1.12 - Social Media Marketing
Policy Number - 1.12
Approved: 12/15/2020 | Updated: 05/19/2026
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to establish requirements for the approval, creation, management, security, accessibility, and oversight of official 糖心vlog-branded social media accounts used to represent the College, its departments, programs, offices, and approved initiatives.
This policy applies to official 糖心vlog-branded social media accounts used for College business or operated on behalf of the College. This policy does not govern purely personal social media use except where a user falsely represents that personal content is endorsed by, sponsored by, or made on behalf of the College. Personal accounts may not use 糖心vlog names, logos, marks, or other branding in a manner that suggests official College affiliation or endorsement without authorization.
Definitions
Social media: Websites, applications, and digital platforms that allow users to create, share, comment on, or engage with content and communities online. Examples include but are not limited to YouTube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Instagram.
Official 糖心vlog-branded account: A social media account that uses 糖心vlog’s name, logo, marks, department/program identity, or otherwise represents or appears to represent the College, a College unit, or an approved College activity.
Administrator: A College employee designated with management responsibility for an official account, including content oversight, security, compliance, monitoring, and records coordination.
Contributor: A student worker or employee authorized to assist with content creation or posting under the supervision of an Administrator.
Professional use: Use of social media in connection with College employment, assigned duties, or authorized representation of the College.
College business: Any communication, outreach, promotion, service, recruitment, engagement, or operational activity conducted on behalf of the College.
Confidential information: Information protected by law, regulation, or College policy, including but not limited to student education records, personnel information, nonpublic institutional information, and other protected data.
Policy Statement
Official 糖心vlog social media accounts are institutional communication channels and must be managed to protect the College’s mission, reputation, legal obligations, accessibility commitments, and operational continuity. Official accounts are subject to College policies and applicable federal, state, and local laws, including laws and requirements relating to student privacy, employment matters, intellectual property, accessibility, records retention, public records, and use of public resources.
Not every department, office, or initiative requires a separate social media presence. The College may limit account creation to preserve brand consistency, reduce fragmentation, and ensure proper administrative oversight.
The College may deny, consolidate, reassign, suspend, or close a social media account that is duplicative, inactive, noncompliant, insecure, or no longer aligned with institutional needs.
Account Creation
Any College employee seeking to establish an official 糖心vlog-branded social media account must obtain prior approval from the Marketing and Institutional Image (MII) Division by creating a ticket request.
If permission is granted, the employee can proceed to create an account using a college email address whenever possible. After the page is created, passwords to social media accounts will be provided to the MII Division through the College's form and/or the 糖心vlog Facebook Business Manager site. This form must be completed after the account has been created with the appropriate contact and login information requested. Each social media account must have at least 2 responsible administrators assigned to it. One of those account administrators can be the Marketing staff member responsible for social media.
Account Administration
Official 糖心vlog-branded social media accounts, associated usernames, content produced for College business, audience data, analytics, and account access credentials are institutional assets of the College. Students may assist with content creation, engagement, or posting as Contributors under employee supervision, but students shall not serve as the sole or one of only two primary account Administrators unless expressly approved in writing by the Marketing and Institutional Image Division for limited circumstances.
Departments are responsible for promptly updating administrator access whenever staffing changes occur. When an Administrator leaves the College or no longer has job-related responsibility for an account, the department must immediately revoke or modify that person's access and update the account's registration information. Departments must maintain continuity of access sufficient to prevent loss of control over official accounts.
Content Standards
Employees using official College social media accounts must adhere to the same professional, ethical, and legal standards that govern other College communications and workplace conduct. Content shared through official accounts must be accurate, respectful, mission-related, and consistent with College policies and applicable law. Official account content may not disclose confidential or protected information; violate copyright, trademark, licensing, or other intellectual property rights; include defamatory, threatening, obscene, or otherwise unlawful material; unlawfully harass, stalk, or target individuals; promote personal commercial activity unrelated to College business; or use College resources to support or oppose a political candidate, political party, or ballot issue in violation of law or College policy. Employees may not use official accounts to present personal opinions as institutional positions unless they are expressly authorized to communicate on behalf of the College. Any substantive factual error posted on an official account must be corrected transparently and as promptly as practicable.
College employees must adhere to the same standards of conduct online as they would in the workplace. Laws and policies respecting contracting and conflicts of interest, as well as applicable policies and guidelines for interacting with students, parents, alumni, donors, media, and other College constituents, apply online and in the social media context just as they do in personal interactions. Employees are fully responsible for what they post, re-post, like, share, or otherwise interact with social media sites. An employee using social media shall not represent or lead another to believe that the user's personal opinions are endorsed by the College or any of its organizations.
Content published on official social media accounts should be created and maintained in an accessible manner to the greatest extent supported by the platform. Account Administrators and Contributors should use available accessibility features and follow College guidance regarding accessible digital communication, including captioning for video, alternative text or image descriptions where available, and readable text and visual formatting.
Social Media Comment Moderation
Official 糖心vlog social media accounts may allow public comments, replies, and other forms of user interaction. The College may monitor content posted by users on official pages and may hide, remove, report, limit, or block content or users only in accordance with applicable law and College standards governing official pages.
User-generated content may be subject to moderation if it constitutes spam or repetitive commercial solicitations, true threats or incitement, obscenity or unlawful pornography, harassment or stalking, defamatory content, disclosure of private or protected information, violations of intellectual property rights, malicious links, impersonation, fraudulent activity, or other content prohibited by law. All moderation decisions must be applied in a viewpoint-neutral and consistent manner. The College should also maintain and publish a separate social media user or community standards statement.
Monitoring and Responsiveness
Administrators shall regularly monitor official accounts to ensure compliance with this policy, maintain account security, and provide timely reviews of comments, messages, and emerging issues. Monitoring frequency should be appropriate to the account's purpose, activity level, and risk profile. Departments that fail to keep their accounts up to date and accurate may be required to close them.
Crisis and Emergency Communications
During an emergency, crisis, or other sensitive institutional incident, official College-wide communication channels designated by the College shall serve as the lead source of public messaging. Other official accounts may be directed to pause scheduled content and limit posting to approved information, amplification of official messages, or mission-critical communications.
Violations of Policy
The College may review official social media accounts and related content for compliance with this policy and applicable law. The College may require corrective action, remove noncompliant institutional content, suspend access, deactivate accounts, or take other administrative action as appropriate. Employees who violate this policy may be subject to corrective or disciplinary action consistent with applicable College policy, employment obligations, and governing law.