All Florida Poly social media accounts should aim to:
Account administrators/moderators must follow all WCAG 2.0 and 508 Compliance recommendations, including captioning of all videos with correct spelling and grammar as well as other accessibility guidelines including alt tags for graphics. If a video by another group is not transcribed, it should not be shared.
All social media accounts created on behalf of the University must be linked to a department’s email account, never a personal email account.
A minimum of two University full-time faculty or staff members (in addition to the University Relations account) must have administrative/moderator access to the account. In the event that a site requires an individual account, a unique account should be created expressly for this purpose.
Administrator/moderator contact information and account passwords must be on file with University Relations. For Facebook, the University Relations account must be added as an administrator.
No employee or student should be required, asked, or permitted to use a private, personal account for the purposes of creating social media accounts on behalf of the University.
Administrative/moderator access will be terminated upon the employee’s termination, voluntary cessation of employment, or assignment to another job. If for any reason a University department’s social media account is presently linked to an individual person’s email account, that person relinquishes all rights to the account upon graduation, termination, voluntary cessation of employment, or assignment to another job.
Social media accounts created on behalf of Florida Poly are the sole property of the University; creators and administrators have no ownership rights whatsoever.
Social media channels at Florida Poly must be continually updated and monitored, linked to an office-wide email address of floridapoly.edu. To be considered an “active account” and avoid deactivation, entities must agree to post at a pace reasonable with the given platform. For information about additional platforms, email socialmedia@floridapoly.edu for guidance.
Inactive Accounts: Accounts that have been inactive for more than three months, or not posting consistently based on the pace outlined above, may be subject to deactivation or deletion. Sporadically posting once or twice within that two-month window does not prevent account deactivation or deletion.
Overactive Accounts: Accounts should not post in excess or become overactive. This creates the perception that they are “spam accounts” and can negatively impact engagement and reputation. With the exception of the official Florida Poly institutional-level accounts, and during special events, accounts posting in excess of the pace outlined below will be considered overactive.
Having a firm understanding of your social community is important when developing a Facebook strategy. Page insights can give administrators an inside look into ways your audiences are engaging with your content.
All posted content must adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including without limitation, those pertaining to sexual harassment, discrimination, copyright, and intellectual property rights. Content posted to, messaged to, or appearing on social media accounts must be archived to comply with all applicable state law and University policies and regulations related to public records access, retention, and disposition.
University Policies: All users must be mindful of University policies and are expected to exercise freedom of speech with responsibility. If activity on a social networking site is reported as violating University regulation or policy, it will be investigated and handled according to the applicable University process. Regular review by the account administrator/moderator is expected; failure to do so is not justification for noncompliance.
Applicable policies include:
These guidelines have been established to account for industry-wide best practices and ensure accessibility standards are met across all platforms.
Administrative/moderators must not post confidential information about Florida Polytechnic University, its faculty, staff, or students.
Administrative/moderators should not cite or reference colleagues or coworkers without their approval.
Employees must follow applicable federal requirements such as the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and also adhere to applicable University privacy and confidentiality policies. If you have questions regarding these standards, contact the University’s Office of General Counsel.
University social media accounts should encourage engagement with and among followers; however, they should reserve the right to remove content that is spam, commercial, obscene, harassing, or derogatory.
Registered accounts should post a disclaimer similar to this: “Third-party posts directed to this account do not imply endorsement of that content by the university. University Relations reserves the right to remove content that is spam, commercial, obscene, harassing, and/or derogatory.”
To maintain a proper representation of the University as well as the State University System, all University social media accounts may not endorse a religious affiliation or political position representing Florida Poly, a public entity, and must remain neutral.
The University has exclusive contracts with some brands, so moderators are encouraged to think twice before endorsing, mentioning, picturing, or linking to competing organizations. This is important, especially when taking photos or running contests with unique prizes.
Tweet often, 2-5 times per day.
YouTube
All registered social media accounts must adhere to the approved brand, design, and logo standards of the University to ensure consistency.
They should:
Account administrators/moderators may not publish any information that they may have learned through their job, such as closings, cancellations, emergencies, or other non-public information. That information is shared by University Relations and registered accounts are encouraged to share/retweet the University Relations posts.
Individuals may not portray themselves as acting on behalf of the University or present a Recognized Social Media Account as an Official University Social Media Account. University employees acting in an individual capacity on social media should exercise caution and, when appropriate, clearly communicate he or she is strictly acting in a personal capacity and is not expressing views or opinions in a manner that is representative of the University.
Keep personal views separate from University posts. When posting on behalf of the University, posters must ensure that the contents of your post will further the University’s mission and reflect positively on your department and the University as a whole.
Social media sites provide forums for thoughtful discussion of opposing ideas; 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 question or comment is directed to one of the University’s social media sites or pages, strive to respond in a timely and appropriate fashion. Supervisors should determine who will be permitted to respond directly to users and whether prior approval is required before issuing a response.
Departments, student clubs and organizations, and University Teams may be eligible to create a social media presence after completing the request process.
University Relations may ask social media account administrators/ moderators to remove content or clarify a posting if the content is deemed inappropriate or the posting negatively impacts the reputation or public perception of Florida Poly. This includes but is not limited to posts or comments that are spam, include links to inappropriate sites, are clearly off-topic, advocate illegal activity, promote particular services or products, support or oppose political organizations/ candidates, promote positions on matters of public policy, or infringe on copyrights or trademarks.
If a member of University Relations contacts you regarding a requested modification or removal of the above content, it is expected that action will be taken as soon as possible.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Florida Poly is not obligated to take any such actions, and will not be responsible or liable for any interactions or content posted by any participant in any university-affiliated social networking forum, event, or service. In addition, Florida Poly does not endorse content outside of that created by University Relations staff.
All Florida Poly social media accounts must include the following information in the "About" section of the platform.
As a public voice for the University, the content on University registered social media channels should be informative and interactive with a wide variety of audiences, including current and prospective students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, and the community.
Content shared should support the University’s strategic efforts.
The content should also be unique to the account’s mission and its established or desired audience. The information presented there should be accurate, and should avoid:
Links: Be wary of posting links to another website, as they could contain viruses or imply the University’s endorsement of the linked site.
Events: Pages, accounts, or event listings for events that are university-wide in nature should only be created by University Relations, or with the consent of University Relations. Examples include but are not limited to those listed on the Campus Traditions webpage.
Events that have no connection to the University or its academic or strategic priorities should not be promoted on Florida Poly registered social media accounts. This includes events that are hosted on campus but are not sponsored by a Florida Poly entity.
Longevity: Keep in mind that posts may be viewed by anyone, anywhere in the world, and material can be copied and forwarded. In addition, search engines may find posts years after their publication dates.
Be familiar with the terms of service and policies of the sites and networks with which you interact and ensure that you follow them.
Timing matters when posting on social media. By using Insights and other scheduling platforms, you can determine what days and times are best to post so that your community will see your content.
It is the responsibility of each social media account administrator/moderator to obtain prior permission (i.e. waiver and release) to post, share, or distribute certain identifiable images of individuals as required. Distribution of such photographs or videos in conjunction with a University social media account must be authorized by University Relations.
Florida Poly trademarks and logos may not be used without approval. Contact University Relations for an approved logo and other images to ensure coordination with other Florida Poly sites and content.
The most successful social media channels have clear message strategies, update content frequently, and know target audiences. Aim to include:
