Institutional Use Guidelines for Social Media
Be Confidential
Be careful not to reveal confidential or proprietary information about Adelphi students, employees or alumni. Adhere to all applicable University, federal and NCAA privacy and confidentiality policies. Remember that if you are creating a post featuring members of our community, they need to have signed the Photo Release Form.
Protect Property
Follow copyright, fair use and intellectual property rights. In some cases, content posted to a social media site becomes the property of the platform operator. Do not use content (including photos, videos and music) if you do not have the right to do so.
Protect the Paw
The Adelphi logo cannot be modified or used for personal endorsements, and the Adelphi name cannot be used to promote a product, cause, political party or candidate. Respect Adelphi. Remain professional and in good taste, and protect Adelphi’s institutional voice. As a representative of Adelphi, avoid pranks and postings that could be misinterpreted. Ask your supervisor or IMG if you are unsure. Respect university time and property—Adelphi computers and time on the job are reserved for University-related business.
Respect Others
Social media sites are designed for two-way communication, and content contributed to a social media site may encourage comments or discussion of opposing ideas. As an administrator, you can and should respond when relevant, but consider how your response may reflect on you, your department and the University. If you are unsure about posting something or responding to a comment, ask your supervisor. You may remove comments libelous, phishing or that violate the Social Media Policy, but do not censor posts with which you personally disagree. Also, avoid criticizing other people and institutions. Doing so may alienate you from your audience, reflect poorly on Adelphi or escalate into a conflict.
Stay Accurate
Get the facts straight before posting them on social media sites. When possible, link back to the original source. On Instagram, you cannot put functional links in the post. Make use of the link in your bio or, if appropriate, make use of the story and link from there. Review content for grammatical and spelling mistakes. If you make an error, correct it quickly and visibly. This will earn you respect in the online community.
Remain Transparent
Be honest about your identity. Because no individual departmental social media site represents all of Adelphi, clearly link pages, account names, images and content to a particular department or unit within Adelphi. If you choose to post about Adelphi in your personal time, please identify yourself as an Adelphi student, faculty or staff member. Never hide your identity for the purpose of promoting Adelphi through social media.
Be Safe
Be cautious of “phishers.” Phishing is the attempt to gain control of a personal or institutional social media site by deceiving a user into revealing the account’s username and password. Monitor your social media sites carefully to ensure you notice quickly if an unauthorized person gains access. If you worry that you have been phished, change your password and review Information Technology’s guidelines.
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 who you “friend,” “follow,” link to or allow into your site and to what extent you will allow comments. Help the Adelphi community stay connected by linking back to the Adelphi homepage and other Adelphi social media sites. When possible, link to an Adelphi news source instead of an outside source.
Be Accessible
Accessibility on social media is important. Make sure that all photo posts make use of alternate text and all videos use captioning. Most social platforms allow for closed captioning, which is a great tool! But remember to double-check these captions for accuracy. Follow all accessibility best practices.
Remain Active
Remember to post at least once a week to your social media platform to keep your community engaged and informed. Do not allow your account to go quiet for over 30 days. If you aren’t active for over 60 days and are lacking content to continue, we recommend deactivating the account.
Connect with Adelphi
Administrators of Adelphi social media accounts, those interested in creating social media or those who are interested in social media are all welcome to join the Social Media Users Group [SMUG] meetings to discuss collaborations and social media strategies, as well as Tips and Tricks, news and updates.
Be Secure
All Adelphi University social media accounts will have two administrators at all times. A student employee may be enlisted to assist with these accounts but should not have full admin access. All Adelphi University social media accounts should be created with a shared/delegated email address (i.e. social@adelphi.edu) to ensure the account is not tied to a specific individual. Passwords should also be changed each semester, or at any point that an individual leaves their role as a social media administrator. When an administrator is changed, please contact UCOMM to make them aware. We also recommend turning on 2-factor authentication on each social media account.
Be Brown and Gold
Social media Accounts representing Adelphi University should follow the Brand Center in terms of Content and Messaging as well as Design and Identity whenever possible. Please also review our Guide to Inclusive Language. Remember that anyone viewing your social media platform could be from outside our community, so remain inclusive by avoiding use of acronyms.
Crisis Communications
In the event of a crisis, Adelphi University’s flagship accounts will release any important updates and alerts. Affiliated accounts may also share these messages to inform their audiences.