Winthrop University encourages the use of social media to help deliver our messages
effectively to a variety of audiences. To achieve this, each department or university
unit should have a plan for maintaining its chosen social media platforms.
All institutional pages must have a full-time person (not temporary positions and/or
student workers) designated as the administrator for social media. Departments and
units should consider their messages, audiences, and goals when designing social media
sites, as well as a strategy for keeping information on these sites up-to-date.
If you participate in or maintain a social media site on behalf of the university,
clearly recognize your role and goals. Discuss with your supervisor when you are empowered
to respond directly to users and when you may need approval. Employees posting on
behalf of Winthrop Athletics should be especially careful to comply with guidelines
set by the NCAA and the Big South Conference.
If you have created an account and/or taken over the administration of an account,
you should be posting consistently. No presence is better than a dead presence.
Posts on social media sites should protect the university's institutional voice by
remaining professional in tone and in good taste. No individual Winthrop unit's social
media site represents the university as a whole. Consider this when naming pages or
accounts, selecting a profile picture or icon, and selecting content to post.
Do not post confidential or proprietary information about Winthrop University students,
employees, or alumni. Employees must follow applicable federal requirements such as
FERPA and HIPA as well as appropriate conference and NCAA guidelines. Adhere to all
applicable university privacy and confidentiality policies.
As a Winthrop representative, you should model the university's commitment to respect
for the dignity of others and to the civil and thoughtful discussion of opposing ideas.
Content contributed to a social media site sometimes encourages comments or discussion
of opposing ideas. Responses should be considered carefully in light of how they will
reflect on the poster and/or the university and its institutional voice.
A presence in the social media world is or easily can be made available to the public
at large. This includes prospective students, current students, current employers
and colleagues, donors, community members, and peers. Consider this before posting
to be sure your message will not alienate, harm, or provoke any of these groups. If
you have any questions about whether a subject or particular language is appropriate
to post, ask your department head, supervisor, or advisor before you post.
Many students, faculty, and staff share their work through social media. So that individual
users' intellectual property rights are respected and the Winthrop Intellectual Property
Policy is followed, obtain and document appropriate consent for posted content, including
(but not limited to) words, graphics, photos, video, audio, images, PowerPoint presentations,
artwork, and any other included elements.
Site Supervision on Winthrop University's Behalf
Winthrop University employees who supervise official Winthrop social media sites should:
Identify a small team to maintain the site so there is no potential single point of failure for being able
to manage information in a timely manner. Choose a team of people you trust to monitor
your department or unit's social media presences, provide content and responses, and
respond to site management issues. The team can check the site periodically during
the day, so no one employee needs to be online constantly.
Establish standard operating procedures to monitor, post content for, and engage with your visitors. Review with your team
what you expect of them in common situations (for instance, maintaining a consistent
voice, removing posts, referring posts to other offices, etc.).
Use appropriate tools for managing sites. Software is available that will broadcast a post simultaneously to several sites
(e.g. Twitter, Facebook), as well as tools that will allow several users to post for
the same account through password-protected software.
Register your site with the Winthrop Social Media Directory so potential users can find it quickly. Register an official Winthrop site. This information also helps the university disseminate important information to
the administrators of sites, as well as ensuring that sites do not become "orphaned"
when a site administrator leaves Winthrop.
Establish coverage policies for periods when staff is not in the office (for instance sick leave, nights, weekends,
holiday breaks) or when team members are not in the office (for instance, on recruiting
trips or at professional meetings). Many social media tools can be accessed through
personal mobile devices; therefore, a staff member may be able to be "on call" for
the site without being physically present on the Winthrop campus, if such coverage
is warranted.
Assess your social media presence periodically to ensure that it continues to meet your department or unit's goals and objectives
and that it serves the needs of your specific audiences. Periodically, you may wish
to commission surveys of your audience(s) to see if your social media site is meeting
their needs or to use many of the analytic tools provided by social media sites to
make sure your effort is paying off.
Don't remove content or take a page offline unless there is a specific violation of Winthrop policies or your published rules
warranting removal. Organizations who remove content simply because that content is
unflattering lose the trust of their audience and risk public backlash. Always explain
the rationale for altering or removing content on a site to maintain transparency
and retain the trust of your site users.
