Social Media Policy Report Assignment 2

EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 2013 | LAST EDITED MAY 2018

Guidelines and resources for CMU’s colleges and departments SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

How To Use These Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Do You Need a Social Media Channel? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Social Media Channel Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Social Media Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Basic Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Quick Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Facebook Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Twitter Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Instagram Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TABLE OF CONTENTS

B

OVERVIEW

Social media enables us to share information important to our students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, donors and fans. It is a key platform to engage, educate and entertain these audiences.

CMU’s colleges, departments and service units contemplating or already using their own official social media channels should follow the CMU Social Media Guidelines, which will:

Help you through the process of setting up a social media channel. Guide you in registering an existing social media

channel. Specify general guidelines for social media channel use and administration. Provide resources to improve the effectiveness of your social media channels.

The intent of these guidelines is not to control, but to ensure the social media channels representing CMU uphold the university’s brand standards and do as much as possible to support your marketing and communications efforts. University Communications also will help you assess and determine the best

social media channel(s) and strategies for your goals.

In addition to creating a communication path between University Communications’ social media team and your college, department or service unit, registering your channel will allow it to be added to the university’s official social media listings. It also allows us to communicate across campus about important social media issues and makes you a part of CMU’s social media team.

HOW TO USE THESE GUIDELINES If you want to start a new social media channel related to CMU, check out the getting started section (p. 3) to learn about the setup and approval process.

If you have an existing social media channel, register it (p. 3) with University Communications and check out the general guidelines (p. 4) and resources (p. 12) sections for best practices, photos and more.

QUESTIONS? We’re happy to support your efforts!

Emily Stulz Assistant Director of Social Media & Communications University Communications 989.774.7332 [email protected] Erick Fredendall Social Media & Content Manager University Communications 989.774.7110 [email protected]

CMU's Social Media Guidelines were developed based on review of guides and policies used by universities such as Princeton University, University of Houston, Tufts University and University of Delaware.

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NEED A SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL? ST

A R

T

YES NO

Does your college, department or service unit already have its own social media channel?

Do you have enough content to post daily on a social media channel of your own, year-round?

Is this offered at least six months out of the year?

Do you want to start this page for your:

PROGRAM, EVENT OR CAMP

COLLEGE, DEPARTMENT, UNIT, MAJOR OR MINOR

Regularly posting high- quality content is key to social media success. If you don’t have enough content to post to your own social media channel, work with University Communications to leverage the existing audiences on CMU’s official social media channels. Email important news, activities, photos and other announcements to [email protected].

Would your audience benefit from or be interested in the specialized content you would offer?

Do you have the staffing to create content and monitor the page daily?

YES NO

YES

YES NO

YES NO

Would it make sense to work with your college or unit, allowing you to reach an audience already established on their existing social media channel?

YES NO

You might be able to reach a larger audience by working with an existing social media channel. Consider collaborating with an existing social media channel created by your college, department or service unit. You also could work with University Communications to leverage the existing audiences on the official CMU social media channels.

It sounds like you might need your own social media channel. Read over the CMU Social Media Guidelines and start the application process if you would like to start a Facebook page, Twitter profile or other social media channel.

Each social media channel, such as a Facebook page or Twitter profile, requires a commitment of resources. From developing engaging content to daily monitoring, a social media channel will require time, staffing and creativity. Use this quiz to see if a social media channel might be right for your college, department or service unit.

NO

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GETTING STARTED

Because the social media channel you create will represent both CMU and your college, department or service unit, it’s important to secure buy-in and agreement from:

• The communications coordinator of your college, department or service unit. • The dean or senior leader of your college, department or service unit. • University Communications.

If you want to start a new social media channel: You must contact University Communications before you create a new Facebook page, Twitter profile, Instagram account or any other social media channel. To begin the process, email socialmedia@cmich. edu. You should receive a response from University Communications within one week to discuss the new channel.

Social media channels not created through this official process may be amended or removed. Any social media channels representing CMU’s colleges, departments, programs, camps, events, etc., must go through this official process.

If you already have a social media channel: All social media channels need to be registered with University Communications. In addition to creating a communication path between University Communications’ social media team and you, registering your channel will allow it to be added to the university’s official social media listing. Accounts may be removed from the public listing should they become inactive for a period of six months or more and if they are not adhering to CMU’s official social media guidelines as determined by University Communications. To register your channel, email [email protected].

It is important to contact University Communications BEFORE creating a new account on any social media channel.

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GENERAL GUIDELINES

PHOTOS TIPS • Exercise proper judgment and discretion in

determining what photos to share on your account.

• Seek permission in instances where a person would have some expectation of privacy.

• Typically, you may use photos from public events, but you should take special care when dealing with images of special populations, such as children under 18, health care patients, research subjects, etc.

• Do not use any photos, images or other content you do not have authorization to use. This includes, but is not limited to, securing necessary model releases, copyright licenses or other permission documents.

• Don't post photos of students wearing other school's shirts, hats, etc.

• If you do not have the necessary permission, you may link to the content but may not embed or otherwise import it onto your channel.

For use of CMU photographs, contact University Communications at [email protected] or 989-774-3197. You also can request and use photos from the CMU PhotoStore.

UNIVERSITY MARKS Use of university marks, such as logos and graphics, must comply with CMU’s Trademark Licensing policies and brand standards. You may not use the action C or the stamp image without prior approval from University Communications. For assistance, contact Amy Gouin, design director, at [email protected] or 989-774-1791.

MANAGEMENT If you choose to have a social media channel for your college, department or service unit, it needs to be monitored and updated on an ongoing basis. It’s important to post dynamic, engaging content and to answer questions posted by users in a timely manner.

Ideally, original content should be posted at least once a day on a channel such as Facebook or Twitter. It’s also imperative to monitor the channel at least once a day for questions, inappropriate content and interaction opportunities.

BRAND GUIDELINES You should use an icon or image that accurately represents your college, department or service unit and is unique to you to minimize confusion. You may not use the icon used by the official Central Michigan University social media channels.

When creating these icons and images, make sure you adhere to the Brand Identity Standards. It is important to maintain brand standards across all affiliated accounts.

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SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL ADMINISTRATION

Every university social media channel must have a designated social media manager who is a CMU faculty or staff member. Students and graduate assistants cannot be designated as social media managers because their presence in a given college, department or service unit is fleeting. Faculty and staff also have a greater understanding of the university, its policies and procedures, the law, etc. Graduate assistants and students may have administrative access if they help manage, monitor or create content for the channel.

The social media manager is responsible for:

Monitoring the social media channel. Managing social media content. Maintaining compliance with laws, regulations, policies and the CMU Social Media Guidelines. Overseeing others who help manage the channel (content creators, student interns, etc.).

ACCOUNT SECURITY The social media manager also must maintain the security of his/her personal social media accounts. For example, if your personal Facebook profile is hacked, any Facebook pages you manage could become compromised. This “hacker” could post unauthorized content on your CMU Facebook page or could even remove your administrative privileges.

If you discover your account has been hacked, immediately change your password, scan your computer for viruses and disable any questionable third-party apps.

You can find “Apps” on Facebook within your “Account Settings.” Common apps on Facebook include games (Farmville, Candy Crush, etc.), readers (Flipboard, Washington Post Social Reader, etc.), sweepstakes (Rafflecopter, Amazon Sweepstakes, etc.) and website logins (Pinterest, Instagram, etc.).

You can find “Apps” on Twitter within “Settings.” Common apps include management tools, such as Hootsuite and Twitter for iPad, and other tools, such as bit.ly and Instagram.

ACCOUNT ACCESS More than one person should have administrative access to each social media channel in case of the unavailability or departure of a social media manager who has administrative control of the page.

Passwords should be changed every time a person who has had access to the social media account leaves. Make sure when the password is updated, it is effectively communicated throughout your area to the appropriate parties. It’s possible for a Facebook page administrator to remove other administrators. This can become a problem if your administrator leaves CMU, the administrator account is hacked or you otherwise lose control over the page. Grant administrative access to other people wisely and remove administrators if they leave their position within your college, department or service unit.

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To see success with social media, it’s vital to develop a strategy. A social media strategy will:

Aid you in using a consistent voice. Help you select relevant, engaging content for your audience(s). Serve as a guide in helping you achieve your goals. Help you show the value of investing your time in social media. Enable you to look at the “big picture” and communicate how social media fits within a college, department or service unit.

Download the Social Media Strategy worksheet from http://cmich.ly/cmichsocial to further define how you will utilize social media for your college, department or service unit.

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

TACTICS

STRATEGY

A social media channel, such as a Facebook page, is essentially the "tip of the iceberg." Dive under the surface to discover the strategy that goes into ensuring the channel's success.

MEASUREMENT & REPORTING

CHANNEL MANAGEMENT

CONTENT CREATION

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

RESEARCH

LISTENING & MONITORING

INTEGRATION WITH MARKETING

CONTENT CALENDARS

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

EDITING & PROOFREADING

CONVERSATION & INTERACTION

ARE YOU READY? Before creating a social media channel, ask yourself:

How will this social media channel differ from the website, marketing efforts and other social media channels within my department, college or service unit and CMU as a whole? What do we want to achieve? What are our goals? What information will we share and where will we find that information? Who is the audience we are trying to engage? Who will monitor and manage this channel? Who will find and create content? How will we find content that is engaging and entertaining? How will the content engage the audience?

Contact University Communications at [email protected] to schedule a meeting for one-on-one social media strategy counseling.

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BASIC BEST PRACTICES

Questioning what to do? It is always better to err on the side of caution and contact University Communications.

■1 Be strategic. Determine why you want to have a social media channel and set goals to help guide you in providing relevant content to your audiences.

■2 Add value. Be sure the information you post is helpful, interesting and engaging. Spend at least 80 percent of your time entertaining and engaging your audience and approximately 20 percent of your time educating. Too much “selling” will cause your fans to go elsewhere.

■3 Listen. Observe conversations before you engage. Join in if it’s appropriate.

■4 Encourage conversation. Do not solely use your channels to market or broadcast information. Be sure to ask questions, garner input and respond to inquiries in a timely manner.

■5 Be real. Have a voice and personality online, while staying consistent with CMU’s brand and messaging.

■6 Stay credible. Always check your facts, proofread to prevent errors and avoid controversial issues. Be sure to share information only from credible sources that is appropriate for the general public and accurately represents the university.

■7 Respect others. Never post things that might be considered profane, libelous, defamatory or embarrassing.

■8 Follow the rules. Familiarize yourself with each social media channel’s terms of service and be sure to follow the CMU Social Media Guidelines.

■9 Avoid online arguments. If a conversation is negative, offer to speak with them via email or phone.

■10 Use caution. If you’re unsure about a post or comment, discuss it with another social media manager or University Communications before proceeding. Even if you delete a post, it may continue to exist online if someone takes a screenshot.

ARE YOU MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS? Here are a few questions to ask:

Are you using social media strategically to achieve your goals? Are you posting on a regular basis, answering student questions and engaging the audience? Do you have a presence on the social media channels that will be most effective in reaching your audience? Are you changing strategies as needed to continuously reach your key audiences and keep pace with the latest trends? If not, it may be time to rethink your strategy (see page 6.)

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QUICK TIPS

Questioning what to do? It is always better to err on the side of caution and contact University Communications.

■1 If your personal accounts and your CMU channels are synced to the same app on your phone or social media management system, use caution when posting. It is easy to accidentally tweet from the wrong account.

■2 Keep your channels secure by creating strong passwords, guarding your login information and exercising caution when using third-party apps.

■3 In times of tragedy or crisis, stop scheduled posts. Don’t market. Feel free to show compassion for the victims of the tragedy or crisis in a sincere manner, but don’t overdo it. Don’t express opinions, join in hyperbole surrounding controversy, or use the situation to advance your own agenda or build your audience.

■4 Be proactive. Listen to and monitor conversations. If you see a potential problem, act quickly. You’ll want to create a plan, craft an official statement and appoint one person to manage inquires.

■5 In times of university crisis, it is important that we communicate in a unified voice. Contact University Communications for direction.

Questioning what to do? It is always better to err on the side of caution and not post. For help navigating a situation, contact University Communications.

OFFICIAL POLICY Registered Facebook pages must include the official CMU Facebook policy within their

“General Information” section. Copy and paste the following statement for your Facebook page:

We encourage you to share your thoughts and experiences about Central Michigan University with the community, as well as use this page to network with others and ask questions. CMU is not responsible for the comments and wall posts created by visitors to this page. Community-generated content does not reflect the opinion of, or represent, the university. We reserve the right to remove any content that is racist, sexist, abusive, profane, violent, obscene, pornographic, advocates illegal behavior, is libelous, or that incites harmful behavior or threatens a person. Solicitation also may be removed at the discretion of the university. If you have questions or concerns, email [email protected].

“ ”

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FACEBOOK BASICS

ARE YOU READY? Before creating your Facebook account, make sure you have the following pieces collected:

Content for one month - This allows you to get used to the other parts of running a social media account (monitoring, engagement, etc.) while also working to promote your page and gain a following.

Profile and cover photo - See optimal image sizes above.

Complete bio - Besides the official policy that we have supplied you should also have your area's mission statement, "About" section and any milestones you've reached (50 years as a college, prestigious awards, etc.) ready so you can complete everything at once.

Contact information - Though it goes in your "About" section, it is extremely important to have the correct and current contact information for your area on the page. It should be an areawide email address that is checked regularly, the main phone line, etc. You want to make sure when people are looking for you via Facebook, they have the information available to find you off the platform.

Facebook’s terms change often. While we do out best to update social media managers with registered channels about changes in Facebook’s terms that affect CMU, it is your responsibility to follow the rules. For the most recent version of the terms, visit facebook.com/page_guidelines.php.

AUDIENCE Your audience on Facebook is the most versatile of all social media platforms. Followers will be any age and be of any gender, race or ethnicity.

POSTING FREQUENCY Stay consistent and post three to five times a week. Do your best to avoid posting multiple times a day.

OPTIMAL IMAGE SIZES • Profile photo - 320 x 320 pixels. • Cover photo - minimum 720 pixels wide. • Photos or graphics - 1200 x 900 pixels.

WHAT IS STRONG CONTENT? • The more visuals, the better. • Keep text as short as possible. • Utilize your website and link to it if needed;

however, posts will generally reach more people without a link.

• Create content that engages your followers or encourages them to like, comment or share your post.

OFFICIAL POLICY Don’t forget to add the official CMU Facebook policy within your “General Information” portion of your profile. It can be found on the preceding page.

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TWITTER BASICS

ARE YOU READY? Before creating your Twitter account, make sure you have the following pieces collected:

Content for one month - This allows you to get used to the other parts of running a social media account (monitoring, engagement, etc.) while also working to promote it and gain a following.

Profile and cover photo - See optimal image sizes above.

Complete bio - Your official Twitter bio will be limited to 160 characters. Briefly include information about your area and how it ties to CMU. If there is room, you may tag our official account (@CMUniversity) in your account. Example: The Department of XYZ at @CMUniversity teaches future leaders of the ABC industry. Make sure the link in your bio goes back to your official cmich.edu webpage.

Bonus - Change your account’s theme color to one of our official colors. The hex codes are: Maroon (6a0032) and Gold (ffc82e).

While we do out best to update social media managers with registered channels about changes in Twitter’s terms that affect CMU, it is your responsibility to follow the rules. For the most recent version of the terms, visit twitter.com/tos

AUDIENCE Your audience on Twitter is much newer than Facebook, with the majority of users between 18 and 29 years old.

POSTING FREQUENCY Post five times a week, with a minimum of one tweet a day during the workweek. Retweets do count as content, as they are showing your engagement on the platform.

OPTIMAL IMAGE SIZES • Profile photo - 400 x 400 pixels. • Cover photo - 1500 x 500 pixels. • Photos or graphics - 1024 x 512 pixels.

WHAT IS STRONG CONTENT? • Visuals are the best way to engage your

audience. • Schedule content directly before or after the

hour to increase engagement. • Keep text short and conversational to

encourage interactions. • Utilize your website and link to it if needed;

however, posts will generally reach more people without a link.

OFFICIAL CMU HASHTAGS Please use CMU’s official hashtags, #lifeatcentral and #fireupchips. If you are interested in creating your own, please contact socialmedia@cmich. edu.

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INSTAGRAM BASICS

ARE YOU READY? Before creating your Instagram account, make sure you have the following pieces collected:

Content for one month - This allows you to get used to the other parts of running a social media account (monitoring, engagement, etc.) while also working to promote it and gain a following.

Profile photo - See optimal image sizes above.

Complete bio - Your Instagram bio will be limited to 150 characters. Briefly include information about your area and how it ties to CMU. If there is room, you may tag our official account (@cmichuniversity) in your account. Example: The Department of XYZ at @ cmichuniversity teaches future leaders of the ABC industry. Make sure the website link you include is the link to your official cmich.edu webpage.

While we do out best to update social media managers with registered channels about changes in Instagram’s terms that affect CMU, it is your responsibility to follow the rules. For the most recent version of the terms, visit help.instagram.com.

AUDIENCE Your audience on Instagram is young, with the majority of users falling between 13 to 35.

POSTING FREQUENCY Stay consistent and post three to five times a week. Do your best to avoid posting multiple times a day.

OPTIMAL IMAGE SIZES • Profile photo - 110 x 100 pixels. • Posts - 1080 x 1080 pixels. • Photos or graphics in a story (if pre-made) -

1080 x 1920 pixels.

WHAT IS STRONG CONTENT? • Because Instagram is a primarily visual

platform, having well-taken photos is imperative (no blurry photos, badly shaking videos, etc.).

• Use photos that are different than the photos shared on other accounts.

OFFICIAL CMU HASHTAGS #lifeatcentral #fireupchips If you are interested in creating your own, please contact [email protected].

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RESOURCES

UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS Emily Stulz Assistant Director of Social Media and Communications [email protected] 989-774-7332

Erick Fredendall Social Media and Content Manager [email protected] 989-774-7110

Looking to learn more? Here are a few resources to get you started. If you have specific questions, email [email protected]

BLOGS Mashable Social Media http://mashable.com/social-media

Social Media Today http://socialmediatoday.com

Ragan’s PR Daily Social Media http://www.prdaily.com/SocialMedia/ SocialMedia.aspx

CASE Blog http://blog.case.org

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS Bit.ly https://bitly.com

Hootsuite https://hootsuite.com

ADDITIONAL TOOLS Canva https://canva.com

ThingLink http://thinglink.com

Google Alerts https://google.com/alerts

IFTTT http://ifttt.com

Feedly http://feedly.com

Trello http://trello.com

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