Social Media Guidelines
Why Social Media?
Social media represents a tremendous opportunity for Batten University to connect and engage with current and prospective students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, supporters and the broader community in a dynamic way.
Social media is interactive and timely. It can also be a lot of fun. However, effectively utilizing social media as a marketing and communications tool—particularly one that reflects the University’s vision and values in a compelling and consistent way—comes with a unique set of challenges. These guidelines are designed to help the Batten University Community navigate those challenges.
What is Social Media?
Social media sites and applications vary in style and audience, but they all allow users to connect and share content in real-time. Social media platforms allow users to create, share, and engage with content in real time. Unlike traditional websites, social media encourages two-way communication through comments, shares, direct messages, and other forms of interaction. These platforms provide opportunities to build community, showcase the University, and foster meaningful connections.
Social media allows for creativity and the development of human connection.
Main Batten University Platforms
Instagram – A social media platform designed primarily for photos and videos. Users can engage by sharing photos and videos through their feeds, stories, reels, and Direct Messages (DMs).
Facebook – Social networking site with profiles for individual users, pages for entities or public figures, and groups for users with a shared interest. Focus is on conversation and sharing through posts, photos and links.
Flickr – An online photo gallery site that allows for storage and sharing of digital images.
LinkedIn – A professional networking platform geared toward career development, job searching, and recruiting for individuals and businesses, functioning as an interactive, digital resume.
TikTok – A platform used mainly for creating, sharing, and viewing short-form, highly engaging videos.
X (formerly Twitter) – Microblogging site on which users can share 280 character messages or “tweets” as well as photos, videos and abbreviated links.
YouTube – Video-sharing platform which allows for embedding of videos on websites and easily links to videos on social networking sites.
Batten University Platforms
Batten University has several institutional social media pages. These pages have an established audience that is clearly associated with the Batten University brand and should be considered the University’s social media platforms.
The main university accounts showcase a blend of campus events, student experiences, stories, traditions, history, and academic achievements—content that keeps current students engaged while helping prospective students envision themselves as part of the Batten community.
If you have information to share that is appropriate for a broad audience, please consider sending your information to the Marketing and Communications team to have them shared on our platforms.
Batten University’s Official Instagram
Batten University’s Official Facebook
Batten University’s Official Flickr
Batten University’s Official LinkedIn
Batten University’s Official TikTok
Batten University’s Official X (formerly Twitter)
Batten University’s Official YouTube
Batten University’s Official Alumni Instagram
Batten University’s Official Alumni Facebook
Batten University’s Official Athletics Instagram
Batten University’s Official Athletics Facebook
Suggested hashtags you can use, if applicable to what you are posting: #GDTBAM, #Marlins, #MarlinNation
The Batten University Brand
Students choose Batten University because of the opportunities afforded by an individualized liberal arts education, a unique location and a supportive and inclusive academic community. As representatives of the University, we are charged with communicating those unique opportunities to numerous audiences through various outlets, including social media.
It is vital that the University’s social media presence reflects a unified brand and supports the mission and vision of the institution. Representations of the University on social media should be in line with the goals and priorities outlined in Batten University’s Strategic Plan.
Logos, Colors and Verbiage
Follow the University’s most updated Graphic Standards and Editorial Guidelines whenever possible or appropriate. Though the informal nature of social media justifies some flexibility in this regard, it’s always best to opt for consistency in how Batten University is presented to the public. The little things matter.
Always use the appropriate version of the University's official logo. For example, avoid placing dark blue logos on dark backgrounds; instead, use the approved white version when needed. Logos should always have transparent backgrounds rather than white boxes or borders.
Names, Profile Images, Icons, and Cover Photos
University-affiliated social media account names should include "Batten University," "Batten," "Marlin," or "Marlins" whenever possible to maintain brand consistency.
Profile images, icons, and cover photos should be of good quality. If you are using a logo as a profile image (or anywhere else), make sure it is the correct official logo, that it is cropped evenly and that it fits within the borders of the image that is displayed to other users or viewers. If you need help finding a particular logo or photo or want assistance designing a profile image, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Encouraging Productive Engagement
Batten University encourages our fans and followers to post, comment and interact with others, and expect that remarks will be on-topic and respectful of the rights and opinions of others. We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to remove comments that:
- are off-topic
- are profane, violent or obscene
- encourage or support discrimination against protected classes
- are duplicate or spam
- advocate illegal activity
- are misleading or contain falsehoods and/or inaccurate information
- libel, incite, threaten or make ad hominem attacks on students, employees, guests or other individuals
Batten University does not permit messages selling products or promoting commercial, political campaigns or candidates, or other ventures unless we deem them related to the university, its members or its operation. Posted comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the University. In certain situations, the poster, as well as the content, may be reported to authorities, depending on the nature of the content or as required by law.
Do You Need a Presence?
Perhaps the most important question to think about before establishing (or maintaining) a social media account is whether your office, department, group or program needs a social media presence at all. Keep in mind that frequent, timely content is critical to success on social media.
A Instagram or Facebook page that hasn’t had a new post in three months is worse than not having one at all. If you don’t have the time or resources to keep an account active, don’t start it to begin with. If you are the administrator of an inactive account, consider deleting or deactivating that account.
Evaluate your goals. Do you need an independent social media outlet or could your goals be met through use of the University’s main social media platforms or other existing Batten University accounts? You may reach a larger audience having your content published through official channels. The Office of Marketing and Communications is always available to help promote research, programs, publications, and events in a variety of ways including social media. The University’s Sports Information office should also be used as a key resource for social media concerns specific to coaches and athletic teams.
If you decide that a social media presence is the right way to help expand and connect with your audience, create a plan for establishing, updating and maintaining the site and a process for evaluating your success.
Sharing Account Information
As part of the University's social media management best practices, all University-affiliated social media accounts must have their login credentials on file with the Office of Marketing and Communications. This includes the account username, associated email address, and password. Marketing and Communications will not access or post to your account unless necessary but must be able to access University-owned accounts when required.
If you update any of your account information, please email the Director of Marketing and Communications with the updated information. If you are a student managing a Student Organization account, please email the Director of Student Engagement with your account information.
Don’t use personal emails or personal phone numbers.
University-affiliated social media accounts should be created using a departmental University email address rather than a personal email or phone number whenever possible. This will help prevent accounts to be lost whenever there’s a change in management. If you are a student managing a Student Organization account, please make sure the Director of Student Engagement has access to the email associated with the account.
For more information, click here.
General Tips and Best Practices
If you’ve determined that a social media presence is right for you, here are some helpful hints for success:
Establish Goals: What do you hope to get out of a social media presence? Attendance at events? Student or alumni involvement? More recruits?
Have a Plan: Create a schedule for posting. Have an idea of the kinds of things you will post and when. Be consistent and current. We highly recommend creating a 30-day content calendar before creating a new account, and ensure you have someone responsible for it.
Review before posting: If you have a student worker helping with social media, please check the content before posting it on your platform. As representatives of the University, you need to ensure our voice is being expressed correctly.
Show, Don’t Tell: “Brevity is the soul of wit” and social media. Keep verbiage to a minimum. If you post event posters to promote your events, capture photos and/or videos during the events to post afterward. Show, don’t tell.
Create personal connections: People like to see real things on social media. Make sure to capture a ton of event photos to post after posting an event graphic. Create short videos with students and members of the campus community. Posts that have personal connections perform well.
Invest in short-form videos: Short-form video, especially Instagram Reels, consistently generates strong engagement. Consider incorporating behind-the-scenes moments, student stories, trends, and campus life whenever appropriate. Keep an eye out for trends and follow similar University accounts for inspiration.
Engage With Your Community: It’s called “social” media for a reason. Get in the habit of liking other people’s posts and comments, re-tweeting and sharing content. The more you do so, the more traction your presence will get.
Collaborate on IG posts: Instagram allows users to “tag” or invite others to collaborate on their posts. As collaborators, the content appears in all the feeds that are a part of the collaboration. Please collaborate with @battenuniversity whenever possible. You reach a higher audience, increase engagement across different department accounts, and it gives your account more visibility. If we invite you as a collaborator, please accept it.
Prepare to Evolve. Change is the name of the game on social media and online in general. What’s true today probably won’t be next month or next year. Be a lifelong learner.
Using AI. Many people use AI as a tool to create captions for social media. If you do so, please edit the AI-generated content to make it feel more human. AI can be a helpful drafting tool, but content should always be reviewed and edited to reflect Batten University's voice, tone, and brand. Avoid posting AI-generated text without thoughtful revisions.
Web First, Then Social Media: Social media is not a replacement for an official University website. Your primary online presence should exist in your section of www.batten.edu (or marlinsathletics.com). If the information there is outdated, contact Marketing and Communications (or Sports Information) to correct it.
Perhaps a Promotion? More and more, social media sites are looking to capitalize on businesses using them as a marketing tool. Translation: they want you to pay to be seen. Paid social media advertising can be a consideration for big events or initiatives. Prices vary widely. Consult Marketing and Communications.
Utilize Batten University Main Platforms: Got something to share that’s right for a bigger audience? Consider going through one of the University’s social media hubs. See Batten University Official platforms above.
Measure Performance: All social media sites have built-in tools to help you measure the response you are receiving. As the most popular social media platform around campus, Instagram lets users see what content performs better than others. You should also measure against your stated goals, and re-plan based on the response you get.