Copy & Response Guidelines
Before writing and posting copy on social media, make sure to review the Copy and Editorial as well as Fundamentals sections of Brand Guidelines.
Code of Conduct
UCLA’s social media channels are an integral part of the university brand and they call for a different approach than personal accounts. When you represent the university on social media platforms, it is important to adhere to UCLA’s values and follow UCLA’s principles of community, UC diversity statement, UC statement of ethical values and standards of ethical conduct and all other applicable policies.
Crisis Communications
In the case of an emergency that impacts or involves the campus community, hold off on posting and defer to the Bruins Safe Online for communication updates, reference materials, and instructions. You can follow UCLA BruinAlert on X here.
DO NOT POST any crisis-related communications outside of official messages from the UCLA Office of Emergency Management.
Responding to Questions
It is important that any information you post or respond to has all the correct facts and information. Try and direct questions to the appropriate channels to which the question is referring. Plus, there is no shortage of subject matter experts at UCLA, so if a question is about a topic you can tie back to research or discoveries at UCLA, or to a subject matter expert at UCLA, even better!
For example, if you receive a question regarding admissions, an appropriate response would be, “Hi, XXXX. If your question is admissions-related please contact admission here https://admission.ucla.edu/contact”.
Reporting and Response
Social media managers are often the first to come across conflict or crises. This can include posts about an emergency on campus or tweets showing signs of emotional distress/anger from a student.
If you see a post that gives you cause for concern:
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Do not respond.
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Save a screenshot for your records. Note the date when it was originally posted and who posted it.
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Notify the appropriate person/group:
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CC the Office of the Campus Counsel as to the appropriateness of removal of the post and taking further action.
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CC Strategic Communications at socialmedia@ucla.edu so we are aware of any issues which may affect other groups/departments.
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Delete/hide/report if it violates our Code of Conduct. Respond if the appropriate group has provided a statement or guidance.
In some cases, like student complaints or accusations of discrimination/misconduct, for example, you may respond that a person from a specific department will be contacting them via private/direct message.
Managing inappropriate comments
UCLA social media channels seek to advance a welcoming and inclusive environment for discussion of topics related to UCLA and its community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, partners and supporters, per UCLA’’s Principles of Community. Posts should be on-topic and respectful of the rights and opinions of others.
On its social media channels, UCLA prohibits acts of discrimination, harassment, profiling or other conduct causing harm to individuals on the basis of expression of race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, national origin, or other characteristics. Comments involving obscenity, libel, or spamming may be removed. UCLA further prohibits online bullying meant to incite negative actions against an individual, or comments that make public personal information such as home addresses and phone numbers.
Additionally, UCLA prohibits posts that violate copyrights or trademarks or contain spam (posts that promote events, products or services unrelated to UCLA).
UCLA reserves the right to delete, hide or block posts that violate these Principles of Community, and to block users who generate such posts.
Additionally, the Regents of the University of California may remove content from UCLA’s social media channels at any time without prior notice for any reason deemed to be in the Regents’ best interest.
Posts and comments by individuals on UCLA social media channels do not reflect the opinions or policies of UCLA or the University of California.
Confidentiality
Members of the UCLA community are personally responsible for their words and actions. As online spokespeople, you must ensure that your posts are completely accurate and not misleading and that they do not reveal non-public information about UCLA. Exercise sound judgment and common sense, and if there is any doubt, DO NOT POST. It’s perfectly acceptable to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but you do not want to disclose anything that contains confidential, proprietary, personal or private information about UCLA, its employees, students, affiliates, vendors or suppliers.
Social Media
UCLA encourages the use of official social media accounts to tell the university’s stories and participate in conversations around relevant topics. Social media is an important platform for UCLA; when we present a consistent voice and brand aesthetic, we can represent ourselves more effectively. This guide outlines some basics on how to manage social media on behalf of the university.
Our goal in social media is to connect UCLA’s discoveries, achievements, and aspirations to their impact, both locally and globally. And as the #1 public university in the nation, our social media can also help us gain direct insight into the issues that the public cares about.
Social media provides us the opportunity for a two-way conversation about what the public considers relevant to our world, regardless of a person’s segment or affiliation. We can think of our audiences beyond segments, and instead think about the commonalities that unite them as Optimists and the causes and concerns we hope to affect and change.
Should I Start a New Channel?
Before launching a new social channel, it’s important to define your goals and determine if and how social media will help reach them. Ask yourself the following questions:
How can social media help my department or organization meet our goals?
Determine what you plan to achieve using social media. Is it to inform, share information, gain feedback, engage with your audience? Knowing your goals will help you make decisions about where to establish accounts, what information to share, and who you will reach.
Who is our audience, and is social media the appropriate channel to reach them?
Which channels are they already participating on?
Do we have the resources for effective content development, execution and moderation on a daily basis?
Maintaining relevance and impressions requires daily posting, multiple times a day, on each channel. If your posting is seasonal, partner with other established channels for collaboration and takeovers. If it’s around events, use a hashtag. Additionally, social media is a platform for sharing content – time and resources must be dedicated to creating photography, video, and landing pages – or sourcing those things ahead of time.
Have social media platforms for your school already been established, and can these existing platforms promote your event or content?
Social media is a very public platform, and having a small target audience and niche content can work against you. Consider establishing a workflow with the person in charge of overarching and established channels for your school or department, whose audience is larger but contains your target.
Do you know how you will measure your success?
Using analytics to track and measure content is vital for the success of your social media channels. Analytics help identify what content is working/not working and what the value of social media is for your department. To identify what and how you should measure social media review what you planned to achieve using social media in the first place. For example, if your goal is awareness, you may prioritize reach numbers over engagement.
Will you be able to adhere to Accessibility Requirements (ADA compliance)?
Will you be able to adhere to UCLA’s Brand Guidelines?
Profile Image
Many people use social media on mobile devices, so keep in mind that your icon will almost always display very small. Official school and department accounts should use their social media profile identity for all square and circular profile photos/icons for readability and consistent branding.
To obtain your department or unit’s social media profile identity, contact your unit/department’s Marketing & Communication Director.
Cover Photo
Cover photos, header images, channel art, etc. create a first impression, so choose images that are relevant to your unit/department and your audience. Follow the image specs for each individual platform, and make sure your image is of sufficient resolution. Avoid using text, as it will be cut off on certain screen sizes and devices.
Post Templates
We’ve created social media post templates to help save time and align our brand look and feel. These are designed to the social media platform specific dimensions.
Facebook
Instagram
Photos and Videos
Before posting photos on official university social media channels, make sure to review the Imagery section of brand guidelines. We also recommend reviewing the best practices and specs outlined by each social media platform’s own guidelines, keeping in mind requirements for both resolution and dimension.
Before posting videos, make sure to review UCLA’s brand guidelines for video. This section includes video best practices, guidelines for how to use captions, supers and other visual elements, and downloadable assets for you to use.
Copy & Response Guidelines
Before writing and posting copy on social media, make sure to review the Copy and Editorial as well as Fundamentals sections of Brand Guidelines.
Code of Conduct
UCLA’s social media channels are an integral part of the university brand and they call for a different approach than personal accounts. When you represent the university on social media platforms, it is important to adhere to UCLA’s values and follow UCLA’s principles of community, UC diversity statement, UC statement of ethical values and standards of ethical conduct and all other applicable policies.
Crisis Communications
In the case of an emergency that impacts or involves the campus community, hold off on posting and defer to the Bruins Safe Online for communication updates, reference materials, and instructions. You can follow UCLA BruinAlert on X here.
DO NOT POST any crisis-related communications outside of official messages from the UCLA Office of Emergency Management.
Responding to Questions
It is important that any information you post or respond to has all the correct facts and information. Try and direct questions to the appropriate channels to which the question is referring. Plus, there is no shortage of subject matter experts at UCLA, so if a question is about a topic you can tie back to research or discoveries at UCLA, or to a subject matter expert at UCLA, even better!
For example, if you receive a question regarding admissions, an appropriate response would be, “Hi, XXXX. If your question is admissions-related please contact admission here https://admission.ucla.edu/contact”.
Reporting and Response
Social media managers are often the first to come across conflict or crises. This can include posts about an emergency on campus or tweets showing signs of emotional distress/anger from a student.
If you see a post that gives you cause for concern:
In some cases, like student complaints or accusations of discrimination/misconduct, for example, you may respond that a person from a specific department will be contacting them via private/direct message.
Managing inappropriate comments
UCLA social media channels seek to advance a welcoming and inclusive environment for discussion of topics related to UCLA and its community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, partners and supporters, per UCLA’’s Principles of Community. Posts should be on-topic and respectful of the rights and opinions of others.
On its social media channels, UCLA prohibits acts of discrimination, harassment, profiling or other conduct causing harm to individuals on the basis of expression of race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, national origin, or other characteristics. Comments involving obscenity, libel, or spamming may be removed. UCLA further prohibits online bullying meant to incite negative actions against an individual, or comments that make public personal information such as home addresses and phone numbers.
Additionally, UCLA prohibits posts that violate copyrights or trademarks or contain spam (posts that promote events, products or services unrelated to UCLA).
UCLA reserves the right to delete, hide or block posts that violate these Principles of Community, and to block users who generate such posts.
Additionally, the Regents of the University of California may remove content from UCLA’s social media channels at any time without prior notice for any reason deemed to be in the Regents’ best interest.
Posts and comments by individuals on UCLA social media channels do not reflect the opinions or policies of UCLA or the University of California.
Confidentiality
Members of the UCLA community are personally responsible for their words and actions. As online spokespeople, you must ensure that your posts are completely accurate and not misleading and that they do not reveal non-public information about UCLA. Exercise sound judgment and common sense, and if there is any doubt, DO NOT POST. It’s perfectly acceptable to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but you do not want to disclose anything that contains confidential, proprietary, personal or private information about UCLA, its employees, students, affiliates, vendors or suppliers.