Social Media Guidelines

Social media has changed the way we communicate – as an institution and as individuals. With tools such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Flickr, anyone with an Internet connection now has the ability to create Web content at any time, from any location and share it immediately with the world. Social media has given the University of Arkansas the opportunity to engage in ongoing “conversations” with our students, faculty, staff, parents, colleagues, fans and friends, thus easily extending the University of Arkansas community from the campus to the world.

University of Arkansas supports the use of social media by employees to connect with students, faculty, staff, alumni, fans, colleagues and others.

Social media is constantly changing. As a result, this handbook will continue to evolve. If you have suggestions or would like to obtain the unabridged PDF version of this handbook, please e-mail University Relations at urelinfo@uark.edu.

How the University of Arkansas is using social media

As an institution, the University of Arkansas is using social media to enhance its existing news and information dissemination, and build an online community of fans and followers to further extend the university brand. The goal of our Facebook and Twitter use is to share content that exists on Arkansas Newswire http://newswire.uark.edu/, and other University of Arkansas Web sites, and to encourage fans and followers to share the information with their friends and followers using share-to-Facebook and Twitter tools within our own news site. We track our results using Google Analytics.

Policies: Must Read!

Social media usage at the University of Arkansas is governed by the same policies that govern all other electronic communications. Read the policies below before engaging in any social media campaign as part of your official duties at the University of Arkansas or if you use social media for personal purposes.

• University Graphic Identity #208.0
• Code of Computing Practices #201.0
• Public Information and Media Relations #217.0
• University Web Sites and Online Communications #225.0
• Employee Conduct, Use of Property & Facilities (9.2 on this page)

Be mindful of the policies set by social media sites about how they will or will not use your content. Obey copyright law.

If you have questions about social media best practices, or need guidance when problems or issues of concern arise, contact University Relations at (479) 575-5555 or urelinfo@uark.edu. We are available to assist with any social media concern.

A Word About Emergency Communication

If a campus emergency is unfolding, please do not post speculative information about the situation on your site. For proper crisis communications response, please refer all traffic to the university’s official communication sources, or if you use university messaging, be sure the source is clearly cited with an appropriate link back to the source.

Best Practices

Do one thing. Do it well.

You don’t have to adopt every new social media platform that becomes available. Figure out what helps you achieve your goals and do that well before adding new social media outlets.

Be respectful.

Anything you post in your role as a University of Arkansas employee reflects on the institution. Be professional and respectful at all times. Don’t argue or debate. Try to avoid sounding “too institutional,” but take care that your spelling and grammar are correct. [*If you need help determining how and when to respond to a comment found online, please see New Media Response Guide at the end of this handbook.]

Be transparent.

Make it clear that you are blogging/Tweeting/Facebooking, etc. in your role as a staff member at the University of Arkansas. Use your own “voice” and don’t ghostwrite posts for supervisors. Individuals’ use of social media can help to personalize the institution to the public.

Listen and observe.

Being a consumer of social media is essential to your ability to be a successful contributor. By “listening” to online conversations, you can get an understanding of what is relevant and of interest to the community.

Be active.

Social media requires regular attention. If you don’t have the time or resources to check your sites at least a few minutes each day and to post fresh content several times a week, then reconsider jumping into social media. People will lose interest if they perceive the information or site’s content to be stale.

Be timely.

Social media allows for the nearly instantaneous sharing of information with your audience. This timeliness is not only essential, but is expected by your audience. Be prepared to move quickly in response to new developments, announcements or emergencies with relevant information on your site. It is imperative, however, that you do not post speculative information about an unfolding emergency situation on your site.

Remember, you are now immortal.

Think before you post and remember that anything you post or share in social media, even within a closed network, is public. It can and will be shared, stored and spread globally. Don’t post anything online you wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing on the front page of the newspaper.

Participate and comment.

There’s reciprocity in commenting. This is the very nature of what makes social media social. Be prepared to monitor, accept and respond to comments on your site. Understand that not all comments will be positive, and respond to negative comments professionally and respectfully, and by providing additional information that may help resolve the issue.  

Separate personal from professional.

Balancing personal and professional social media presences can be tricky. Content that is of interest and appropriate to your personal friends is most likely not appropriate or of interest to your department’s friends or fans. Keep these two presences as separate as possible by keeping content about your non-work life on your personal page. Consider whether your contacts in your social networks know you personally or professionally when you consider your posts.

Be a valued member of the community.

Don’t just talk about your program or department – share the best information you find about the University of Arkansas. This will increase the value of your site and lends authenticity to your site by ensuring that you are a member of the community and not only interested in promotion.

Set goals.

Social media is not a goal, but a tool to help you achieve departmental goals. Make it work for you. One goal of the University of Arkansas Facebook page, for example, is to drive traffic to Arkansas Newswire.

CONTACTS
Office of University Relations
479-575-5555
urelinfo@uark.edu

Social Media Response Guide

If you encounter an article or comment to a blog post about the University of Arkansas that you feel deserves attention, then please use this guide to help you determine whether a response is warranted. Let us know if you do respond. However, if you are not comfortable responding, then please contact University Relations urelinfo@uark.edu for assistance.