UC San Diego Social Media Guide

Prepared by University Communications and Public Affairs

This guide was developed to empower UC San Diego schools, divisions, departments and programs to establish and manage their own social media networks. We recognize the value of social media sites as a vital resource to positively promote and communicate news, events and other information about your organization or area of interest to our campus community. Because many of you have been designated the social media spokesperson for your UC San Diego area, we would like to share some guidelines to make your job easier, and your efforts consistent with best practices.

Social Media Guidelines

As university communicators, you already have an innate sense of what’s appropriate to say (and what’s not) to your various target audiences. Follow that intuition when you are on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, and you will make fewer mistakes. A key rule for social networking, and life: use your best judgment.

Below are suggested UC San Diego social network usage best practices and content parameters to follow as you move forward with your unit’s social networking efforts:

Be smart. Everything you write or receive on a social media site is public. And it could live forever, and ever, and ever.

Identify yourself. Be transparent. No matter when or where you jump into the conversation online, speak in your own voice and clearly identify yourself and your affiliation with UC San Diego. Remember you are your area’s spokesperson.

Facebook: Every Facebook post should feature your user name and “UCSD” at the end of the comment in parenthesis [i.e., Just saw Inception – Geisel Library is featured as the snow fortress! (jtritonucsd)].
Twitter: Naming convention should be your UC San Diego user name, plus “UCSD”, i.e., jtritonucsd.
YouTube: Upload to the UCSD or your unit’s YouTube channel, and keep UC San Diego or UCSD in the name of the video.
Blogs: Make your blog your own, but make sure that readers know who you are and your affiliation with the university.

Follow university branding. We strongly encourage all schools, divisions, departments and programs that launch official social media presences to feature identifiable UC San Diego branding, including the current logo. In order to leverage the full strength of the university’s name, fame and reputation we recommend that your social media presence be consistent and complimentary to the UC San Diego brand. UC San Diego has strong name recognition; use it to your advantage!

Be professional and ethical. Respect your audience. Never use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity or engage in any conduct that would not be acceptable. Only post accurate and honest content, and if you offer your own opinion, it should be identified as such. Social media is not an official means of communication and should not replace official university correspondences. However, it can help amplify your message.

Add value. Don’t join the discussion unless you have something to say. Be part of the conversation; don’t take it over. There are times when it is appropriate to push out content, but be strategic.

No endorsements. Do not endorse or promote any product, political party, candidate or cause.

Obtain permissions. Get permission from your supervisor before you set up your sites. Get appropriate permission before you refer to or post images, copyrighted material, intellectual property, etc.

Keep it legal. There are legal issues such as intellectual property, privacy and more that could not only get you in trouble; it could get the university in trouble. Do not disclose anything that contains confidential or proprietary information about UC San Diego, it employees, students, affiliates, vendors or suppliers. At a recent PRSA presentation entitled "Is Social Media the New Wild West?" Michael Lasky of the New York law firm of Davis & Gilbert, shared how the law is slowly creeping into the social landscape and why responsible marketers should pay attention.

Who to Call

We hope that the suggestions and ideas outlined in this guide will inspire your involvement and be helpful as you move forward with your own social media strategy. If you have questions or need help, please contact: