Social Media

Social media has become important and influential communication channel for our community. To assist in posting content and managing these and other sites, we have developed policies and guidelines for the official and personal use of social media.

These policies and guidelines apply to university faculty, staff and students and can be used in connection with social media accounts associated with schools, colleges, departments, programs, offices, clubs, and teams.

Seattle University’s main social media accounts include:

• Facebook
• X
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Pinterest
• Instagram

General Guidelines

The purpose of using social media channels on behalf of Seattle University is to support the university’s mission, goals, programs and sanctioned efforts, including university news, information, content and directives. Social media is also a powerful tool for building pride and encouraging dialogue among our community members.

Getting Started

Prior to engaging in any form of social media involving Seattle University, a few first steps are strongly encouraged:

• Consult with your supervisor as appointed by your department head and let him/her know that you are interested in utilizing social media in your area.
• Read over the social media guidelines provided on this site to familiarize yourself with SU policies and expectations.
• Contact socialmedia@seattleu.edu for assistance in determining which, if any, social media channels are right for you and your area.
• Work with Marcom to ensure proper SU branding for your social media sites and to help gain followers.

While Representing Seattle University

• Follow the SU brand guidelines
• Adhere to the terms of use of the social network you’re using.
• Respect copyright, fair use and financial disclosure laws.
• Verify information before you post it.
• Make sure your links work.
• Make sure you’re creating dialog, not just pushing content. Give your fans something to respond to or act on.
• Thank people for input and feedback, including negative feedback.
• Don't forget to be human, even when you’re interacting as an entity rather than as an individual. 

Editorial & Visual Branding:

• Be mindful that all posted content is subject to review in accordance with Seattle University’s employee policies and editorial guidelines.
• Seattle University logos and/or visual identity cannot be used for personal social media without university permission. If you need assistance or guidance, contact us.
• Seattle University does not monitor personal websites or social media accounts but will address issues that violate established editorial, graphics and social media guidelines as outlined by Marcom.
• Avoid the use of all-caps in any messaging (example: "UPCOMING EVENT"). This translates to "yelling" and harsh tones online, which might be harmful to engaging audiences. 
• Use of photos and videos as content pieces leads to a greater amount of engagement with your posts. Do your best to include hi-res imagery with your content. Avoid posting small and/or pixelated images when possible.

Confidentiality, Privacy, and Safety:

• Confidential or proprietary university information should not be shared publicly on Seattle University social media channels.

Seattle University Social Media Channels are not used for:

Spam

Promoting causes or businesses unrelated to Seattle University through Seattle University’s social media channels is unacceptable. This includes posting spam messages to promote non-Seattle University related communications.

Advancing an agenda

Seattle University social media is not intended to serve as a platform to promote a particular opinion or stance on any topic. You may express your opinion on a topic if it is respectful and factual. However, do not make repeated posts advancing overtly political, moral or religious positions, events or causes.

Misrepresentation/Copyright

Do not post words or photos that are copyrighted by someone else. This includes posting comments that are unrelated to the topic of an individual post.

Offensive to others

Use of language that is hurtful, defamatory, discriminatory, racist, sexist, offensive, obscene, inflammatory, unlawful, vulgar or otherwise objectionable is not appropriate on Seattle University social media channels and will not be tolerated. We are committed to protecting our community from offensive and harmful social media posts.

See Seattle University’s Non-Discrimination policy.

Sharing personal information

We discourage followers of Seattle University social media from sharing personal, identifying details or contact information and email addresses. Posting another individual’s personal information is also a violation of our guidelines.

If you do not follow these requirements…

Comments, links, photos, videos or other content that violates the stated purposes and requirements of participation in Seattle University’s social media communities will be removed without advance notice, explanation or discussion.

We are committed to uphold the integrity of our social media pages. Contact socialmedia@seattleu.edu if you become aware of any content that violates these expectations or if you have any questions.

Accessibility:

In addition to making your Seattle U websites accessible, there are also things you can do to make your Seattle U social media accessible as well. Check out the below resources for more information.

• Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad (Digital.gov)
• How to be More Accessible on Social Media (Siteimprove blog)
• Create Accessible Video, Audio and Social Media (Section508.gov)

University News:

• Your personal social media account is not an appropriate place to distribute university news. If you have SU information or news that you would like to announce to the public or media, contact Lincoln Vander Veen, External Affairs Manager, at vanderv1@seattleu.edu.
• In compliance with the policies and rules set by the Division 1 athletics program, do not acknowledge social media posts or content from incoming students who claim to have signed with a Seattle University athletics team unless the news has been confirmed by our athletics department. The best rule of thumb: don’t announce anything unless it’s been announced by Athletics.

Additional Information

Due to the evolving nature of social media, these policies and guidelines are subject to revision by the Marketing Communications team. Feedback from the campus community is welcome.