Social Media Policies and Guidelines

LMU’s social media guidelines help LMU employees and affiliates make appropriate decisions when managing or developing social media initiatives on behalf of the university.

I. DEFINITIONS

Departmental Accounts: These guidelines govern all social media and other third-party digital communications channels published in the name of the university or its organizational units. This includes faculty/staff organizations. It does not govern student-registered organization accounts; those are subject to other policies and guidelines, including LMU’s Community Standards and Student Conduct Code. Websites and blogs published on behalf of a university organization are governed by the Web and New Media Resources Policy.

Account Administrators: Account administrators are faculty and staff who manage social media accounts for a university organization. Account administrators are responsible for the content published on their social media accounts, and that it complies with this policy, other university policies and local, state and federal laws. Statements must be approved by Marketing, Communications, and External Relations prior to publishing on any platform.

II. DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNT GUIDELINES 

• Adhere to university policies. Account administrators engaging in any social media activity on behalf of the university must adhere to all relevant university policies, including but not limited to:
  • Privacy Policy
  • Web and New Media Resources Policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Logo Use Guidelines
  • Visual Identity Standards
• Maintain confidentiality and privacy. Confidential or proprietary information about LMU, its students, alumni, faculty and staff, should not be shared on social media. Accounts may not disclose personal information about named or pictured individuals on social media without express permission. Social media accounts and administrators must adhere to all relevant university policies and federal requirements, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Respect intellectual property. Use of copyrighted or trademarked material on social media platforms is often illegal and can result in account suspension by the platform or legal action. Individuals and account administrators sharing content on social media should take care to receive approval prior to posting copyrighted or trademarked graphics, photos, videos, music, text or other material protected by intellectual property law.
• Do not use LMU’s name, logos or other trademarks without permission.
  • Account administrators of approved social media accounts may use LMU’s trademarks (name and logos) to communicate university and departmental business. All trademarks should be used in compliance with LMU’s visual identity guidelines.
  • Account administrators may not use LMU’s trademarks (name and logos) to promote or endorse any companies, products, causes, or political parties or candidates.
  • New social media accounts bearing the LMU name and/or logos may not be created without approval from Marketing, Communications, and External Relations.
• Consult prior to launch. Faculty or staff must seek approval from Marketing, Communications, and External Relations prior to launching a new departmental social media account. Administrators considering a new channel should consult with the MarComm leader embedded in their area or with the university’s social media manager. Any new departmental account must demonstrate a content strategy and staffing plan.
• Register accounts. Owners and administrators of departmental accounts must register their accounts with Marketing, Communications, and External Relations. Registration includes sharing contact information and passwords for use in emergencies. Registration allows the channel to be added to the university’s social media directory and opens it to cross-promotion opportunities with the university’s primary accounts. Registered account administrators also gain access to the Social Media Roundtable email list, Microsoft Teams group chat, and workshop/training opportunities.
• Adhere to brand guidelines.
  • Departmental account icons and profile pictures must adhere to LMU’s social media brand architecture. Departmental social media tiles are available by request from the LMU social team.
  • New departmental account page names and handles must adhere to the following format: ‘LMU {department name}, or ‘@LMU{department name}’. Existing page names and handles that cannot be updated due to social networking site restrictions or page name availability will be grandfathered in.
  • All content shared on departmental accounts must adhere to LMU’s brand guidelines for messaging and visual identity.
  • All content shared by departmental accounts must reflect positively on the university.
• Staff accounts appropriately.  All departmental accounts must have a faculty or staff administrator who regularly monitors the account’s content. Students may assist as account contributors, but they should not be owners or sole administrators of departmental accounts.Departmental accounts on Facebook should have at least two LMU staff and/or faculty members listed as administrators at all times. All accounts must also contact the LMU social team to add a general university account as a Facebook administrator. When administrators leave the university or transition out of a social media management role, the account’s page roles and/or passwords must be updated immediately. Administrators should contact social@lmu.edu any time a password is changed or an administrator is added or removed.
• Keep accounts active. To be considered an active departmental account, the minimum post frequency is once per week. Marketing and Communications reserves the right to disable or temporarily un-publish departmental accounts that are dormant (no posts or activity) for more than six months.
• Moderate comments and escalate issues. Administrators should monitor departmental accounts daily. Comments should not be deleted unless they violate university policy. Comments that expose private or confidential information, contain commercial solicitations or endorsements, are libelous, threatening, abusive or obscene, can and should be deleted.For guidance and assistance on how to respond to negative comments about the university or a department or employee at the university, contact the university social media manager.Any posts or comments related to safety or security should be brought to the immediate attention of Marketing and Communications, Public Safety, one’s supervisor, and any other appropriate departments or officials at the university.
• Be respectful. Content and tone on departmental accounts must be respectful and professional. Channels and administrators may not engage in conduct that would not be acceptable in LMU’s community, including but not limited to personal insults, obscenities, or any behavior that exploits or demeans persons on the basis of race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, age or disability.
• Be accurate. Departmental account post content must be verified with legitimate sources to ensure accuracy and credibility. Sources should also be cited and linked whenever possible, and errors should be corrected quickly and transparently.
• Add value. Content posted to departmental accounts should be relevant to intended audiences and tailored for each channel; not all messages belong on all channels.
• Be aware of liability. LMU faculty and staff are personally responsible for the content they post on social media, blogs, or any other form of user-generated content. Individual social media administrators and bloggers can be held liable for commentary deemed to be copyright infringement, defamatory, proprietary, libelous, or obscene. LMU faculty and staff are also responsible for complying with the existing rules set forth by each social networking site.

III. BEST PRACTICES

In addition to LMU’s social media guidelines, the following are recommended best practices for account and engagement success:

• Be timely. Aim for standard times for postings and updates. Stay active on accounts, but don’t overload accounts with updates. Recommended post frequency varies by platform.
• Be appropriate. If a message would not be acceptable for a face-to-face conversation, over the phone, or in another medium, it would not be acceptable for a social networking site. Consider a post’s longevity and whether it’d still be appropriate to share.
• Engage with audiences. Social media is designed to facilitate two-way communication. Welcome new followers, respond to comments, or follow up a post with a question about the content. Engaging with followers will build credibility and community, and keeps followers coming back.
• Be purposeful. Be sure to contribute valuable insights; there should be a reason for every post that’s shared. Don’t hijack discussions by posting self/organizational-promoting information. Self-promoting behavior is viewed negatively and can lead to individuals/accounts being banned from websites or groups.

IV. SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCES

For additional social media assistance:

• Contact the university social media manager or the MarComm leader in your area for individual consultations.
• Join the Social Media Roundtable, a meeting and email list open to all approved, registered departmental account administrators. Contact the university social media manager to learn more.