General Content and Branding Guidelines

As manager of a campus social media platform, you’re engaging in a dynamic conversation about our university. Here are some guidelines to help you.

Guiding principles

Keep these in mind when creating and/or sustaining your social media presence:

  • Create a sense of community.
    • Focus on relationships.
    • Increase the speed of information dissemination.
    • Help followers find, share and engage with content relevant to your organization, department or program.
  • Engage. Avoid being “tellers and yellers” at all costs and encourage open conversation. Social media is people connecting with people, so humanizing your interactions is essential.
  • Timing is key. Time the delivery of your content at the best time for your audience based on what is in their heart and minds — and remember that the best time may not be during traditional office hours. Most importantly you have to continually evaluate both your content strategy  — and when you’re posting to ensure maximum engagement.
  • Balance your content. Creating the right mix of content is critical to engage with various audiences and capture the collective brand. Keep content type interesting and diverse while always keeping the goal of the university as well as that of your organization, department or program at the forefront.
  • Make it compelling. Successful content is sharable content, and it should provide value to your audience and meet a need. Before you post content, ask yourself if it is doing one of these things: is it…
    • Educating?
    • Entertaining?
    • Inspiring?
    • Revealing exclusive information?
    • Reciprocating?
  • Be respectful. Anything you post in your role as a TWU employee reflects on the university. Be professional and respectful. Do not engage in arguments or long debates with those who comment on your site. If, after careful consideration, you believe a comment requires a response, be factual and be brief. Never be defensive. If your response draws a further comment (and it probably will), it’s best to let it go. Continuing to respond only provides an opportunity to prolong the comments.
  • Respect the rights of others. Posts and comments must conform to the laws regarding intellectual property, copyright infringement, plagiarism, disclosure of proprietary information, FERPA, HIPAA, PII, PIFI, etc. Respect an individual’s request to remove content directly related to her/him.
  • Review and engage with comments/content. Questions, concerns, and feedback while not all positive can provide an opportunity to engage in constructive discussions that can provide helpful insights.
  • Think twice before posting. Think, and think again, before you post. Anything you share on social media is not private, regardless of your settings. A post can be shared, stored and spread. If you wouldn’t want to see the contents of your post on the front page of the newspaper or on a national news website, don’t post it.
  • Evaluate. All social media have tracking tools – use them. You’ll see what content is popular, what isn’t, what’s ignored, etc. Be flexible and willing to adjust your content accordingly.

Branding

All university social media accounts must comply with the visual identity manual, specifically the social media guidelines. All university social media accounts must use the profile photos provided and accounts must be registered with Marketing and Communication. These include accounts related to your specific college, department or division.

No modifications may be made to the social media designed for official TWU accounts. This includes adding a college or department name, changing the color, etc.

The exceptions are student-run accounts for student organizations, which should not use the official TWU account. Additionally, certain divisions with their own official/professional logo, such as Athletics, may use their own logo. Before using your own logo, contact the social media manager to ensure your logo is approved for social use. Note that few exceptions will be granted.

Refer any questions to socialmedia@twu.edu.

TWU logo

Above is the approved profile picture for all university accounts. Right-click on the image to save it or copy it.

Hashtags

The following hashtags are the set standards to be used across all social media accounts campus wide. By using these hashtags, the Social and Digital Media team is able to better track engagement, and the university is shown as having a consistent brand and strategic message. Below is a list of university approved hashtags and tips on when to strategically use them:

  • #TXWomans: General TWU-related messages. Can be used with any TWU post.
  • #CampusWithAHeart: Features community investment/service projects or showcases of how our campus cares for its students/faculty/staff or others in the community
  • #PioneerProud: Individual spotlight and school spirit
  • #TWUevents: Events on campus
  • #TWUMaroonMonday: Only use with a photo displaying Maroon Monday
  • #WomenWhoLead: Features of women who, through their entrepreneurship or service, embody the TWU spirit of leadership

Need help?

If you need assistance designing a content strategy for your specific college, school, department, program or organization or have more questions that are not covered here, please contact the social media team at socialmedia@twu.edu.

Page last updated 9:10 AM, December 2, 2019 

Social Media

socialmedia@twu.edu