Social Media Guidelines

The story of Slippery Rock University cannot be told in a single voice. Through social media, we invite students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to help us capture and portray the total SRU experience - not just as we describe it, but as it can only be expressed by people who are part of it. Social media channels allow us to reinforce the SRU brand with engaging content and an ongoing conversation.

At this time, SRU maintains official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. University Marketing and Communication manage these accounts.

While these are the official accounts of the University, many departments or colleges have already taken the social media plunge, including Admissions (slipperyrockuniversity on Instagram) and the College of Education (SRU College of Education on Facebook).

If you have been authorized to create a social media account on behalf of your department or program, please consult SRU's Nine Required Elements for Your Social Media Account to be sure you're following graphic identity standards.

Every social media account associated with SRU is a reflection of the University and helps shape the brand for our audience.

The following guidelines apply to all Slippery Rock University faculty, staff, colleges, departments, offices, clubs and/or organizations that would like to officially represent a University entity on a social media channel. All SRU parties must agree and adhere to these guidelines and register social media accounts with the University Marketing and Communication before those accounts will be listed in the SRU Social Media Directory.

Should social media account administrators fail to comply with these guidelines, University Marketing and Communication reserves the right to remove individual accounts from the SRU Social Media Directory and individual department web pages at www.sru.edu.

Guidelines for Social Media at Slippery Rock University

Showcase the SRU experience
Remember that we're all here for the same reason: to facilitate student success and promote Slippery Rock University. When using social media, keep the institutional position in mind and think of ways you can creatively share SRU's best stories.

Maintain current account administrator information
All University social media accounts should identify their account administrator with University Marketing and Communication. Should an account administrator leave the University, for any reason, administrative access for that person should be removed, passwords changed and a revised social media registration form (link) submitted.

Abide by University Policies
Confidential, identifiable or proprietary information about the University, its students, employees or SRU community members should never be posted on social media.

Social media administrators should familiarize themselves with the following university policies and information:

Keep Content Professional and Unbiased
Social media administrators should refrain from posting personal views or opinions on University social media accounts. Posts should refrain from endorsement of any commercial products, businesses, political candidates or parties or political cause.

Be Respectful
Respect your audience by replying to their posts in a timely manner, sharing appropriate content and maintaining an active presence. Do not post content that is defamatory, discriminatory, embarrassing, harassing, threatening, abusive, hateful or libelous to anyone.

Be Responsive
Due to the immediacy of social media, reasonable response times should be within four hours during a workday; 24 hours during the traditional workweek; and 48 hours during the weekend.

Monitor Content
The nature of social media encourages your followers to comment, respond and/or interact with your posts. With that in mind, official University Facebook accounts should include a disclaimer that clearly identifies if and when comments will be deleted and/or reported. Feel free to appropriately edit and use the following disclaimer:

The views and opinions posted by visitors to this site do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Slippery Rock University. Posted comments may be monitored and we reserve the right to review comments that are deemed to be profane or spam and remove them from the site. Trolling or threats toward others may result in being removed or blocked from participating in this social media space.

Be Cautious
When responding to negative posts, exercise caution. If you are unsure about the appropriate response, ask your supervisor for guidance. Remember, social media spaces are public forums, which support freedom of speech. Our disclaimer references that items deemed threatening may be monitored or removed.

Be Thoughtful
Privacy does not exist in the world of social media. Consider what could happen if a post becomes widely known and how that may reflect both on the originating social media participant and the University. Search engines can turn up posts years after they are created, and comments can be forwarded or copied. If you wouldn’t say it at a conference, to a colleague or to a member of the media, consider whether you should post it online. Be mindful of the various stakeholders served by the University’s social media.

Ensure Accuracy and Correct Mistakes
Content posted to social media accounts should be relevant to your department or organization. Ensure that information posted online is accurate and free of typos. If you do make a mistake, be transparent and admit it, then modify the post to correct the error.

Be Social and Have Fun
Remember, the best content comes from engaging with your audience and helping to facilitate the conversation, regardless of platform. Find your voice and make it heard.