All social media accounts that represent Shenandoah University (e.g. use “Shenandoah” or “Shenandoah University,” “SU” and/or “Hornets” in their name) or that are affiliated with a Shenandoah University club or organization must positively reflect its Mission Statement.
The following guidelines apply to all individuals, offices, departments and schools that use social media tools, websites and applications on behalf of the university.
Creating new Shenandoah University Social Media Accounts
Get official approval by submitting the New Social Media Account Request Form.
The Office of Marketing and Communications reserves the right to remove inactive communities or those that fail to adhere to positive brand advancement.
Shenandoah University trademarks and logos may not be used without approval, including incorrect use of trademarks and logos. Shenandoah University reserves the right to flag posts that have not been approved to use a trademark or logo. Contact the Office of Marketing & Communications at omc@su.edu for an approved logo and other images to ensure coordination with other university sites and content.
Shenandoah University employees and representatives who post on behalf of the university must be mindful at all times of protecting the university’s reputation and promoting the university’s educational mission and brand.
Posting Frequency
- Post no more than once an hour.
- Post at least twice a week on each platform.
- Posting needs to continue regularly over weekends and fall, winter, spring and summer breaks.
If you do not have enough content to regularly post on your page(s), delete or deactivate the account. Pages that languish are poor reflections of your department and Shenandoah University. Sharing posts from the main SU accounts can help your account appear more active even if you don’t have new posts. If you have questions about how to keep pages active when it’s a slower time period for you, please reach out to OMC at omc@su.edu and we can provide you with ideas.
Posting Rules
- Spell check and proofread your posts before posting.
- All university-related pages must include at least one current employee as an administrator in addition to any student(s) who may add content.
- Moderators must be able to respond quickly to questions and messages as soon as they arise with the appropriate response.
- Keep personal views separate from university posts. You are an agent of the university at all times on Shenandoah sites — the university does not support any political party. Express your views on your own personal networks.
- The use of social media must not violate any local, state or federal law.
- Use of social media must comply with all applicable university policies, guidelines and regulations.
- Users must not post confidential information about Shenandoah University, its faculty, staff and students.
- The use of university technology resources must conform to the technology standards and policies defined by Shenandoah’s Institutional Computing department.
Advertising
All social media advertising must be managed and run by the Office of Marketing and Communications. Contact omc@su.edu to launch an ad campaign.
Recommendations
- Have a specific, separate strategy for each platform.
- Keep captions in your posts brief
- Link to a blog post or webpage for additional information.
- You can use bit.ly for shortening or a Linktree to put in your bio
- Post what your followers want to see, not just what you want to post.
- Post new, fresh, timely content.
- Vary your posts: photos, links, status updates, videos.
- Use a casual tone of voice.
- Respond to and like comments, mentions, etc.
- Never use only hashtags as a post/photo description.
- Only use hashtags that are relevant to the post.
Hateful or Violent Comments
Be professional during heated discussions. If online conversations become volatile or hostile, employees and representatives of the university must remain respectful, professional and conscious of the university’s primary role as an educational institution.
If a user comments/posts in an aggressive or hateful way on a Shenandoah affiliated account, contact the Digital Marketing Manager immediately before responding.
Deleting Comments
Any comment with profanity should be deleted. Please screenshot the comment and share it with OMC.
Any comment that singles out a student, faculty, staff by name in a hateful way should be deleted.
Students Posting on Social Media
Students should not have access to, the passwords of, or be the administrators of Shenandoah affiliated social media accounts, with the exception of student organization accounts, unless it is a specific duty in their work study position, they have read these guidelines fully, and their posts are closely monitored by their supervisor.