Social Media

Depending on your goals and target audience, it might be appropriate to create a new U of I social media account. Remember obtain approval by registering your account with University Communications and Marketing.

Before getting started, verify the need for a new channel, create a social media strategy, define how you’ll measure success, and create a post and assessment schedule.

• What are your goals, and how will you measure success?
• Who is your audience, and where are they spending their social media time?
• Are there existing social channels that can share or amplify your content?
• Do you have personnel and resources for daily content and community engagement?
• Are you prepared to adhere to accessibility regulations and U of I brand standards?

Channels representing the University of Idaho are required to be registered with University Communications and Marketing. Approval will be given after review of possible duplicate accounts, supported brand marketing, and administrator requirements.

Instagram accounts will be registered as business and professional accounts. These allow users to see contact information and website links, and for administrators to access analytics, options for advertising, and allow you to collaborate with other accounts and access to creator studio.

College/Center/Unit Communications and Marketing Managers/Strategists will be added as administrators on department channels.

Student organization accounts are exempt as they are not officially recognized by the University of Idaho. They are recognized by the Associated Students University of Idaho. Brand accounts may follow and engage in their content.

The Social Media Manager will do an annual review of registered accounts for active/inactive status.

Each platform/channel must have two full-time professional staff members as administrators. Students may serve as managers or social content creators. Professional staff must approve/review content before posting.

Vacant positions and turnover coverage: When a Marketing and Communications Manager or Communications and Marketing Strategist vacates a college or center position, the UCM Social Media Manager may step in to assist in maintaining a presence on the channel(s) temporarily if another board appointed staff member is unavailable.

Profile pictures and cover images should be consistent across your unit’s social channels. It is recommended to use your unit’s logo lockup.

• Use U of I approved logos and brand elements.
• Unique graphics created for time-bound events and campaigns may be used.
• Avoid adding text to profile pictures; it is often too small to be seen on a mobile device where most social media content is viewed.
• View examples from U of I Coeur d’Alene and U of I College of Art and Architecture.

While dialogue is encouraged, use is subject to Facebook Community Standards and university policies, including APM 30.12: Acceptable Use of Technology Resources.

The University of Idaho supports respectful and civil public discourse as part of the educational process. Page managers reserve the right to remove posts that contain the following, and the right to block users who repeatedly violate these terms:

• Inappropriate content, foul language, threats or phishing and spam attempts.
• Multiple and repetitive messages.

Page managers are expected to blanket restrict, report, delete any spammers, suspected bots and sellers (example: anyone who offers to write your paper for you for a fee).

Page managers should also monitor, moderate and de-escalate arguments in comments. Notify the social media manager for consultation as needed. Examples of moderating the conversation include interjections such as:

• “Remember to keep this conversation civil”
• “Let’s respect each other here”
• “We’re all grieving, please be respectful”
• “Let’s be respectful”

U of I reserves the right to delete unacceptable posts and comments and ban users in the event we consider a comment or post to be harassment. The following are examples of unacceptable social networking content and comments. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive and will be adjusted as issues arise. Examples include:

• Profane or obscene language or content
• Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party
• Infringement on copyrights or trademarks
• Misinformation or misleading posts
• Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
• Information that may compromise safety or security of the public or public systems

As a public institution we must document our reasoning for blocking users or deleting comments as it may affect free speech and first amendment.

In extreme cases, if a user crosses the line of posted rules, take the above precautions and then notify the Social Media Manager.

Follow crisis management protocol from the UCM Executive Director of Communications:

• Brand channels lead with official communications
• Vandal Alerts will be posted directly to Instagram stories and X
• UCM Social Media Manager will communicate via the established “Social Media Leads” Teams channel with social leads
• Talking points and messaging will be provided
• Refer audiences to official website, email inbox
• Answer questions with talking points provided
• Only post provided official communications

Every post tells a U of I story. Be intentional. Always think mobile first and how you want your audience to engage with your content, then check it against how each platform presents your content and what it prioritizes.

• Video content is ranked higher in all major platforms, though it takes more time to create and edit.
• Photos work best for header images because they can be resized. See image size requirements.
• Photo and video content should be of high quality (not blurry and using quality editing). Access U of I’s PhotoShelter for professional photos.
• Do not post event flyers as images. Instead, post an image that represents the event and then include the event information in the post copy.
• Use graphics and illustrative content sparingly. Your feeds shouldn’t reflect a bulletin board. Meta research shows that posts with too much text perform worse.
• Tell the story through images and graphics and let your post copy communicate the details.

Algorithms (the way content is ranked and showed to audiences) changes often. Latest research shows that users are treating social platforms as search engines to learn more about college, and specific topics.

• Ask yourself: what would my audience be searching for?
• Use keywords your audience will be looking for in social profiles, including bio/about section and handle/page title.
• Include the location
• Include 2-3 relevant key words in post copy and hashtags
• Use keywords in video titles
• Say keywords in video and use captions
• Upload SRT files with videos

Social media is about building connections and community. U of I has that in spades. Use of social should never be a one-way communication system.

• Post at least three times a week to keep your audience engaged.
• Ask your audience authentic questions.
• Encourage tagging and sharing.
• Reply to comments and DMs.
• Share user generated content.
• Get to know your followers – follow back.
• Use engagement style stickers in stories posts.

When are they needed?

• Minors ALWAYS need to fill out a photo release form.
• When a current student has a reasonable expectation of privacy, we must obtain a photo release. Or when a portrait is posted listing the student’s name, major, etc. You would want their authorization to use their image.
• Smaller events or invite only events. Include a notice in the registration form “we’re going to be taking photos” they can indicate no photo to be taken with a sticker on nametags, or specifically colored lanyards.
• Scheduled professional photo or video shoots.

When are they NOT needed?

• Where students do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy (public event, public space, athletic event)

Public entities must use available accessibility features on social media platforms to ensure that their social media posts comply with this rule.

• All images and non-text content must have text alternative.
• All video-only content must have text transcript.
• Videos must have transcriptions or audio descriptions.
• Live presentations must have closed captions.

For user-generated or provided materials, determine who owns the material you want to post, which may include:

• Author of a written work
• Photographer/family/user who took or provided the photo
• Composer of a song or melody
• Videographer
• Journal/publisher of a published work
• Creator of artwork

Get permission to post these materials by contacting the owner and documenting the permission when granted, ensuring to note details of conditional permissions. When gathering free source images online, review the terms and conditions for your selected image.

Licensed Music
U of I follows policies set by each platform regarding licensed music. When new channels adhere to requirements to register as business accounts, the available music library may be more limited. However, just as we set a standard for academic integrity for our students, we must also employ professional integrity for social media. Do not use “work-arounds” to access trending audio. In short, we are intelligent, clever people that will uphold licensing agreements.