The growing influence of social media on how we communicate, and on our culture as a whole, is indisputable. The purpose of this policy is not to discourage the Simmons community from using social media, but rather to advocate and encourage its use while also providing a guideline for best practices. Social media includes the various online technology tools that enable people to communicate easily via the internet to share information and resources. Social media can include text, audio, video, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communications. Examples include, but are not limited to, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and YouTube. Social media can be useful for building the Simmons brand and for enhancing our relationship with prospective and current students, and alumni, but we must engage in these activities as well-informed participants.
Because social media channels are fairly new to many employees, we've assembled the following "best practices" from respected online and industry sources to help individuals who are posting online content on behalf of an official department of Simmons College.
Guidelines
Notify the College: Departments that are using social media or would like to create a page should contact Amanda Voodre, Social Media Manager at 617-521-2176 or amanda.voodre@simmons.edu to ensure all institutional social media pages coordinate with Simmons College sites and their content. All institutional pages must have an employee who is identified as being responsible for content.
Have a Plan: Departments should consider the value of having a social media presence. Make sure there are plans for messaging, audience and goals, as well as a strategy for keeping information on social media sites up-to-date. Amanda Voodre can assist you and advise you with your social media planning.
Keep Content up to Date: It is very important to realize that by using social media you are instantly visible to people around the world. Your content represents the College voice. As such, make sure you are ready for this commitment of time and responsibility. Content should be updated as appropriate by the medium (that may be on a daily or weekly basis). If at any point you plan on not using your social media channels, it is important that you remove it and remove any links you may have had to it on the website.
Be Authentic. Protect the Institutional Voice: The single most important aspect of building a successful and useful social media presence is authenticity. Social media is about individuals engaging in two-way communication. Simmons employees who use this technology should feel encouraged to speak with their own personal "voice." The social media audience is aware and leery of canned responses and will generally avoid engaging with content that lacks a real human personality behind it. Remember, anything you post with the Simmons name attached to it is representing Simmons College to the outside world. Think before you post; social media has the capacity to travel far and wide.
Be Appropriate: Social media is an extremely powerful tool with far-reaching influence. Do not abuse it. Most importantly, do not ever post spam or engage in spamming behavior. Though "spamming" has a wide spectrum of definitions depending on context, in this instance spamming would be posting unsolicited or redundant information repeatedly, without regard for your audience. Spamming is a sure way to both repel new followers and lose any followers you may have. Any failure to respect social media protocol and etiquette will leave a negative impression on those who come in contact with it, so be aware of the expected standards of behavior wherever you may be posting, and be prepared to spend as much time reading social media sites as you spend writing your own updates. Social media is a forum that works best when users participate in both sharing and reading in equal measures.
Rudeness is obviously discouraged in any professional circumstance, but rudeness captured online has longevity as a reference (and one that might be discovered by others many weeks or months after its original appearance). Do not post controversial opinions or engage in contentious conversations, and do not become overly defensive should other users attempt to provoke a response.
Link Back to the College: When reposting or referencing content located on the Simmons College website, always link back to the content. Whenever possible it is important that content comes from Simmons (and not a third party) as the source.
Naming Conventions: Please make every effort to be consistent with the College's Social Media naming convention. The College uses the words Simmons College, or Simmons in all names or titles. For example www.facebook.com/simmonscollege
Monitor Comments: Most people who maintain social media sites welcome comments — it builds credibility and community. However, you have the option to set your site so that you can review and approve comments before they appear. This allows you to respond in a timely manner. It also allows you to delete spam comments and to block any individuals who repeatedly post offensive comments.
Respect Privacy: Under no circumstances should the private information of any prospects, applicants, or members of the Simmons College community be disclosed, using any form of public or semi-public social media. Also, do not publicly share inside or confidential information pertaining to the College as a whole.
If you discuss a situation involving individuals on a social media site, be sure that they cannot be identified. As a guideline, don't post anything that you would not present at a conference.
Abide by Copyright Laws: Employees may not post content or conduct any activity that fails to conform to any and all applicable state and federal laws. For Simmons College's employees' protection, it is critical that everyone abide by the copyright laws by ensuring that they have permission to use or reproduce any copyrighted text, photos, graphics, video or other material owned by others.
