Social Media Research:

SM Policies by university

University Link to Social Media
Policy
Characteristics
The University of
Texas at Austin
Ranked 10
th

most social
media savvy
campus
http://www.utexas.edu
/know/directory/guide
lines/

- Social Media Directory available on website; able to sort by media type (Twitter, Facebook),
Colleges/schools, administrative offices or libraries and museums
- List of Social Media values / guidelines (i.e. respect, ethics, accuracy, honesty, value, interest,
personality, transparency and disclosure)
- Manage social media sites through Send us your content page, which is an online form
where colleges/schools can send UT marketing and comm stories, videos, photos and social
media to the main hub for promotion
Colorado State
University

**Good for an
example**
http://socialmedia.colo
state.edu/
- Official application process must take place before schools/colleges can create a social
media account (all accounts must be approved) Application page
o Application includes: description of intended purpose of the account, social media
policy agreement check box, administrator contact information (people who will be
posting on the account), graphic standards approval)
- Social Media policy includes:
o Officially recognized CSU social media accounts and web pages are reviewed and
approved through an application process.
o Each social media account will have responsible administrators assigned.
o Each officially approved account must include a disclaimer statement, in the
prescribed form, regarding content and opinions contained on the site.
o Inappropriate, offensive, injurious and illegal content may be removed by CSU
employees
o Best practices for social media accounts should be considered.
- CSU Social Media Directory Organized by social media type
- Tips for creating a profile image
o Complete with links to the communicators toolbox for how to use the CSU logo
(similar to UMD Brand Toolkit) and the contact information of someone from CSU
Marketing / Comm who can help.
o Brand color swatches for Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign available for public use
Princeton
University
http://www.princeton.
edu/communications/s
ervices/social-
media/061611_Princet
on_Social_Media_Policie
s.pdf
(PDF Social Media
Policy)
- Policy includes
o Important definitions of social media, platform and terms of use
o Account creation (similar process to apply for university recognized social media
account that hey will help promote)
o Naming Guidelines for social media accounts so they all sound/look similar (i.e.
PUAthletics or PUHumanities)
- No application process for social media accounts but statement of notification is required
in the policy that states, The University's Office of Communications should be notified when
you have establishedor plan to establisha social media presence.
- General content guidelines, social media best practices
- Confidential and proprietary information (HIPAA, FERPA, do not include personally
identifiable information like photos and names without written permission)
- Branding guidelines (commercial use, images, copyrighted materials)
- Section on moderating comments/troubleshooting (pg. 7)

UCLA http://socialmedia.ucla.
edu/
- Main Social Media Guidelines page (includes social media ethics, values and best practices)
- Subpages for:
o Getting started with Social Media
Explains how social media can help a department, how to choose correct
social channel for audience, consideration of resources (does your
department have the time and know-how to take on/keep up w. an
account)
o Social Media Response Guide
o Resources and Links (Similar to brand toolkit)
o Contact
o UCLA Social Media Group
A forum for UCLA staff to learn, share best practices, network and explore
new technologies within social media
Meetings held bi-monthly, panel discussions of best practices
o Facebook standards
o Twitter standards
o YouTube standards
University of
Michigan
Ranked 4
th
most
social media
savvy campus
http://www.voices.umi
ch.edu/docs/Social-
Media-Guidelines.pdf
(PDF Social Media
Policy)
- Policy includes:
o Overview of why social media policies are important
o General Rules to follow (SM Values, ethics- respect, transparency, privacy, etc.)
o Social media guidelines when posting as an individual
o Social media guidelines when posting on behalf of University of Michigan
o Safety tips for social media networking
UNC, Chapel Hill http://blogs.lib.unc.edu
/news/index.php/socia
l-media-policy-for-
library-employees/
- A specific social media policy does not exist from central marketing & comm department
only for UNC Library employees
- Only Personal Use Policy for how employees should behave on personal social media
accounts
o Reason for policy: Public Trust and accountability
UC Berkley
** Ranked 6
th

most social
media savvy
campus in US,
UK**
https://security.berkele
y.edu/policy/socialmed
ia?destination=node/63

NOTE- social media
policy under UC Berkley
- Page includes
o Overview of why its important to be mindful of posting on social media (exposure)
o Social Media tips / best practices for students and staff (personal use/ personal
brand)
o Social Media tips / best practices for Departments and the University
List of possible damages, potential legal consequences of SM use
Technology Security >
resources
o Relevant UC Policies
Refers to a few of Californias state laws Electronic Communications
Policies
o Resources to other social media best practices, links
University of Minnesota Social Networking Site Guidelines
Cornell University: Privacy on the Internet
University of
Minnesota

**Good for an
example**
https://www.ur.umn.e
du/brand/requirement
s-and-
guidelines/social-
networking/
Content
- Basics of social networking
- Before using social networking
o People. Who are you trying to reach?
o Objective. What's the main thing you want from them?
o Strategy. What kind of social interaction will lead to what you want?
o Technology. What tool will best support that interaction?
- Best practices for establishing a social networking site
- Icons and other images
- Social networking requirements and guidelines at the University of Minnesota
o Copyright and intellectual property
o Code of ethics and common sense
o Code of Conduct and University policies related to social networking
o Academic freedom and responsibility
-

Common Characteristics from model universities:
- Social Media Directory
- Disclaimer statement for university social profiles
- Link to university brand toolkit or media guidelines of some sort
- Social media guidelines / best practices
- Social media ethics/values and short explanations of each (personal / professional use, why important)


How universities handle inappropriate posts:
Princeton University (From Social Media Policy, page 7)
MODERATING COMMENTS
University social media efforts should encourage fans, followers, and friends to share their thoughts with one another by
commenting on stories, videos, links, posts, etc. within the following guidelines, which should be prominently displayed on
the social media site:
Comments must be relevant to a topic discussed and to the point.
Comments should be constructive and absent of expletives, obscenity and vulgarity, in accordance with University
guidelines.
Posts that are off-topic, abusive, contain profanity, are threatening in tone or devolve into personal attacks will be
deleted immediately.
Posts with links that are determined to be spam or sales and advertising should be removed immediately.
Account administrators reserve the right to review all comments and posted materials and remove such materials
for any reason.


UCLA (from UCLA Social Media Guidelines)
HANDLING INAPPROPRIATE POSTS
It is important to remember that everyone has the right to share his/her opinions, whether positive or negative. However,
there will be times when appropriate actions are needed in response to particular posts. Your first instinct should not be to
delete a post because you disagree with it. If possible, use the opportunity to solve a problem or generate a productive
discussion. UCLA has created a helpful response guide to help you determine how to handle posts.

While UCLA supports free speech activities, UCLA social media sites are for official University activities and must comply
with University policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment. For any post that involves the promotion of violence,
or is are believed to be discriminatory, harassing, defamatory or obscene, do the following:

1. Do not respond to the post.
2. Print and save a copy of the post for your records. Include the date when it was originally posted and who posted it.
3. Notify your immediate supervisor.
4. Consult with the Office of the Campus Counsel as to appropriateness of removal of the post and taking further
action.

No endorsements
Any advertising, promotion or overtly favorable acknowledgement or endorsement of third-party products and services is
not permitted. For detailed information, please refer to Guidelines for Advertising & Other Forms of Acknowledgement on
the Web. Many additional policies and legal requirements can apply if you will be using social media for purposes such as
human subjects research, fundraising, political, whistleblower or volunteer activity. Please be sure to understand these
requirements first.


(more)

When in doubt, do not post
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. Its perfectly acceptable
to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but its not okay to disclose anything that contains
confidential, proprietary, personal or private information about UCLA, its employees, students, affiliates, vendors or
suppliers.


How social media can be measured:
- Ways to Measure Social Media and its impact on your brand (summarized below)


























1) Measure Social Media Exposure How many people could you have reached with your message?
Twitter: Look at your number of followers and the number of followers for those who retweeted your message
to determine the monthly potential reach. You should track these separately and then compare the month-over-
month growth rate of each of these metrics so you can determine where youre seeing the most growth. A great
free tool to use for Twitter measurement is TweetReach.

Facebook: Track the total number of fans for your brand page. In addition, review the number of friends from
those who became fans during a specified period of time or during a promotion and those who commented on or
liked your posts to identify the potential monthly Facebook reach. Facebook Insights provides value here.

YouTube: Measure the number of views for videos tied to a promotion or specific period of time, such as
monthly, and the total number of subscribers.

Blog: Measure the number of visitors who viewed the posts tied to the promotion or a specific period of time.

Email: Take a look at how many people are on the distribution list and how many actually received the email.


2) Measure social media engagement How many people actually did something with the message?
Radian 6
Biz360
Hootsuite

Twitter: Quantify the number of times your links were clicked, your message was retweeted, and your hashtag
was used and then look at how many people were responsible for the activity. You can also track @replies and
direct messages if you can link them to campaign activity.

Facebook: Determine the number of times your links were clicked and your messages were liked or commented
on. Then break this down by how many people created this activity. You can also track wall posts and private
messages if you can link them to activity that is directly tied to a specific social media campaign.

YouTube: Assess the number of comments on your video, the number of times it was rated, the number of times
it was shared and the number of new subscribers.

Blog: Evaluate the number of comments, the number of subscribers generated and finally the number of times
the posts were shared and where they were shared (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.). Measure how many
third-party blogs you commented on and the resulting referral traffic to your site.

Email: Calculate how many people opened, clicked and shared your email. Include where the items were shared,
similar to the point above. Also, keep track of the number of new subscriptions generated.



3) Measure Influence a bit of a soft space
Basically, you want to look at whether the engagement metrics listed above are positive, negative or
neutral. How are people responding? What are the nature of their posts / replies?
Twitalyzer.com (con: only measures Twitter data, pro: free trial)
Social Mention (pro: free)
Radian 6



Top tools for social media monitoring and what they do:
1. Alterian/SDL ($) | Alterian is now SDL, an integrated platform that blends the marketing analytics, campaign
management, and social media capabilities from Alterian with those of SDL.
2. Argyle Social ($) | Identify and engage with more prospects, qualify and quantify better leads, and build and maintain
stronger relationships by linking social media actions to the marketing platforms youre already using.
3. BackTweets (Free) | Track how many people are talking about you, whos talking, and what theyre saying. You can
search through a tweet archive for URLs sent via Twitter, including results for full URL links, shortened URLs, and URLs
without the www prefix.
4. BlitzMetrics ($) | Social media dashboards for your brand that monitor content across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube,
Instagram, Tumblr, and more. It helps you benchmark against your competitors, learn which demographics are the
most active, and track content performance so you can improve your reach and engagement.
5. Bottlenose ($) | A tool that provides live social intelligence by analyzing activity across all the major social networks.
Use it to search, monitor, analyze, target, and engage in real time, all from one place.
6. Brandwatch ($) |This service reads through and summarizes whats being said on the Web about brands, people, and
products. Define keywords to track (brands, topics, people names, products) and get access to mentions, trend and
campaign analysis, and competitive info.
7. Buffer (Free and $) Note: Id recommend Hootsuite over Buffer; Hootsuite is easier to use and the design allows you
to manage the account better by seeing everything at once in a | An app that manages multiple Twitter, Facebook, and
LinkedIn accounts, with the ability to set a tweeting or updating schedule unique to each. Includes detailed analytics for
all your posts.
8. CARMA ($) | Evaluate your overall social media image, brand recognition, message penetration, competitive
positioning, and areas of strength and weakness, and use the data to develop a strategically sound and effective
communication strategy.
9. Collective Intellect ($) | This Oracle platform captures millions of conversations a day across multiple social networks,
including Facebook and Twitter. It extracts sentiments, preferences, and intentions from those sources and displays the
information in real time.
10. Crimson Hexagon ($) | Tap into social media conversations with listening tools that help you understand how the
most engaged consumers think and feel about your brand, why consumers are choosing other brands over yours, and
how your ads/marketing are really perceived by your audience.
11. Curalate ($) | This tool applies advanced image analytics to social media conversations to give you detailed insights for
your initiatives on Instagram and Pinterest.
12. CustomScoop ($) | Track media coverage, listen to social conversations, monitor your competition, measure PR and
marketing effectiveness, and get automated daily reports.
13. CyberAlert ($) | Monitor 100,000+ consumer-generated media sites for word of mouth, including Twitter, blogs,
Usenet (theres a blast from the past :), and video sites.
14. Facebook Insights (Free) | Facebooks built-in tool provides Facebook Page owners with metrics around their
content. Helps you understand and analyze trends within user growth and demographics.
15. Fliptop ($) | A customer intelligence platform that uses publicly available information, including social data, to score
leads so you can prioritize your pipeline, better target your audience, and know more about your customers.
16. Gorkana ($) | This tool searches through and filters conversations to provides insights into the most relevant
conversations about your brand. Offers audits and reports plus daily social media alerts.
17. HootSuite (Free and $) | A social media management system that enables teams to collaboratively execute campaigns
across multiple social networks from one dashboard. Includes audience identification tools, the ability to streamline
workflow, and custom reports. Also has geo-location to target BRAND messages, but no way to crowd source /
geolocate Tweets from others
18. Icerocket (Free) | A free resource for brand monitoring, it taps the Web, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, and delivers
easy-to-read results in one page.
19. Klout (Free) | A tool that finds the influencers in your audience so you can target and empower them to become
advocates for your brand.
20. Geofeedia ($) | Geofeedia is a location-based social media monitoring, analysis and engagement platform. Its data set
contains the hidden 70%+ of data coming from locations compared to traditional tools that rely on certain words to be
included in their data sets. In most cases, content shows up within seconds of the original posting. Geofeedia currently
searches Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Picasa, Flickr, and Viddy.
21. MarketMeSuite ($) | A dashboard similar to Hootsuite and TweetDeck, it can be used to manage and market on
multiple social profiles, schedule messages, use geotargeting, and more.
o $153 / year +add ons for pro version, 60 day free trial
o Send Direct Messages Automatically: Automatically send a welcome message to any new follower. Create
rotating messages and expand social engagement by sharing your Facebook, LinkedIn, website, and retail address.
o Post to Multiple Social Networks & Profiles
o Geotargeting: Finds the conversations most important to your business on social media; helps you zero in on all
the right prospects
o Hootsuite seems better because MarketMeSuite doesnt have analytics like RTs, follower growth,
mentions, etc. Looks more like a convenience software
22. MediaMiser ($) | Web app that collects and analyzes relevant content about your brand from social, traditional, and
digital media. Spots trends in media coverage, including sentiment, share of voice, and top regions.
23. MediaVantage ($) | Pulls traditional media coverage and social media mentions into a database that helps you monitor
your reputation, align your teams and messaging, and measure results.
24. Meltwater ($) | Combines social media monitoring and analytics with social engagement tools to help you create
targeted marketing campaigns and build brand relationships.
25. Mention (Free to $) | An iPhone and Android app that lets you create alerts for your company, its keywords, your
brand, and your competitors. Updates in real time.
26. NetBase ($)| A social intelligence platform that enables you to monitor, understand, react, engage, and publish through
both owned and earned channels.
27. Netvibes (Free and $) | A platform that tracks clients, customers, competitors, and your reputation across media
sources, analyzes live results with 3rd party reporting tools, and provides media monitoring dashboards for brand
clients.
28. NUVI ($) | Real-time display of conversations that weight influence and sentiment. You can instantly see the social
media conversations taking place in your market and immediately engage your detractors and evangelists.
29. Plugg.io (Free) | Manage and tweet from multiple accounts, get friend suggestions, and automate syndication via blogs
and news sources.
30. Shoutlet ($) | A community management and moderation platform for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and
YouTube. Includes integrated workflow tools and task assignments.
31. Social Marketing Cloud ($) | An automated solution that enables you to monitor and analyze blogs, forums, wikis, and
microblogging sites to track real-time conversations about your brand.
32. Social Mention (Free) | A real-time social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user-generated content
from Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google, etc. into a single stream.
33. Social Response ($) | Formerly Cotweet. Build dynamic Facebook fan pages, respond in real time on Twitter and
Facebook, and communicate 1-to-1 with your followers.
34. Sprout Social ($) | Web app that monitors Twitter, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Gowalla, and other
networks where consumers are engaging with businesses and brands. Also offers contact management, competitive
insight, lead generation, and analytics.
35. SWIX Analytics ($) | This tool tracks 75 social media metrics in one dashboard, enabling you to measure your social
media influence.
36. Synthesio ($) | Platform that offers global, multilingual monitoring of your brands reputation, campaign management,
influencer tracking, and competitive intelligence. Well-suited for large enterprises.
37. Sysomos ($) | A real-time monitoring dashboard that collects relevant online conversations about your brand and
provides insights with detailed metrics and graphics.
38. Talkwalker ($) | This reporting tool constantly scans the Web and social media to monitor your brand,
reputation, and competitors. It can also be used for campaign tracking, market research, and customer service.
39. Topsy ($) | Monitors tweets, websites, blogs, and social networks, and analyzes/indexes/ranks content and trends.
40. Trackur ($) | Quickly monitor your online reputation, measure social media trends, and analyze social media mentions
for your company, brands, or clients.
41. TweetBeep (Free and $) | This app is like Google Alerts for Twitter: Choose some keywords and receive daily search
results via email.
42. TweetDeck (Free) | Very similar to HootSuite, only without all the bells and whistles, this client enables you to tweet
and track mentions, people, and keywords.
43. Twitalyzer ($ with free trial) | One-click access to Twitter metrics that analyze followers, mentions, retweets, and
influencers and their locations. It can also be used to compare your Twitter account to those of your competitors.
44. UberVU ($) | Keeps track of all the major social media platforms in real time and delivers opportunities for audience
engagement.
45. Visible ($) | A social media analytics and engagement dashboard that enables you to monitor, analyze, and engage in
social media conversations all in one place. It can also be integrated into your existing CRM system.
46. Vocus ($) | Cloud marketing and analytics platform that looks at social, search, email, and PR, and delivers real-time
marketing opportunities in the form of leads, prospects, social media conversations, curated content and inbound
media inquiries.