Queens College’s Social Media Guidelines

Queens College’s Social Media Guidelines

Social Media Guidelines (PDF)

The social media policy of Queens College and CUNY contains rules, tips, and best practices for maintaining a strong social media presence while helping departments to meet their goals.

  • Social Media as Responsible Communications
    • Queens College is responsible for informing the community about its activities, and one of the ways we do this is through social media. Social media are critical to ensuring that our digital communications are strong and representative of the college. Because of this, your followers should have a firm understanding of what your program or department is all about.
  • Social Media as an Engagement Tool
    • Social media allow us to speak to our community directly and in real time. Social media staff can instantly see what people are saying about the college, and people involved in our community can engage in these types of conversation when necessary.
  • Social Media as Service Delivery
    • Social media can be used as a customer-service vehicle to connect people with services, receive feedback, offer answers, and more. Think about how your program or department can deliver services through social media.
  • Social Media Staffing
    • For any social media account(s) to be successful, it’s strongly recommended that your office have a designated staffer who has expertise in social media and can manage accounts full time. We want to avoid having accounts that suffer from lack of strategy, attention, content, and appropriate branding.
Lillian Zepeda
Marketing Director
lillian.zepeda@qc.cuny.edu
Melissa Digenakis
Marketing Coordinator
melissa.digenakis@qc.cuny.edu
To Whom Does the QC and CUNY Social Media Policy Apply?
Queens College’s social media policy ensures that the college is properly represented by departments and institutions around campus and facing the public. Branding and language are important factors in how QC is viewed on and off campus.

For Whom Is the Policy Intended?
This policy is intended for accounts directly affiliated with the college:

  1. Academic departments (for example, Drama, Theatre & Dance, Photonics);
  2. Programs specific to academic departments and schools (for example, TIME2000);
  3. Student-serving departments and administrative offices (for example, Academic Advising, SEEK, QC Hub);
  4. Services that impact the college community (for example, Public Safety, Rosenthal Library);
  5. Cultural institutions (for example, Godwin-Ternbach Museum);
  6. Accounts created to represent an administrator at the college in their official Queens College capacity. More about official administrator accounts can be found under Section (3).

Who Is Not Required to Comply?
The following are not required to comply, but could benefit from these social media guidelines.

  • College-related accounts run by students (for example, QC student clubs) are not required to comply with QC’s social media policy, but are strongly encouraged to make use of the guidelines and exercise professional discretion when posting content.

Personal Social Media Accounts for Employees and Students
Employees of the college who have their own personal social media accounts do not have to comply with QC’s social media policy. If they identify themselves as working for Queens College, they should use a disclaimer in their profile: “These views are my own and not those of my employer.”

Queens College students who affiliate themselves with QC (student leaders, etc.) do not have to comply with QC’s social media policy, but should use discretion and professionalism when posting content. Anything you post will live forever online.

Setting Up Accounts
A social media account is an excellent tool for building relationships and trust with your audience. Having a presence on social media fosters a community where information can be easily shared among followers; however, it should be noted that a demand for such a community on social media needs to be present. We do not recommend opening an account with no thoughtful growth plan and strategy. It is strongly recommended that the office and department have a full-time social media staffer.

Getting Started

  • Accounts that are affiliated with any department/program/institution at the college must be supervised by employees of Queens College.
  • Students cannot create and maintain these accounts on their own, but may assist under the supervision of a full-time QC employee.

The account must be approved by the college’s Office of Communications and Marketing (so that they know the account is not fraudulent). To apply for a social media account(s), submit the Social Media Account Creation Request Form, found at the end of these guidelines. (copy at the end of this doc-need clear instructions on where to submit) Requests can take 5–10 business days to process.

Best Practices for Official Accounts
Official accounts for staff, offices, departments, and faculty should follow the guidelines below for best practices.

  • You must clearly identify your job title. Remember, users will treat your account and interpret your messaging as representing the college.
  • You are not allowed to endorse any candidates running for public office, post offensive comments, or do anything that undercuts the college’s reputation and mission as an institution of public education.
  • You are strongly encouraged to use professionalism when posting content.
  • College administrators’ accounts should not be treated as personal accounts and are to be maintained by someone working at the college. Ownership of the account remains with the college in perpetuity. An example of this is the CUNY Queens College President’s Facebook page.
  • A legacy system should be in place. It is recommended that a departmental email is used while setting up a social media account rather than an individual’s email. This avoids confusion over logins and passwords when people inherit the account(s).

Responding to Direct Messages and Comments
Be responsive to any direct messages and comments you receive. This helps build trust between you and your audience. Students tend to go to social media first for answers before looking at the college’s website. Below are some tips to help guide you.

  • Timeliness: Respond to direct messages in a timely manner to show that you value engagement and communication with your audience. Aim to respond within 24–48 hours, but shorter times are preferred.
  • Professionalism: Maintain a professional tone when communicating with your audience, as you are representing the college. Avoid slang, use proper language, and aim to be respectful at all times.
  • Accurate information: Aim to provide accurate information. If unsure how to answer a student’s question, it is best to acknowledge that and provide reassurance that you are looking for a way to assist them or find the correct information.
  • FAQs: For quick responses to commonly asked questions, creation of a FAQ list is strongly recommended. This saves time and ensures that students receive help in a timely manner.

Copyright Laws and Intellectual Property
 Copyright laws protect “original works of authorship” such as original writing, imagery, and music. They apply to both published and unpublished works. When you use an original work without proper permission, you run the risk of copyright infringement and legal action by the content creator.

Photo Usage Please make every effort to credit the photographer or source of your photo when and where you can—even if the photographer posted the image publicly on their website or social media.

Privacy Protection No personal, private, or FERPA-protected information may be posted on Queens College–affiliated social media accounts.

Photo Consent and Release Forms Depending on the size of your event, a photo consent and release form may be required from the participants before posting their images on social media. At smaller events, asking the photographed person or group’s permission before posting may suffice. At large, campuswide events (Commencement, Fall Festival), forms are not needed, as there is usually signage displayed around campus stating that photographers will be taking photos to use in different forms of media.

Please use discretion when posting photos from events that might be deemed “sensitive,” such as LGBTQ events like PRIDEFest. Some participants may not want their images used for social media, so having them fill out a form or asking their permission before posting is strongly recommended.

Accessibility  All social media posts must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Make every effort to make your content accessible by providing captions to your videos and alt text on your photos. Visit the CUNY Accessibility page for more information.

Social Media Profile Images and Biographical Information
The Office of Communications and Marketing reviews, approves, and monitors all social media branding. When setting up your account(s), please contact us so that we can assist with creating a profile image that stays true to the college’s brand.

Dos       

Administration

  1. The bio section of the profile should have information about the college or department and how it is affiliated with Queens College.
  2. It should also include a link to a Queens College website.

 

Branding

  1. All profile images must be of high quality.
  2. Each school should have its own color scheme, along with the name of the school, in its profile image. (See example no. 3 below.)
  3. Schools and academic departments within a larger main school should use the same color as the school they’re housed under. (For example, the School of Arts and Humanities can be purple, and the School of Arts can also use purple.) Academic departments and other programs will use the no. 2 format for profile images. (See example no. 2.)
  4. Administrative offices—which include Admissions, the QC Hub, Academic Advising, and so on—should use the no. 1 format for profile images. (See example no. 1.)
 Don’ts

Administration

  1. In the bio section, do not link to a website that is not affiliated with Queens College.

 

Branding

  1. The profile image must not be the same as that appearing on the main college account.
  2. Do not use profile images if they appear pixilated on a desktop and mobile.

Examples of Logos

No. 1: To be used by administrative offices

 

No. 2: To be used by academic departments and programs

 

No. 3: To be used by schools

 

To obtain logos for your social media channels, please reach out to Lillian Zepeda or Melissa Digenakis.

Queens College’s Official Social Media Accounts
Queens College’s official social media accounts have a reach of more than 100,000 followers, including current and potential students, alumni, community members, politicians, and more. We welcome the opportunity to work with your department or office to post content on your behalf on the college’s official Facebook, Instagram, and @QCToday Twitter channels. To make a request, use Queens College’s Event Request Form. Please note that what is posted on the college’s official channels is determined by the Office of Communications and Marketing.

Queens College’s Official Accounts

Facebook: www.facebook.com/queenscollege
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenscollegeofficial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/queens-college
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@queenscollegecuny?lang=en
@QC_News Twitter: https://twitter.com/QC_News
For external audiences, it highlights college initiatives and student, faculty, and alumni news.

@QCToday Twitter: https://twitter.com/QCToday
For internal audiences, it highlights events for potential and current students.