N.C. A&T Social Media Guidelines and Set-up Requirements

Set-up Requirements

Formal approval must be obtained by the requesting area’s department chair/dean/associate vice chancellor and/or AD via cc on the requesting email establishing any new account, sent to tddixon1@ncat.edu and socialmedia@ncat.edu. Be specific as to who will be responsible for maintaining the account and who will fulfill those duties in a backup capacity.

• The University Director of Digital Content (Tonya Dixon) will establish the account and password and will securely share with you. The username and password should only be changed by the director (Tonya Dixon)
• All university social media sub accounts must use an “@ncat.edu” email address for signup. It cannot be your employee email address. It should be a general inbox such as biology@ncat.edu If your college/department/program does not already have one, please request an “@ncat.edu” email address by putting in a Cherwell request via https://ncat.cherwellondemand.com/CherwellPortal/AggieHelp (this type of email address is required for all university sub social media accounts).
• Each social media account MUST have two account administrators with complete access to each account.
• Students and/or student interns are only allowed to operate and access official university social media accounts under the direction and responsibility of a full-time university employee who agrees to be the advisor and oversee the student(s). Ultimately, the FULLTIME UNIVERSITY employees ARE RESPONSIBLE and HELD ACCOUNTABLE for the account(s) and administration of the account(s). The university only allows the establishment of one platform account at a time. This ensures time for consistency, content and development. The addition of other platforms can be discussed, evaluated and activated at the sixth month mark.
• Submit the email address and two administrators to Tonya Dixon (tddixon1@ncat.edu).
• Account login information MUST be saved properly in an accessible (by each administrator) password keeper
• Account holders are strongly urged to attend once-monthly, university-wide social media contributor meetings (invites will be sent).
• See unapproved social platforms below.

Additional Information

Share information

Refer to the top-level, main university Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and/or TikTok accounts for pertinent university information, including but not limited to emergency communications.

Engage/Add value/Establish a voice

Communicate with your respective audience in a genuine voice. Be clear with your audience about your intent and relationship to the university. The key to social media is having a twoway conversation with the audience in which the audience feels like they are being heard.

Respond to DMs as quickly as possible. While Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn are all considered social media, each platform has its own nuances. Spend time on your appropriate platform(s) to learn how others express themselves in those spaces.

Moderate content

University social media channels are a valuable marketing tool for the university and should reflect our values. Do not post or share information and/or that include profane language, exchanges that devolve into personal attacks and negative conversations or posts that are advertisements of personal businesses and political endeavors.

Unapproved social media platforms 

Currently, university college, office, department, program or other sub-level accounts are not approved for Snapchat, YouTube, Clubhouse or other social media platform accounts other than Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn accounts. To utilize platforms currently unapproved, please contact the university director of digital content for other options.

Accurate information

Verify that any information you are posting is accurate.

Regular updates

Post new content consistently. Frequency may vary by account.

Be responsible

There are real consequences for information communicated online, just as there are consequences for inappropriate conduct in an office, in a meeting and at official university events. We encourage all users of social media to act responsibly. Do not post any information that is considered confidential or that may violate the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) and/or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). For additional information about FERPA and HIPAA, please visit our website.

Administrators must abide by the university code of conduct, handbooks and policies.

Photos/videos

When posting photos, obtain permission from the subjects in the photos. If the photos are of minor children, obtain permission from the parent/guardian. A digital photo release is available here.

When in doubt, do not post or publish.