouts AppleVis 12

13 Tips for an Effective Social Presence Keep it fresh. If you see that you re not getting responses from your followers, try switching up your strategy: Post at different times of the day than you normally do. Post more or less frequently. Post different types of content. Try pictures, videos, questions, articles, events, infographics, links, guest posts, memes, etc. Reevaluate your audience. Use analytics tools to evaluate your audience demographics. Consider whether the types of content you re posting are truly relevant to this audience. Reevaluate your channels. Maybe there is a better way to reach your audience. Consider all channels and think about which makes the most sense for the type of content you are able to produce. Most importantly, don t take on more than you can handle. It s better to have one stellar Facebook page than 20 mediocre social sites. Measure for results. To evaluate post activity and interaction with a community, make use of analytics and tracking tools. Facebook has built- in analytics for pages. Use a link tracking service such as bit.ly when posting articles or links to your website. Try the free social media management tool HootSuite for managing more than one channel or to schedule your posts. These tools can help to refine your strategy and better understand you audience s preferences and behaviors. Analyze and adjust. Collecting data on your social sites is only the first step of the process. The second step is taking the time to analyze it, detect trends and compare to past results. The last step is to make changes based on this analysis. Tell us about it! Marketing & Communications official sites have a broad audience. Let us know about your upcoming big events, promotions, news and more so that we can help expand your reach by sharing on our channels and linking to your site. Helpful Resources Twitter Help Center: support.twitter.com Facebook Help Center: facebook.com/help Creating a Facebook Page: facebook.com/help/ / YouTube Help: support.google.com/youtube About WordPress: wordpress.com/features Instagram Help Center: help.instagram.com LinkedIn Help Center: help.linkedin.com 13

14 Contacts for YSU Social Media Assistance Andrea Tharp Assistant Editor, New and Social Media YSU Office of Marketing Communications John Vogel Assistant Sports Information Director YSU Athletics Erin Driscoll Director of Student Activities YSU Office of Student Activities