Social Media

Do you officially represent one of the following?

• Club or organization
• College or department
• Student governance group
• Student service

Before creating a new account, consider the big picture.

• Audience - Who do you expect to follow your account?
• Need - Is there already an effective website or social media account to reach this audience?
• Objective - What do you aim to accomplish with your social media account?
• Staffing - Have you identified a social media point-person and back-up person on your team who have the time and skill-set to manage the account?
• Content - Your social media account should have original posts at least 2-3 times per week. What types of information will you post to achieve that goal?
• Maintenance - Will you check the account daily to respond to comments and direct messages?
• Analysis - What constitutes success? What measurements will you use to determine whether or not the account is successful?
• #Alternative - We can work with you to create a hashtag that can be used with established social media to help convey your messaging to the BSU audience.

Consider these points when crafting your social media messages:

• Attribution - Provide appropriate credit to the original creator when sharing external images, videos, articles, messages or user-generated content. It’s also good practice to verify accuracy for information before you post.
• Confidentiality - Confidential or proprietary university information or similar information of third parties, who have shared such information with you on behalf of BSU, should not be shared on social media.
• Media Interaction - If a member of the media contacts you about BSU-related content, please immediately contact Jennifer Williams in the Office of University Relations and Marketing. She manages all university-related interactions with the press.
• Consistent Engagement - Check your account daily and post at least 2-3 times a week. If you’re your account is not used in regular and direct support of your objectives, you should take steps to delete the account from the social network. 

• Sending or responding to private messages unrelated to university business
• Use of vulgar, offensive or abusive language; engaging in personal attacks
• Posting photographs or videos unrelated to the mission of the university
• Lobbying or endorsement of political parties, candidates or groups
• Promotion or endorsement of commercial products or services
• Discussing individuals’ private information, including school records, grades and health.
• Do not post links to virtual events online. Instead, submit the event to the web calendar with a link to join the event and direct your audience to view the calendar event online for the link.

Remember that everyone has the right to share his/her opinions, whether positive or negative. However, there will be times when appropriate actions are needed in response to particular posts.

• Do not delete a post because you disagree with it.
• Do not respond to the posts that promote violence, discrimination, harassment or defamation. Instead, document the post including the publisher and date then notify your immediate supervisor.
• If our alumni, faculty, students or staff provide negative feedback it's important to address the issue, preferably by connecting offline and away from public view. If you have the ability to contact them directly, leave a response in the public forum, so others don't assume the issue was ignored.