Accessibility statement

Getting started with social media

The Communications team manage the central University social media accounts, as well as providing support, advice and training for Departments, Schools and Services.

Departments and services are able to manage their own social media presence, if they have the capacity to do so, but must contact social-media@york.ac.uk before creating new accounts. 

If you need support or advice at any time, you can email social-media@york.ac.uk. Staff may also find it helpful to join the #social-media-updates Slack channel. 

A tool kit with additional hints and tips for social media content and management is available to staff on the Wiki.

Before you start

Before you get started, there are a few things to think about:

  • Does an account for your department already exist? (check the University's social media directory)
  • Can you dedicate time to manage the account and post useful content on a regular basis?
  • Who are you trying to speak to? Who is your audience? 
  • Which platforms is your target audience using and is this the best way to reach them?
  • Who will manage your social media account in the long-term?

Managing social media accounts takes a lot of time and effort. If you are concerned that you won’t be able to manage an account, it’s absolutely fine to not have one. 

Before setting up an account, please email social-media@york.ac.uk with information on the account you plan to set up.

Setting up a new account

You should speak to the central communications team before setting up any new social media accounts on behalf of the University or any subsidiaries. 

Creating a suitable username/url

Many social media accounts will allow you to set a short username (often displayed after an @ symbol) and longer display name. 

University departmental and service team usernames should start with ‘UoY’ followed by your department or service name (no space) eg UoYsociology or UoYLibrary. This helps people to locate your account easily and shows that it is affiliated with the University.

The display name name should be ‘department name, University of York'. For example: School for Business and Society, University of York, or Biology at the University of York.

Profile avatars and header images

Only the central University accounts can use the shield as a profile image or avatar (eg @uniofyork). Departmental and service social media accounts must use centrally-designed avatars on their profiles. You can see an example of this on the Environmental Sustainability at York LinkedIn. 

If you would like to request a new or updated avatar, please email social-media@york.ac.uk.

FAQs

What content should I post?

Make sure any content you share is relevant, valuable and interesting to your target audience. Anything you post should relate to the department or service you represent. Examples of appropriate content could be:

  • University news
  • department award successes
  • posts about events on campus eg Open Day
  • reposts of content which is of interest to your audience eg funding opportunities

The social media content types guide (UoY login required) has more information, advice and inspiration.

An image alongside your post is always recommended as it brings the content to life. Make sure that you have permission to use any photos or imagery prior to posting it. 

You are providing a voice for the University. Engage with your audience on topics that will be of interest to them, but stay neutral and don't take positions/opinions on topics which may be seen to be controversial.

Remember not to reveal any confidential or sensitive information. And for data protection purposes we advise that when attributing a quote to a student, that you only use their first name.

How should I engage with my audience?

Social media enables a two-way communication with your audience. So as well as posting frequently, it's important you interact with them, answer any questions and respond to posts in a timely fashion.

We recommend posting outgoing content two or three times a week, and monitoring at least once a day for incoming queries and mentions.

Where appropriate you should try to respond to posts directly addressed to or mentioning your account, even if it's correcting them about something that's wrong or responding to a negative comment.

When communicating with students keep things friendly and take part in discussions, but stay sensible and maintain boundaries.

You may receive questions and requests that don't relate to your department or service. If the answer is straightforward you can answer them or signpost where they will be able to find the information or who they should contact.

How can I keep my account secure?

When setting up a new account, make sure you sign up using a non-personal York email address (eg department-name@york.ac.uk or admin account). This makes it easier to share access to your account within your department, and means the account is recoverable if colleagues change roles or leave the University. 

You should use delegated access wherever possible, and review who has access to your accounts whenever possible. If sharing account logins, also make sure you use a password manager such as LastPass, and change the stored password regularly. See the IT guidance on passwords and password managers. 

If you believe someone has gained unauthorised access to your social media account:

  1. Take immediate steps to secure your account:
  2. Work to avoid recurrence of the unauthorised access:
    • change your password
    • consider setting up verification procedures for the account, such as two-factor authentication
  3. Apologise to your audience and/or remove any unauthorised content which may have been posted. 

You should also notify the social media team of any suspected or confirmed unauthorised access to your account. We work closely with IT services to keep accounts secure, and will be able to provide additional support on regaining access or securing the account in future.

How do I deal with inappropriate or spam content?

There is the possibility that people may post inappropriate or spam comments on your Facebook posts or Instagram images and it's important to moderate these. If they do not comply with our guidelines or the social media platform's own user guidelines there are ways to hide or remove them. 

If you receive a comment or message of concern and are not sure how to deal with it, you can get in touch with the social media team on social-media@york.ac.uk for advice and support.

Staying safe online

There is guidance available on how to stay safe online and on social media:

If you have received messages of concern or would like additional support, please reach out to the social media team by email. 

Alternatively, if you would like to report staff or student misconduct on social media, you can do so using our Report + Support tool.

Do you provide training?

The central social media team provide regular training sessions to colleagues across the University.

We also work with established groups, such as the Research Communications Network, to host regular Q&A sessions and drop-ins.

As well as general training, we are able to provide bespoke sessions on specific topics, such as individual platforms, copyright, and social media video. 

If you would like to request a training session for your team, please email social-media@york.ac.uk for more information.

How do I deal with inappropriate or spam content?

There is the possibility that people may post inappropriate or spam comments on your Facebook posts or Instagram images and it's important to moderate these. If they do not comply with our guidelines or the social media platform's own user guidelines there are ways to hide or remove them. 

If you receive a comment or message of concern and are not sure how to deal with it, you can get in touch with the social media team on social-media@york.ac.uk for advice and support.

Related social media guidelines and policies

There are several sets of guidelines and policies for staff and students which refer to use of social media: