5. Guidelines for Using Carleton University Social Media Accounts

Representation

Remember, when using a branded social media account, you are the university. Your actions on Carleton’s accounts impact the reputation of the university. This includes individual or positional accounts where individuals act as a spokesperson for the university. Your comments and activity through these accounts should be applicable to your department, position and role. Personal views should not be shared on official university accounts, nor should you be sharing or promoting the products, services, or posts of non-university related accounts.

Intent

Think about your post, its meaning, intention and possible conflicts. No posts are truly private, comments can be forwarded, copied or turned up in search results years after the publication date. Many systems have archival features that will save even deleted posts. Be aware of intellectual copyright and the content rules of the channels and platforms you want to use. Be mindful of copyright and trademark use to ensure your account is not suspended or removed and the university not sent a copyright infringement notice.

Community

Lean on our internal community. If you have questions, ask other social media managers, or contact DUC. This can relate to uncertainty on how to respond to inquiries or comments, if information should or should not be shared, the best way to use a social platform, upcoming trends, reporting and analytic best practice or even what tone or voice should be used in your content. Working in tandem with other social media account managers will help us all achieve our unit goals along with following university strategies and initiatives.

Honesty

Focus accuracy and transparency when posting information. Be conscious of your identity, if you are asked who is writing, curating, or otherwise managing the social media account you should identify your role and authorization to post on behalf of your unit or the institution.

Monitoring

Practice social listening and monitor your social accounts regularly. Questions, comments, and concerns should be considered in a timely manner. If you are unsure of how to handle, share the information with your supervisor or relevant colleagues.

Crisis

Emergency or crisis situations should only be shared through the emergency communication vehicles as detailed in the emergency communications plan . Do not attempt to create your own version of an emergency post. If you notice something on social media that you believe constitutes a crisis or issue report it to your supervisor or relevant colleagues. Should you notice irregular activity on your accounts or believe an account was accessed without permission, contact your supervisor and DUC immediately.