Social Media Guide (7 July 2020)
Version 1, June 2020
As a Filipino, Catholic, and Jesuit university, Ateneo de Manila must use social media, and the Internet in general, as a tool to strengthen our mission as an educational institution, harnessing the medium as a force for good.
This document lays out guidelines for units, schools, departments, offices, and programs, concerning the use of social media accounts, specifically how to plan, open, maintain, and close these.
I. Guiding Principles
December 2016 memo from the Office of the President
In the memo dated 5 December 2016, Fr Jose Ramon T Villarin, SJ, University President, lays out some suggestions and guidelines that could help members of the community in their conduct on social media, mindful of their roles as educators and citizens.
Philippine Province Social Media Protocol
As part of the Society of Jesus, the Ateneo de Manila University follows the guidelines set forth in the Philippine Province’s Social Media Protocol. The Protocol was formulated in 2018, and it defines terms and lays out guidelines on how members of the Society of Jesus, as well as its associates, communicate on digital media.
University Social Media Use Policy
The University Data Protection Office (UDPO) will release the University Social Media Use Policy. It will cover specific protocols about creating and maintaining accounts.
II. Ateneo de Manila on social media
Ateneo de Manila University has several university-level social media platforms.
- Facebook: facebook.com/ateneodemanila
- Twitter: twitter.com/ateneodemanilau
- Instagram: instagram.com/theateneo
- YouTube: youtube.com/ateneodemanilauniversity
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/school/ateneo-de-manila-university
These accounts are handled by the University Marketing and Communications Office (UMCO). Your unit or office can utilize the reach of the University’s main social channels if you need to spread the word about an event, program, or announcement to the general public. For inquiries, please contact the UMCO.
In addition, a number of offices, units, and programs have their own social media accounts, catering to specific audiences. A directory of active social media accounts can be found at www.ateneo.edu.
III A social media plan for your unit, office, or program
Is there a need to have a new account?
There is nothing preventing your team from opening one; however, without proper planning, your social media asset can instead become a liability. In other words: do you really need to set up a new social media account?
What will you use it for?
Will having a social media account support your primary mission? Can the existing channels serve your needs? You can save time, effort, and even money if you utilize existing accounts (or other methods) that already have a wide online reach. This is particularly useful if you need to use social media only for a short time, such as to promote a specific event or program.
Using social media in lieu of a website
We recommend that offices use social media only as a dissemination and engagement platform, not as an official repository of work. House all official documents and communication on a platform you have control over, such as the official ateneo.edu website. For this, you may work with UMCO.
Who is your audience?
This will dictate what kind of social media account you’ll be using, and the content you’ll post. Just because people are on social media, doesn’t necessarily mean your target audience is. It won’t guarantee either that your target audience will interact with you on social media.
Do your audiences “live” on social media? Are they more likely to be reached via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram - or on another platform entirely, like Viber? How do they use social media? What kind of content do they like or respond to?
What, and how often, will you post as content?
A social media account is useless if it does not have good content. Content is king on social media, and if you do not have quality content coming in regularly, then you will have a hard time keeping your social presence alive and relevant.
What content do you have? Where will you get the content? Who produces this content? Will you be posting content daily, weekly, or monthly? Do you have at least a year’s worth of content planned?
Who will maintain and update the account?
Maintenance, in this sense, covers everything, from posting, changing passwords regularly, and interacting with your account’s audience. Who will be the person in charge of updating the content and keeping the account secure? Will it be part of his or her daily workload? The person your unit chooses—be it an existing staff member, a new one, or a contractor—must be knowledgeable about the content, and must adhere to the guidelines set forth by the University.
Will your office be able to keep information secure?
Privacy in social media isn’t guaranteed. We strongly discourage using social media as a means to handle official transactions or sensitive information, such as student or employee records. If you are planning to use social media for this purpose, better look for another way, such as email or even old-fashioned phone calls.
Once your office has determined 1) the purpose of the account, 2) your audience, 3) assurance of a constant stream of content to post, 4) the availability of someone dedicated to maintaining and updating the account, and 5) the certainty that you will not use the account to handle official transactions or sensitive information, then you can proceed in opening a social media account.
Starting your social media presence
Map out a social media plan
It would be good to make your social media presence part of an overall communications plan, which would encompass not just social media, but also all other communications efforts: publications, website, brochures, etc.
Source of content
Kind of content
The content must serve a purpose and must move your agenda forward. Your content must suit your needs; don’t plan on having a slickly produced video or a colorful infographic just because it looks good.
When the content comes out
Content should also be coming in regularly. Plan ahead; for example, if your department puts out analysis papers on a bi-weekly basis, you might want to plot it out on a calendar; plan what types of multimedia can accompany the text; and lay out potential talking points that you can use to start discussions on your platform.
Choosing a social media channel
There are a wide range of social media channels for you to utilize, but be sure to choose the one that best fits your communication plan, your target audience, and the type of content you produce.
Management, access and security
When creating an institutional social media account, use an @ateneo.edu email address, preferably one connected to the office or unit. Assign an account administrator who will supervise access and use of the account.
To prevent untoward incidents such as hacking, be sure to keep your account secure. Choose strong passwords, and if possible utilize additional security measures, such as two-step authentication.
It is also advisable that someone in your office, like your department secretary, keeps these details in a secure manner. This is also helpful when there is a need to turn over management of the account to a new staff member, such as in the case of reassignment or resignation.
Specific to Facebook pages: It is highly advisable to use Facebook Business Manager to manage page access. DO NOT use dummy Facebook personal profiles (ex. a personal profile named under your office) to manage your page. This violates Facebook rules, and may lead to losing access to your page. For assistance in setting up your Facebook Business Manager dashboard , contact UMCO.
Identification (Naming, Description, and URLs)
Your unit/office/department social media accounts should clearly identify your organization and your affiliation with Ateneo de Manila University. You should follow University branding standards at all times.
Always put the full name of your office/unit/program in your account. It could be in the name itself; sometimes, because of character limits, you can place it in the profile field.
Use a suitable username and/or URL. Keep it short and professional. Also, keep in mind how search engine-friendly the username will be.
Profile and background photos
Make sure the imagery you use is eye-catching and representative of what the account and your unit is.
- Use properly taken or made profile photos and background images/banners. Ensure you have permission to use the photo.
- Upload high-resolution images for your profile photos and background images/banners.
- Be mindful of the shapes and dimensions of photos used as profile/background images. Different sites have different standards.
Please follow University branding guidelines at all times. This covers naming, URLs, and imagery. Do not assume that you are automatically allowed to use the University logo/seal and other imagery that is officially trademarked by ADMU. Consult with UMCO if in doubt.
Content
There is no limit to what type of content you can post on social media. You can post text; links to websites; photos and illustrations, including GIFs; infographics (maps, diagrams, charts, or any other graphic visualization of information); posters; and video.
Your content should be guided by the five principles laid out in the Philippine Province's Social Media Guidelines, summarized by the acronym THINK:
TRUE: The Jesuit is on the side of truth. All his messages are TRUE to the best of his knowledge.
HELPFUL: The Jesuit’s task is to build up other people and the Body of Christ. Every message can build or harm.
INSPIRING: Human communication is not merely cerebral. All human messages have an affective component to them. A Jesuit is aware of the affective component of his messages and its effects on the receiver.
NECESSARY: Some messages are better left unsaid or unsent. The Jesuit is aware that the social media makes communication so convenient that a knee-jerk reaction is fostered often giving rise to communication that is neither helpful nor harmful but merely fills cyberspace.
KIND: Since charity is the norm of all Christian behavior (Jn. 13: 35/ Mt. 11:29), the Jesuit’s messages are always kind or at least do not have the potential to harm.
Use it to inform your audience about the work you are doing. It could be about your latest events, a new research finding, or a profile about one of your staff members. But in between, break the monotony with a bit of trivia, a good photo, or an interesting quote. Make your posts visual as much as possible, choosing the most suitable media, and make the text or captions short, informative, and creative, to help it stand out in a very crowded online space.
Because your account is identified with the University, make sure that the posts are professional and respectful.
General Guidelines
These general guidelines are applicable to all content types posted in all kinds of platforms.
Posting Content
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Do not rely on links, images or graphics alone to convey your message. For accessibility and searchability, always accompany any link or multimedia post with a caption, description, summary, or highlight (such as a quote).
- Posters and infographics should be cleanly designed, and should convey the information or event details clearly. When posting, it is best practice to put relevant information (date/time/place of event, for instance) in the caption.
- Avoid text-heavy graphics. As much as possible, avoid posting entire documents such as statements, FAQs, or policy papers as images. Post it somewhere first, like on the ateneo.edu website or as a downloadable document, and then post the link with a caption and/or image on your social media feed.
- Ensure you have explicit permission to use any multimedia (images, video, graphics, etc). Credit accordingly.
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Hashtags are used to "tag" content around a specific topic, such as tweets about an event (ex. #OrSem2020), a conversation (#BlackLivesMatter) or posts about a specific campaign (#AMDG2030).
- When creating a new hashtag, make it relevant, concise, decent, and catchy.
- Use only relevant hashtags in your posts. Don’t flood your posts with a lot of hashtags.
- To encourage conversations, you may tag the accounts of other people, organizations, or offices in your posts. Only tag public accounts that are relevant to the post.
Privacy
- Always think of social media, and the internet in general, as a broadcast medium. As the Philippine Province's Guidelines state, "for all intents and purposes, privacy does not exist in social media."
- Always be careful of the information you post online, be it on a public post or via private channels such as in a chat.
- The privacy policies of the University apply at all times. Do not publish personal or proprietary information without explicit permission from the owner.
- Always get permission from a parent or a legal guardian when dealing with information concerning minors and vulnerable adults.
- Posting official documents. As a security precaution, we ask that you refrain from posting on any social media channel any memo or document that bears any signature or personal information. If in doubt, seek advice from UMCO, UDPO, or the University Legal and Compliance Office (ULCO).
Stick to the facts
- Always check the accuracy of the content multiple times before posting it. Do not just rely on any online source; dig deeper, and look at official websites/records, publications, and, if possible, consult with experts, which the University has a lot of.
- If you make a substantial mistake in your social media activity (example, posting an erroneous bit of information, or a wrong link), take responsibility and make steps to rectify the situation. Indicate that a post has been edited, or make a succeeding post that has the correct information. Be sure to let your audience know that you have corrected it.
Intellectual property & copyright
- Be sure that you have permission or license to use the content you plan to post. Respect the intellectual property rights and copyrights of other people and institutions, and ask for permission or cite the source material properly.
Maintaining your social media presence
Interaction and moderation
One of the hallmarks of social media is the ability to interact with people from all corners of the world anytime. It is a two-way street, and your office must strive to interact with your audience. The most basic would be responding to comments and queries, but you can use your account for online discussions, live updates, and much more, depending on the platform.
It is also a good way to build your network. More people will be able to know your office or program through your account, and you can leverage on this to start discussions, share ideas, open new partnerships, and sometimes even find the best talent to join your team.
- Always be sure that your point person regularly checks your accounts for comments and messages. Respond to questions in a timely manner; if your office isn’t the proper unit to answer, direct them to the one that could.
- Don’t immediately dismiss criticism or negative comments posted on your account. Unless it violates rules on decency and propriety, or if the post can be considered spam, try addressing the concern being aired, or direct them to the proper office who can respond to the issue.
- You will also need to check comments and messages that violate University rules or even local and national laws. Offensive content should be weeded out. Comments of messages that are not at all related to the University or to the ongoing discussion should also be removed.
Closing your social media presence
If the account has served its purpose, it is usually best to close the account. It is also a means to protect your office and the University from any untoward incident, such as hacking, that might happen with a dormant or abandoned account. A dormant account also reflects negatively on your unit, and the University as a whole.
- First, go back to your original plans. Does it still fit your needs? Will you be able to continue committing to the plan? If your answer is “No,” then plan to close your account, instead of letting it become dormant.
- If you have grown a substantial online community, and you think your office can continue engaging with them but in a different way, you might be able to give the account a “rebirth” instead of closing it down or starting anew. Do a re-work of your old plans, or start anew; build on your existing community, and then “restart” your account.
- If you’ve decided to close it for good, do some housekeeping first. Remove the links from your other sites, and request to be delisted from the University’s social media directory. Remove references to the account from your other communication materials/properties, such as tarps or letterheads.
- Archive your content if possible. This could be useful if you need to refer to an old post as part of your work, for example. Some sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have functions that allow you to download all your content.
- Finally, say a proper goodbye to your audience. A simple post will do: Thank your followers for their time, and direct them to where they can continue following your office’s work, like to your website, or direct them to the University’s online channels.
IV. For More Information
If you need more information or assistance with your social media plans, contact the University Marketing and Communications Office.
UMCO will also release quick guides to help you and your office how to best manage content based on content type and platform.
V. Appendices
Annex A
Memo from Fr Jose Ramon T Villarin, University President, on Social Media. Issued 5 December 2016.
Annex B
Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus (2018). Social Media Protocol: Perspectives and Guidelines.
