University Social Media Policy

St. John Fisher University is committed to creating a community that encourages self-expression and reinforces the values of the Fisher Creed, including respect for others, open-mindedness, and integrity. 

Social Media Posting

Content posted on University-affiliated pages should contribute to and be consistent with the mission and values of the University. To maintain a respectful and open community, content prohibited by this policy on University-affiliated pages includes content that is:

  • illegal;
  • threatening, abusive, or hateful;
  • obscene or offensive;
  • deceptive, false, or misleading;
  • considered confidential information or materials of the University;
  • spam or commercial advertising;
  • in violation the intellectual property rights of any other person;
  • in violation of policies of social media platforms including Meta, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, TikTok;
  • in violation of any of the University’s other policies including the Free Expression policy, Employee Handbook, and Student Handbook.

The University reserves the right to remove any content posted on the University’s official social media accounts that, in the sole discretion of the University, violates these guidelines. The University also reserves the right to block users who violate these guidelines. St. John Fisher University is not responsible for content posted by others on the St. John Fisher University Facebook page. Postings by others on the University Facebook page does not imply endorsement by the University. 

If academic departments, Schools, clubs, or organizations wish to have their University-affiliated accounts featured on their websites within www.sjf.edu, the Office of Marketing and Communications requires that the account manager provides username and password for the account to keep on file. In the event that a University-affiliated social media account becomes dormant, the University reserves the right to take down the site and remove the information from the pages where it is featured on www.sjf.edu.

Brand Standards for University-Affiliated Social Media

All use of University brands/logos must follow the Use of University Brand Policy. All academic departments, administrative offices, and student clubs and organizations sanctioned by the University’s Student Government Association (SGA) with University branded social media accounts are permitted to use the University Brand, provided they follow this policy. 

Student clubs and organizations that are not sanctioned by the University’s Student Government Association (SGA) or a University department or program must obtain permission from the director of marketing and communications to create social media accounts that use the University name as part of the account handle and/or bio.

Profile Pictures

Profile pictures must include the University logo or your School, department, office, or club graphic, consistent with the brand policy. 

The University seal is NOT to be used as a profile picture on any social media site. The seal is used solely for communications related to the President’s Office or the Board of Trustees.

Account Names and Referring to the University

The first mention of the University should be "St. John Fisher University." Subsequent mentions may be shortened to "Fisher," "the University," "St. John Fisher," or “SJF (club name).” Also, in written form, "St." is not spelled out as "Saint." 

When choosing the name for your department or office page, we ask that you use the full name of the University (ex. St. John Fisher University Accounting Club, St. John Fisher University Cardinals).

The Office will work with page/account administrators to ensure that the page is consistent with our branding guidelines, in compliance with the individual social platform's guidelines, and has content that is current. The communications staff currently monitors these sites, and will continue to do so. However, if a page has not been updated in over six months, the University will reserve the right to request that it be taken down from the affiliated platform.

Official University Social Media

We all want to project the best image possible for the University, and while there are several groups on campus who manage and maintain a social presence for their own purposes, it’s important to collaborate and support our other platforms as much as possible. The official University social media presence includes, but is not limited to:

  • Facebook (official University page is "St. John Fisher University." Alumni page is "Fisher Alums.")
  • Instagram (sjfuniversity)
  • LinkedIn (St. John Fisher University)
  • TikTok (stjohnfisheruniversity)
  • Flickr (St. John Fisher University)
  • Snapchat (fishercardinals)
  • YouTube (stjohnfisheruniversity)
  • X, formerly Twitter (@FisherNews)

The voice speaking from those platforms comes from the University itself, and promotes/publicizes on behalf of the entire campus. These vehicles are managed and maintained by the Office of Marketing and Communications.

Best Practices for Social Media

We encourage all academic departments and administrative offices to follow these guidelines. As social media is an ever-changing tool, these guidelines are designed to be flexible enough to change with it. The ultimate goal is to keep Fisher's mission and goals in mind whenever you are representing the University on a University-affiliated social media site.

Planning is Key - Be Prepared

You wouldn't send out an invitation to a University event without booking the venue, arranging for catering, etc. Your social media presence should have the same degree of planning. Plan your content as much as possible. It will help guide a successful social media presence and strategy, and will also help you evaluate your social media success. Know who is posting to your site, how often, and how responses will be handled. Please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications and provide us with the names of your page administrators so we have them on file.

Be Responsive

If your status updates are interesting, fun, quirky, and even thought-provoking, you will start a conversation. Don't let it be one-way! One of the most challenging tasks about managing a social media site is that it DOES have to be managed. People will post positive and reaffirming comments, and you'll get a few negative comments as well. It's important to be present and responsive. Your followers are talking with you; they don't want to just talk at you or be talked to. If someone poses a question and you don't know the answer, do your homework and proactively seek out that answer so you can respond in a timely manner. Don't assume that if you leave it unanswered, the person will move on to another contact. They may just move on, period. And always remember that this page is an official Fisher page, and is not a venue for personal opinions. University-affiliated social media sites should reflect the Basilian motto, "Teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge."

Be Fisher Friendly

If you are representing Fisher on a social media page as part of your job duties, never lose sight of that. Remember that with social media comes responsibility. Be courteous. Obscene language or insults are not acceptable. Realize that you may be a follower's only point of contact with Fisher on a particular issue, so represent the University in a professional and friendly manner. Quality does matter: Again, if you are posting on behalf of the University on a social media site, you are acting as the face of Fisher. So, please post with caution and do check accuracy (spelling, grammar, etc.) before hitting return!

What is the Payoff?

If you are managing a School or department page, please remember that the payoff is key. Are you trying to drive people from your Facebook page to your department or office's Fisher website? What do you want them to do once there? Register for an information session? Call for more information? Read about a major? Read about faculty? The expression, "don't put the cart before the horse" rings true in this instance. Make sure your website content is engaging, digestible, user-friendly, and meaningful BEFORE starting a social media presence. The ultimate goal is to get your followers to the website to find out more information and take action.

Monitor

Once your School, department, club, or office social media page is created, the assigned administrators are responsible for keeping an eye on the content. If you are allowing followers to post comments to your wall, be sure they are respectful and appropriate. If you have spam postings, delete them. You may want to include a posting policy on your social site as well.

Take Ownership

It's now up to the page administrator(s) to drive traffic to the University-affiliated social media sites. Actively posting engaging topics, questions, and information will encourage your audience to participate. If your account becomes inactive and obsolete, please be responsible and delete the site. When a prospective student searches the University's social media presence, there is nothing worse than finding that a department's last post was made two years ago.

If you have questions, concerns, or ideas on how your club/department/School page can work with us, let us know. We're all ears.