SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES

www.deakin.edu.au/socialmedia

Deakin University social media guidelines

The University recognises the vital importance of participating in online conversations and are committed to participating in online social media the right way. The University has developed these guidelines to help empower Deakin University staff and students in this new frontier of communication.
These guidelines have been created primarily to enable and encourage the use of social media tools whilst providing support, guidance and validation to those who already use social media as part of their roles as Deakin staff or students. Additionally, the guidelines set out to protect the University and individuals from any unexpected or undesirable outcomes arising from the use of social media by establishing a set of common sense guidelines within which individuals and official Deakin social media representatives should operate.

www.deakin.edu.au

Deakin University social media guidelines

Introduction
Social media is a constantly evolving part of the internet and is rapidly becoming part of our daily lives. These guidelines will be updated as new technologies, cultures and trends develop to help clarify how best to enhance and protect personal and professional reputations when participating in social media. Deakin recognises the use of and participation in online communities to learn, advocate, collaborate, exchange and contribute for the benefit of your professional and personal development. It is important as a university that we stay active, aware and fully engaged with our communities both online and offline. Both in professional and institutional roles, employees and students need to follow the same behavioural standards online as they would in real life. The same laws, professional expectations, and guidelines for interacting with students, parents, alumni, donors, media, and other University stakeholders apply online as they do in the real world. Staff and students are accountable for anything they post to social media sites. The guidelines should therefore be read in conjunction with University policies including: Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Operational Policy Information Privacy Operational Policy Information and Communications Technology Use Operational Policy Public Relations and Marketing Operational Policy Staff Code of Conduct Student Charter Web Publishing Operational Policy Web Publishing Procedure.

EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA CATEGORIES

Online communities: Facebook, LinkedIn File sharing: Flickr, YouTube Blogs: Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress Forums: Website forum pages Microblogging: Twitter Virtual communities: Second Life

www.deakin.edu.au

Deakin University social media guidelines

Section 1: Policies
Maintain personal and organisational confidentiality

Policies for all social media sites, including personal sites.

Be respectful

Do not post confidential personal or commercial information about Deakin, its students, its alumni or employees. Posting confidential, personal or commercial information will breach University policy and procedures and may also break the law. Use good ethical judgment and follow University policies (see list in introduction) at all times. If situations involving individuals are discussed on a social media site, be sure that they cannot be identified. As a guideline, dont post anything that you would not repeat in person, in public or to the parties in question. Consider every interaction online as you would with a face-to-face conversation.

You are more likely to have a positive outcome when posting if you are constructive and respectful. Its OK to discuss a bad experience or disagree with a statement, concept or person, so long as you do it in a considered and constructive manner. As stated in the Staff Code Of Conduct and Student Charter it is important to treat students, members of the public and staff with respect. Dont use inflammatory, racist or offensive language, never upload offensive or explicit written, audio or visual content and ensure you state that the views expressed are your own.

Terms of service

Protect your privacy

Obey the terms of service of any social media platform employed.

Whilst its important to be transparent about whom you are, be mindful not to divulge additional personal information that may potentially compromise your privacy or professional confidentiality. Use appropriate privacy settings and apply common sense to protect your privacy. Further information in relation to privacy is available in the Information Privacy Operational Policy.

Adhere to visual identity and branding

You require permission for use of the University name and/ or logo on both personal and official University social media sites, in accordance with the Public Relations And Marketing Operational Policy.

Respect University time and resources

Please remember Deakin computers and your work time are to be used for University-related business. It is appropriate to use social media if your activities are directly related to accomplishing work or assessment goals such as managing an official Deakin site, seeking sources for information or collaborating with others to achieve positive outcomes. See Deakins Information and Communications Technology Use Operational Policy and Procedure or Student Charter for further details.

Be responsible

Be careful what you post. Many employers are now reviewing online postings and activity before extending offers of employment. Dont compromise yourself by posting abusive, copyrighted, defamatory, libellous, obscene or illegal content. Be ethical, considerate and responsible you are personally responsible for content you publish and comments you make. Be mindful and ensure you never post comments that may be contrary to Deakins Staff Code Of Conduct or Student Charter.

www.deakin.edu.au

Deakin University social media guidelines

Section 2: Best Practices

Be accurate

This section applies to those posting on social media in any capacity.

Let the subject matter experts respond to negative posts

Have all the facts before you post to avoid posting misleading or incorrect information about you or the University. If you make an error, be the first to correct it quickly and visibly. Always provide links or references when posting content you havent developed. Dont breach copyright laws, abide by creative commons licences, and obtain consent when citing colleagues or organisational links when reposting content. If unsure about the accuracy of information, ensure you firstly seek and clarify information with the relevant content owners throughout the University before posting to social media.

Think before you post

You may come across negative posts about the University or its brand, or see third parties trying to spark negative conversations. Unless you are a certified online spokesperson, avoid the temptation to react on behalf of the University yourself instead please pass the information to the Marketing Division who will determine the most appropriate spokesperson to address such comments. Certified spokespeople should always seek advice from their manager when responding to a negative comment to ensure the response is in line with the Universitys official position on topical matters.

Theres no such thing as a private social media site. Search engines will show posts years after the publication date. More critically, the web is viral and virtually instantaneous comments can be forwarded worldwide in seconds. Archival systems save information even if you delete a post. If youve posted something you wish you hadnt, its already too late to change it.

Be transparent

Be honest about your identity. If you are engaging, sharing or contributing on behalf of Deakin, say so. If you post directly about Deakin in your personal time, please identify your association with Deakin as a student or staff member, and mention on your site or post that you are sharing your personal views and opinions, not representing the organisation. Dont hide your identity for the purpose of promoting Deakin. If you are posting content for publicity or promotional purposes make sure you are authorised to do so and please adhere to all relevant Deakin policies.

www.deakin.edu.au

Deakin University social media guidelines

Section 3: Institutional Social Media

If you post on behalf of an official University Division, Unit or Faculty the following policies must be adhered to in addition to all policies and best practices listed above.
Be certified in the Social Media Certification Program Be active and add value

All staff who officially represent the University online must complete the Social Media Certification Program prior to beginning or continuing these activities. This program is designed to educate staff on policy and bestpractice guidelines to ensure consistent and responsible strategic and operational practices.

Notify the University

Divisions, Units or Faculties who have a social media page or would like to start one must contact the Deakin University Marketing Division to ensure all University social media sites and their content coordinate with other Deakin University sites. All official University pages must have an allocated contact who is identified as being responsible for content and maintenance of the site.

If you participate in a social network, make sure you are contributing valuable insights. By publishing as a Deakin staff member or student, you represent Deakins brand and reputation, so be innovative and insightful. Ask yourself if your posts will be of interest to readers. Self-promoting behaviour is viewed negatively and can lead to you being banned from web sites or groups. For authenticity and credibility, monitor your comments, delete spam and abusive posts, and build your networks and communities in a way that complements your online and offline profile. By all means link to Deakin where appropriate.

Appropriately manage images, audio and video content

Have a plan

Divisions, Units or Faculties should consider their messages, audiences, and goals, as well as a strategy for keeping information on social media sites up-to-date. The University Marketing Division can assist and advise you with your social media planning. Before creating a site you must first submit a comprehensive brief outlining audience, objectives, frequency, platform and resourcing to be assessed and approved by the Marketing Division.

All necessary steps must be taken to uphold Australian intellectual property and privacy legislation when publishing images, audio and video on social media sites. Consider adding a watermark to images and videos and insure informed consent is sought before posting images, audio or video content that contains clearly identifiable images of members of the public, music or academic content. Post images at 72 dpi and approximately 800x600 resolution images at this size are sufficient for viewing on the web, but not suitable for printing. Consent forms and other information can be accessed on the University web site.

Be committed

To engage with and build a network you need to be committed to regularly posting new content. Frequency of content will vary depending on the platform and expectations of your audience. Social media is not a set and forget platform, it requires two way interaction, open dialogue, continuous content and daily monitoring. Ensure you not only have a plan for when to begin engaging, but when to handover to other colleagues or areas, and when and how to leave a community. Dont leave a community unattended as it may indicate a lack of commitment to the other users or members and reflect badly on Deakin.

Be connected

Wherever possible connect and link your audience to other Deakin content, sites or postings. Always reference the source.

Protect the institutional voice

Be audience appropriate

Be aware that a presence in social media is easily accessible to the public at large. This includes prospective students, current students, current employers, staff and peers. Consider the context in which youre representing Deakin. Choose your tone to suit the audience and platform.

Posts on social media sites should protect the Universitys institutional voice by remaining professional in tone and in good taste. No individual Division, Unit or Faculty should construe its social media site as representing the University as a whole. Consider this when naming pages or accounts, selecting a profile picture or icon, and selecting content to post. Names, profile images, and posts should all be clearly linked to the particular Division, Unit or Faculty rather than to the institution as a whole.

For more information and resources visit www.deakin.edu.au/socialmedia or contact the University Marketing Division.

www.deakin.edu.au

DO be CLEAR and TRANSPARENT

Identify your association with Deakin as a student or staff member Make it clear if you have a vested interest in the information you post online Be quick to admit your mistakes and be sure to apologise

DO be ACTIVE and ADD VALUE

Create and post content that adds value Communicate regularly and engage with those who engage with you Add value to what you re-post (add your comments) Tailor your messages to suit your audience

DO add a DISCLAIMER
Clearly state that your comments represent your own personal views and opinions

DO WARN us when it goes wrong

Inform the University Marketing Division if you come across anything that could be perceived as negative to you, the University or your fellow students or members of staff

DONT forget to THINK

Content on social media can be shared and accessed by anyone in a public arena Do not post or comment on topics or views that could offend or discriminate against your audience Do not use abusive or offensive language Be respectful of other opinions, even in times of heated debate All University policies including the Student Charter and Staff Code of Conduct, apply online

DONT breach PRIVACY

Do not disclose University proprietary information Do not cite or reference University, student, staff, partner or supplier information without obtaining permission first Make sure you protect your own privacy as well as others

DONT forget your DAY JOB DONT speak without PERMISSION

Do not speak on behalf of the University (or use the Deakin logo), unless authorised to do so You must be certified in the Social Media Certification Program in order to represent the Deakin brand (and logo) on any social media platform Social media is a useful tool, but its not what keeps the University running Like phone calls, staff should keep personal use to a minimum

DONT ignore COPYRIGHT

Obtain written permission when reproducing articles, logos or images Provide links to articles or posts that you have referenced

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B