Social Media Guidelines

Creating social media for your school or unit? UW Tacoma's Marketing & Communications team offers these guidelines and best practices. For advice on using social media, please contact our Communications team at uwtnews@uw.edu. 

Be committed 

Social media success takes more work than you might think. Before you create a social media account for your unit, consider who you are trying to reach and whether you have the resources to make it work. 

• Choose the right platform. Audiences vary by platform. For example, younger people are more commonly on TikTok and Instagram, whereas community leaders are more likely to be found on LinkedIn. Do some research to find the platform that best matches your audience.
• Algorithms reward prolific posters. Social media platforms live and die on content, so it’s important that you post regularly. We recommend at least one post per week. Make sure you have the time  — and the content  — to keep things fresh.
• Launch for success. A common misconception about social media is that if you create an account, people will automatically come.  When you launch a new social media account, announce it through your traditional channels: email, newsletter, and website. It’s also important to launch your new account with a completed profile (that includes a profile photo) to ensure brand consistency across all channels.
• Stay engaged. Social media is about conversations and building community. Fostering dialogue, connecting with your community, and building relationships are critical components of social media management. This means checking and responding to comments and messages in a timely manner. 

Be effective 

• Keep it short. For social media content, shorter text is better. In a content-saturated online space, social media users are not going to stop scrolling to read a long post. Ideally, your posts on social media should link to content housed on your website (to help drive traffic there), so don’t include every detail in your post. Use the fewest number of words that will draw the reader in and entice them to interact with your content.
• Create a dialogue. Social media is not just about pushing out content; it is meant to be about building a community. Make sure your content will be useful — e.g., actionable, valuable, helpful — and interesting to your followers. If your content gives them something to comment on, act on, or share, people are more likely to engage.
• Speak the language. Social media is an informal space and works best with a conversational, relatable voice. Try to have fun with your posts, but be careful with humor. Review UW Tacoma’s brand website to learn more about capturing our unique voice through your content.
• Take time to measure results. Look back at previous posts and see which ones performed the best. Do they have anything in common? Build on what works best. Social media success is measured not just by growth in followers but also by engagement: the number of likes, comments, and shares your posts receive. 

Be careful 

• Follow FERPA. Be careful not to reveal confidential or proprietary information about UW students, employees, or alumni. Adhere to all applicable University and federal privacy and confidentiality policies. All employees are subject to FERPA and other laws mandating the nondisclosure of personal information.
• Comply with intellectual property laws. Be aware of copyright, fair use, and intellectual property rights, and don’t use graphics or content that UW Tacoma didn’t create (or doesn’t own the rights to (unless you are clearly attributing the original source). 
• Be genuine. When posting on your unit’s social media, it’s fine to use a human and relatable tone. However, remember that you are representing the University, not just yourself. Keep it professional.
• Moderate only when absolutely necessary. Do not delete or hide comments because you disagree with someone’s point of view or because of negativity. Comments are an important part of social media, and users have a right to disagree and express their opinion. The best way to respond to negative comments is to ignore them; often, other followers will chime in to support you. Deleting or hiding posts should be used sparingly, unless:
  
  • Libelous, threatening, racist, abusive, or obscene language.
  • Comments that are unrelated or off-topic to the original post.
  • Content that violates the rights of another party, including intellectual property (e.g., copyright, trademark, trade secret) and privacy rights.
  • Spam posts and/or repeated posts that are duplicative in nature by an individual or group of users.
  • Solicitation, advertising, or endorsement of a third-party business or service. 
     
    If you are concerned about a post or comment or are unsure if it should be deleted or hidden, please contact Marketing and Communications. If you believe a post poses a threat, notify Campus Safety.
• Double-check your work. Get the facts straight before posting them on social media. When possible, link back to your source (or tag relevant brands and organizations in the content). Review content for grammatical and spelling mistakes. If you make an error, correct it quickly and visibly.
• Connect thoughtfully. Connecting to other social media members and sites builds credibility and community, but could also give the unintended impression that your site endorses a certain cause, group, or person. Consider carefully whom you “friend,” “follow,” link to, or allow into your site, and to what extent you will allow comments. Help the UW Tacoma community stay connected by following other UW Tacoma social media sites.