2. Quick Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Facebook Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Twitter Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Instagram Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
B
OVERVIEW
Social media enables us to share information
important to our students, faculty, staff, parents,
alumni, donors and fans. It is a key platform to
engage, educate and entertain these audiences.
CMU’s colleges, departments and service units
contemplating or already using their own official
social media channels should follow the CMU Social
Media Guidelines, which will:
Help you through the process of setting up a social
media channel.
Guide you in registering an existing social media
3. channel.
Specify general guidelines for social media channel
use and administration.
Provide resources to improve the effectiveness of
your social media channels.
The intent of these guidelines is not to control, but
to ensure the social media channels representing
CMU uphold the university’s brand standards and do
as much as possible to support your marketing and
communications efforts. University Communications
also will help you assess and determine the best
social media channel(s) and strategies for your goals.
In addition to creating a communication path
between University Communications’ social media
team and your college, department or service unit,
registering your channel will allow it to be added to
the university’s official social media listings. It also
allows us to communicate across campus about
important social media issues and makes you a part
of CMU’s social media team.
HOW TO
USE THESE
GUIDELINES
If you want to start a new social
media channel related to CMU, check
out the getting started section (p. 3)
to learn about the setup and approval
process.
If you have an existing social media
channel, register it (p. 3) with
4. University Communications and check
out the general guidelines (p. 4)
and resources (p. 12) sections for
best practices, photos and more.
QUESTIONS?
We’re happy to support your efforts!
Emily Stulz
Assistant Director of Social Media &
Communications
University Communications
989.774.7332
[email protected]
Erick Fredendall
Social Media & Content Manager
University Communications
989.774.7110
[email protected]
CMU's Social Media Guidelines were developed based on
review of guides and policies used by universities such as
Princeton University, University of Houston, Tufts University
and University of Delaware.
1
NEED A SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL?
ST
A
R
T
5. YES NO
Does your college, department or
service unit already have its own
social media channel?
Do you have enough content to post
daily on a social media channel of
your own, year-round?
Is this offered at least six
months out of the year?
Do you want to start this page for your:
PROGRAM, EVENT
OR CAMP
COLLEGE, DEPARTMENT,
UNIT, MAJOR OR MINOR
Regularly posting high-
quality content is key to
social media success. If you
don’t have enough content
to post to your own social
media channel, work with
University Communications
to leverage the existing
audiences on CMU’s official
social media channels.
Email important news,
activities, photos and
other announcements to
[email protected]
6. Would your audience benefit from or be interested
in the specialized content you would offer?
Do you have the staffing to create
content and monitor the page daily?
YES NO
YES
YES NO
YES NO
Would it make sense to work with your college or unit,
allowing you to reach an audience already established
on their existing social media channel?
YES NO
You might be able to
reach a larger audience
by working with an existing
social media channel. Consider
collaborating with an existing
social media channel created
by your college, department
or service unit. You also
could work with University
Communications to leverage
the existing audiences on
the official CMU social media
channels.
It sounds like you might
need your own social
7. media channel. Read over
the CMU Social Media
Guidelines and start the
application process if
you would like to start a
Facebook page, Twitter
profile or other social
media channel.
Each social media channel, such as a Facebook page or Twitter
profile, requires a commitment of
resources. From developing engaging content to daily
monitoring, a social media channel will
require time, staffing and creativity. Use this quiz to see if a
social media channel might be right for
your college, department or service unit.
NO
2
GETTING STARTED
Because the social media channel you create will represent both
CMU and your college, department
or service unit, it’s important to secure buy-in and agreement
from:
• The communications coordinator of your college, department
or service unit.
• The dean or senior leader of your college, department or
service unit.
• University Communications.
8. If you want to start a new social media channel:
You must contact University Communications before
you create a new Facebook page, Twitter profile,
Instagram account or any other social media channel.
To begin the process, email [email protected]
edu. You should receive a response from University
Communications within one week to discuss the new
channel.
Social media channels not created through this
official process may be amended or removed. Any
social media channels representing CMU’s colleges,
departments, programs, camps, events, etc., must
go through this official process.
If you already have a social media channel:
All social media channels need to be registered
with University Communications. In addition to
creating a communication path between University
Communications’ social media team and you,
registering your channel will allow it to be added to
the university’s official social media listing.
Accounts may be removed from the public listing
should they become inactive for a period of six
months or more and if they are not adhering to
CMU’s official social media guidelines as determined
by University Communications. To register your
channel, email [email protected]
It is important to contact
University Communications
BEFORE creating a new account
on any social media channel.
3
9. GENERAL GUIDELINES
PHOTOS TIPS
• Exercise proper judgment and discretion in
determining what photos to share on your
account.
• Seek permission in instances where a person
would have some expectation of privacy.
• Typically, you may use photos from public
events, but you should take special care when
dealing with images of special populations,
such as children under 18, health care patients,
research subjects, etc.
• Do not use any photos, images or other
content you do not have authorization to use.
This includes, but is not limited to, securing
necessary model releases, copyright licenses or
other permission documents.
• Don't post photos of students wearing other
school's shirts, hats, etc.
• If you do not have the necessary permission, you
may link to the content but may not embed or
otherwise import it onto your channel.
For use of CMU photographs, contact University
Communications at [email protected] or
989-774-3197. You also can request and use photos
from the CMU PhotoStore.
10. UNIVERSITY MARKS
Use of university marks, such as logos and
graphics, must comply with CMU’s Trademark
Licensing policies and brand standards. You may
not use the action C or the stamp image without
prior approval from University Communications. For
assistance, contact Amy Gouin, design director, at
[email protected] or 989-774-1791.
MANAGEMENT
If you choose to have a social media channel for your
college, department or service unit, it needs to be
monitored and updated on an ongoing basis. It’s
important to post dynamic, engaging content and to
answer questions posted by users in a timely manner.
Ideally, original content should be posted at least
once a day on a channel such as Facebook or Twitter.
It’s also imperative to monitor the channel at least
once a day for questions, inappropriate content and
interaction opportunities.
BRAND GUIDELINES
You should use an icon or image that accurately
represents your college, department or service unit
and is unique to you to minimize confusion. You
may not use the icon used by the official Central
Michigan University social media channels.
When creating these icons and images, make sure
you adhere to the Brand Identity Standards. It is
important to maintain brand standards across all
affiliated accounts.
4
11. SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL ADMINISTRATION
Every university social media channel must have a designated
social media manager who is a CMU
faculty or staff member. Students and graduate assistants cannot
be designated as social media
managers because their presence in a given college, department
or service unit is fleeting. Faculty
and staff also have a greater understanding of the university, its
policies and procedures, the law,
etc. Graduate assistants and students may have administrative
access if they help manage, monitor
or create content for the channel.
The social media manager is responsible for:
Monitoring the social media channel.
Managing social media content.
Maintaining compliance with laws, regulations,
policies and the CMU Social Media Guidelines.
Overseeing others who help manage
the channel (content creators, student
interns, etc.).
ACCOUNT SECURITY
The social media manager also must maintain the
security of his/her personal social media accounts.
For example, if your personal Facebook profile is
hacked, any Facebook pages you manage could
become compromised. This “hacker” could post
unauthorized content on your CMU Facebook
page or could even remove your administrative
privileges.
12. If you discover your account has been hacked,
immediately change your password, scan your
computer for viruses and disable any questionable
third-party apps.
You can find “Apps” on Facebook within your
“Account Settings.” Common apps on Facebook
include games (Farmville, Candy Crush, etc.), readers
(Flipboard, Washington Post Social Reader, etc.),
sweepstakes (Rafflecopter, Amazon Sweepstakes,
etc.) and website logins (Pinterest, Instagram, etc.).
You can find “Apps” on Twitter within “Settings.”
Common apps include management tools, such
as Hootsuite and Twitter for iPad, and other tools,
such as bit.ly and Instagram.
ACCOUNT ACCESS
More than one person should have administrative
access to each social media channel in case
of the unavailability or departure of a social
media manager who has administrative control
of the page.
Passwords should be changed every time a person
who has had access to the social media account
leaves. Make sure when the password is updated,
it is effectively communicated throughout your
area to the appropriate parties.
It’s possible for a Facebook page administrator
to remove other administrators. This can become
a problem if your administrator leaves CMU, the
administrator account is hacked or you otherwise
lose control over the page. Grant administrative
13. access to other people wisely and remove
administrators if they leave their position within
your college, department or service unit.
5
To see success with social media, it’s
vital to develop a strategy. A social media
strategy will:
Aid you in using a consistent voice.
Help you select relevant, engaging
content for your audience(s).
Serve as a guide in helping you achieve
your goals.
Help you show the value of investing
your time in social media.
Enable you to look at the “big picture”
and communicate how social media
fits within a college, department or
service unit.
Download the Social Media Strategy
worksheet from http://cmich.ly/cmichsocial
to further define how you will utilize social
media for your college, department or
service unit.
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
TACTICS
STRATEGY
14. A social media channel, such as a Facebook page, is essentially
the
"tip of the iceberg." Dive under the surface to discover the
strategy
that goes into ensuring the channel's success.
MEASUREMENT & REPORTING
CHANNEL
MANAGEMENT
CONTENT
CREATION
GOALS &
OBJECTIVES
RESEARCH
LISTENING &
MONITORING
INTEGRATION WITH
MARKETING
CONTENT
CALENDARS
AUDIENCE
ANALYSIS
EDITING &
PROOFREADING
CONVERSATION &
INTERACTION
15. ARE YOU READY?
Before creating a social media channel, ask yourself:
How will this social media channel differ from the website,
marketing efforts and
other social media channels within my department, college or
service unit and CMU
as a whole?
What do we want to achieve? What are our goals?
What information will we share and where will we find that
information?
Who is the audience we are trying to engage?
Who will monitor and manage this channel?
Who will find and create content? How will we find content
that is engaging
and entertaining?
How will the content engage the audience?
Contact University Communications at [email protected] to
schedule a meeting
for one-on-one social media strategy counseling.
6
BASIC BEST PRACTICES
Questioning what to do? It is always better to err on the side of
caution and contact University
Communications.
■1 Be strategic. Determine why you want to
have a social media channel and set goals to
help guide you in providing relevant content
16. to your audiences.
■2 Add value. Be sure the information you post
is helpful, interesting and engaging. Spend at
least 80 percent of your time entertaining and
engaging your audience and approximately
20 percent of your time educating. Too much
“selling” will cause your fans to go elsewhere.
■3 Listen. Observe conversations before you
engage. Join in if it’s appropriate.
■4 Encourage conversation. Do not solely
use your channels to market or broadcast
information. Be sure to ask questions, garner
input and respond to inquiries in a timely
manner.
■5 Be real. Have a voice and personality online,
while staying consistent with CMU’s brand and
messaging.
■6 Stay credible. Always check your facts,
proofread to prevent errors and avoid
controversial issues. Be sure to share
information only from credible sources that
is appropriate for the general public and
accurately represents the university.
■7 Respect others. Never post things that might
be considered profane, libelous, defamatory or
embarrassing.
■8 Follow the rules. Familiarize yourself with each
social media channel’s terms of service and be
sure to follow the CMU Social Media Guidelines.
17. ■9 Avoid online arguments. If a conversation is
negative, offer to speak with them via email or
phone.
■10 Use caution. If you’re unsure about a post or
comment, discuss it with another social media
manager or University Communications before
proceeding. Even if you delete a post, it may
continue to exist online if someone takes a
screenshot.
ARE YOU MAKING THE MOST OF
YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS?
Here are a few questions to ask:
Are you using social media strategically to achieve your goals?
Are you posting on a regular basis, answering student questions
and engaging the audience?
Do you have a presence on the social media channels that will
be most effective in reaching
your audience?
Are you changing strategies as needed to continuously reach
your key audiences and keep
pace with the latest trends? If not, it may be time to rethink
your strategy (see page 6.)
7
QUICK TIPS
Questioning what to do? It is always better to err on the side of
caution and contact University
Communications.
18. ■1 If your personal accounts and your CMU
channels are synced to the same app on
your phone or social media management
system, use caution when posting. It is easy to
accidentally tweet from the wrong account.
■2 Keep your channels secure by creating strong
passwords, guarding your login information
and exercising caution when using third-party
apps.
■3 In times of tragedy or crisis, stop scheduled
posts. Don’t market. Feel free to show
compassion for the victims of the tragedy or
crisis in a sincere manner, but don’t overdo
it. Don’t express opinions, join in hyperbole
surrounding controversy, or use the situation
to advance your own agenda or build your
audience.
■4 Be proactive. Listen to and monitor
conversations. If you see a potential problem,
act quickly. You’ll want to create a plan, craft an
official statement and appoint one person to
manage inquires.
■5 In times of university crisis, it is important that
we communicate in a unified voice. Contact
University Communications for direction.
Questioning what to do? It is always better to err on
the side of caution and not post. For help navigating
a situation, contact University Communications.
OFFICIAL POLICY
19. Registered Facebook pages must include the official CMU
Facebook policy within their
“General Information” section. Copy and paste the following
statement for your Facebook page:
We encourage you to share your thoughts and experiences about
Central
Michigan University with the community, as well as use this
page to network
with others and ask questions. CMU is not responsible for the
comments and
wall posts created by visitors to this page. Community-
generated content does
not reflect the opinion of, or represent, the university. We
reserve the right to remove
any content that is racist, sexist, abusive, profane, violent,
obscene, pornographic,
advocates illegal behavior, is libelous, or that incites harmful
behavior or threatens
a person. Solicitation also may be removed at the discretion of
the university.
If you have questions or concerns, email [email protected]
“
”
8
FACEBOOK BASICS
ARE YOU READY?
Before creating your Facebook account, make sure you have the
following pieces collected:
20. Content for one month - This allows you to get used to the
other parts of running a social
media account (monitoring, engagement, etc.) while also
working to promote your page
and gain a following.
Profile and cover photo - See optimal image sizes above.
Complete bio - Besides the official policy that we have
supplied you should also have your
area's mission statement, "About" section and any milestones
you've reached (50 years as a
college, prestigious awards, etc.) ready so you can complete
everything at once.
Contact information - Though it goes in your "About" section,
it is extremely important to
have the correct and current contact information for your
area on the page. It should be
an areawide email address that is checked regularly, the
main phone line, etc. You want to
make sure when people are looking for you via Facebook,
they have the information
available to find you off the platform.
Facebook’s terms change often. While we do out best to update
social media managers with
registered channels about changes in Facebook’s terms that
affect CMU, it is your responsibility to
follow the rules. For the most recent version of the terms, visit
facebook.com/page_guidelines.php.
AUDIENCE
Your audience on Facebook is the most versatile of
all social media platforms. Followers will be any age
and be of any gender, race or ethnicity.
21. POSTING FREQUENCY
Stay consistent and post three to five times a week.
Do your best to avoid posting multiple times a day.
OPTIMAL IMAGE SIZES
• Profile photo - 320 x 320 pixels.
• Cover photo - minimum 720 pixels wide.
• Photos or graphics - 1200 x 900 pixels.
WHAT IS STRONG CONTENT?
• The more visuals, the better.
• Keep text as short as possible.
• Utilize your website and link to it if needed;
however, posts will generally reach more
people without a link.
• Create content that engages your followers or
encourages them to like, comment or share
your post.
OFFICIAL POLICY
Don’t forget to add the official CMU Facebook policy
within your “General Information” portion of your
profile. It can be found on the preceding page.
9
TWITTER BASICS
ARE YOU READY?
Before creating your Twitter account, make sure you have the
following pieces collected:
22. Content for one month - This allows you to get used to the
other parts of running a social
media account (monitoring, engagement, etc.) while also
working to promote it and
gain a following.
Profile and cover photo - See optimal image sizes above.
Complete bio - Your official Twitter bio will be limited to 160
characters. Briefly include
information about your area and how it ties to CMU. If there is
room, you may tag our
official account (@CMUniversity) in your account. Example:
The Department of XYZ at
@CMUniversity teaches future leaders of the ABC industry.
Make sure the link in your
bio goes back to your official cmich.edu webpage.
Bonus - Change your account’s theme color to one of our
official colors. The hex codes are:
Maroon (6a0032) and Gold (ffc82e).
While we do out best to update social media managers with
registered channels about changes
in Twitter’s terms that affect CMU, it is your responsibility to
follow the rules. For the most recent
version of the terms, visit twitter.com/tos
AUDIENCE
Your audience on Twitter is much newer than
Facebook, with the majority of users between 18
and 29 years old.
POSTING FREQUENCY
Post five times a week, with a minimum of one
23. tweet a day during the workweek. Retweets
do count as content, as they are showing your
engagement on the platform.
OPTIMAL IMAGE SIZES
• Profile photo - 400 x 400 pixels.
• Cover photo - 1500 x 500 pixels.
• Photos or graphics - 1024 x 512 pixels.
WHAT IS STRONG CONTENT?
• Visuals are the best way to engage your
audience.
• Schedule content directly before or after the
hour to increase engagement.
• Keep text short and conversational to
encourage interactions.
• Utilize your website and link to it if needed;
however, posts will generally reach more
people without a link.
OFFICIAL CMU HASHTAGS
Please use CMU’s official hashtags, #lifeatcentral
and #fireupchips. If you are interested in creating
your own, please contact [email protected]
edu.
10
24. INSTAGRAM BASICS
ARE YOU READY?
Before creating your Instagram account, make sure you have the
following pieces collected:
Content for one month - This allows you to get used to the
other parts of running a social
media account (monitoring, engagement, etc.) while also
working to promote it and gain a
following.
Profile photo - See optimal image sizes above.
Complete bio - Your Instagram bio will be limited to 150
characters. Briefly include
information about your area and how it ties to CMU. If there is
room, you may tag our
official account (@cmichuniversity) in your account. Example:
The Department of XYZ at @
cmichuniversity teaches future leaders of the ABC industry.
Make sure the website link you
include is the link to your official cmich.edu webpage.
While we do out best to update social media managers with
registered channels about changes in
Instagram’s terms that affect CMU, it is your responsibility to
follow the rules. For the most recent
version of the terms, visit help.instagram.com.
AUDIENCE
Your audience on Instagram is young, with the
majority of users falling between 13 to 35.
POSTING FREQUENCY
Stay consistent and post three to five times a week.
25. Do your best to avoid posting multiple times a day.
OPTIMAL IMAGE SIZES
• Profile photo - 110 x 100 pixels.
• Posts - 1080 x 1080 pixels.
• Photos or graphics in a story (if pre-made) -
1080 x 1920 pixels.
WHAT IS STRONG CONTENT?
• Because Instagram is a primarily visual
platform, having well-taken photos is
imperative (no blurry photos, badly shaking
videos, etc.).
• Use photos that are different than the photos
shared on other accounts.
OFFICIAL CMU HASHTAGS
#lifeatcentral #fireupchips
If you are interested in creating your own, please
contact [email protected]
11
RESOURCES
UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS
Emily Stulz
Assistant Director of Social Media and Communications
[email protected]
989-774-7332
Erick Fredendall
26. Social Media and Content Manager
[email protected]
989-774-7110
Looking to learn more? Here are a few resources to get you
started. If you have specific questions,
email [email protected]
BLOGS
Mashable Social Media
http://mashable.com/social-media
Social Media Today
http://socialmediatoday.com
Ragan’s PR Daily Social Media
http://www.prdaily.com/SocialMedia/
SocialMedia.aspx
CASE Blog
http://blog.case.org
SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
Bit.ly
https://bitly.com
Hootsuite
https://hootsuite.com
ADDITIONAL TOOLS
Canva
https://canva.com
ThingLink
http://thinglink.com
Google Alerts
27. https://google.com/alerts
IFTTT
http://ifttt.com
Feedly
http://feedly.com
Trello
http://trello.com
12
Running head: INSERT YOUR RUNNING HEAD 1
(REMEMBER: DELETE EVERYTHING THAT APPEARS IN
RED.)
Review the Final Project Part I Milestone Two Guidelines and
Rubric to see how your paper will be scored.
Be sure to follow APA format when providing references. If you
have questions on the APA format, you can check the Purdue
OWL website or seek help from the SNHU Writing Center.
Notes on APA in a Formal Assignment
· Set margins to 1 inch all around.
· Use 12-point Times New Roman font and make sure to double-
space.
· Paragraphs should be at least three to four sentences.
· Do not include the headings “Introduction” and “Conclusion.”
These are included below to help you lay out your paper. APA
format assumes the introduction begins the paper, the body
continues the paper, and the conclusion wraps up the paper, so
28. those headings are not needed.
· Indent the first line of every paragraph by pressing the Tab
key.
· Be careful not use personal pronouns such as “I.”
Make sure to delete the Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2 headings
as well.
Be sure to replace all the text in red on this template with your
own writing. (This entire first page can be deleted after you
review the suggestions. The paper should begin with your title
page, which follows.)
INSERT YOUR RUNNING HEAD 3
MKT 113: Final Project Part I Milestone Two
Full Title of Your Paper
Your Name
Southern New Hampshire University
(REMEMBER: DELETE EVERYTHING THAT APPEARS IN
RED.)
Introduction (Delete this heading in your final paper.)
In your opening paragraph, very briefly introduce the purpose
of your paper. Describe the company and what product the
company is launching. Three or four sentences are sufficient.
Paragraph 1 (Delete this heading in your final paper.)
Describe the target market for the pet supply store’s new
29. product to be launched. Include information about the target
market’s demographic, psychographic, and geographic
breakdown. A minimum of four to five sentences are required to
support your thoughts. Please make sure you focus your
thinking around the segment of the pet supply store’s target
market that would be most interested in purchasing this new
product.
Paragraph 2 (Delete this heading in your final paper.)
Identify and describe the wants and needs of this target market.
Remember that you are focusing on the specific segment of the
target market that would be interested in buying the new
product.A minimum of four to five sentences are required to
support your thoughts. Please be specific in your answer and
include information about how the product will either appeal to
the wants of this market segment or satisfy their needs or both.
Conclusion (Delete this heading in your final paper.)
The conclusion reminds the reader what your paper is about and
allows you to make a final point without introducing new
information. Four or five sentences are sufficient.
References
Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2015). Marketing: An introduction
(12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Make sure that you provide appropriate citations in APA style.
The text is provided as an example and should be kept in the
references for your paper. Feel free to add other resources.
Remember to cite ALL the sources that you used to write this
paper, not only here at the end of your paper but also within the
body to add credibility to your statements. References that you
have used should be included in alphabetical order by the
author’s last name.