Social Media

Best Practices

• Before You Begin

  • Understand the time commitment
  • Establish a social media strategy
    • Identify your audience
    • Create a plan for account continuity 
    • What story are you telling?
  • Register the Account
    • The Assistant Director of Social Media within the Marketing and Communications Office must approve the account
    • The phone number associated with the account must belong to the St. Olaf staff member overseeing the account

• Generating Content

  • What story are you telling?
    • Have a plan and stick with it. Consistency is key!
  • Include photos and videos
    • Consistently post to the account. 
    • Ask permission when using photos of students
      • Their first and last name and class year should be included within the caption.
      • Ex: Johnny Appleseed ‘10
    • Quality over quantity
    • Need content creation help? Ask the Assistant Director of Social Media!
  • Make it accessible
    • Hashtags are encouraged to be #CamelCase vs. #camelcase to aid screen readers.
    • Are you using a graphic with text? Make sure the text is legible.
  • Be accurate with your information and correct errors
  • Collaborate with the main account!
    • Student organizations should feel free to reach out to the Assistant Director of Social Media to plan Instagram Takeovers
    • Tag @stolafcollege on stories and posts so we can interact!

• Handling negative Comments

  • Monitor comments on your channels carefully and in real time
  • Please contact the Assistant Director of Social Media for assistance

Social Media Policy

Online communication platforms can foster discussion that enriches our community through exploration of differing worldviews, opinions, and ideas. Freedom of expression is central to a liberal arts education, and St. Olaf College is dedicated to encouraging active and civil discussion. 

• Scope:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter (X)
  • TikTok 

• Institutional Oversight

  • St. Olaf maintains a policy that aims to support freedom of expression while discouraging misuse of social media. This policy prohibits posts on college-owned social media that are profane, threatening, libelous, unlawfully harassing or discriminatory, or otherwise a violation of law or college policy. The college reserves the right to remove any content that it deems to be harmful in nature or otherwise in violation of law or college policy. 
    • In order to enforce this policy, the college will utilize the “hide,” “delete,” and “archive” functions on social media sites. The college reserves the right to delete content that includes comments, pictures, and posts.
    • Community members who see content that they believe violates the law or college policy can file a Community Concern report.
  • Official messages from the college will only be published on the primary St. Olaf account by the Marketing and Communications team.
    • Official messages from the College that are relayed on social — such as leadership announcements and holiday messages — are not a point of discussion, and comments will be disabled on these posts.
  • Secondary and Tertiary accounts are not allowed to speak on behalf of the college.
  • St. Olaf College encourages all users to utilize the “report” links for abusive content in accordance with the Terms of Service standards administered by social media sites.
    • The college may also utilize the “report” option for any users or comments it deems to be in violation of the policy and harmful to the St. Olaf community.
    • In addition, the college encourages community members to report comments or posts that potentially violate college policy to the Assistant Director of Social Media
  • For further information on best use practices for social media, please refer to the following policies: 
    • • St. Olaf Trademarks Policy
        https://wp.stolaf.edu/communications/files/2019/10/St-Olaf-College-Trademarks_2019.pdf
      • Appropriate Use of Campus Technologies Policy
        http://wp.stolaf.edu/it/appropriate-use-of-campus-technologies/ 
      • Code of Conduct for Students
        https://wp.stolaf.edu/thebook/student-code-of-conduct/
      • Code of Conduct for Faculty
        http://wp.stolaf.edu/facultyhandbook/faculty-handbook-category-3/
      • Code of Conduct for Staff https://wp.stolaf.edu/hr/files/2024/10/Staff-Handbook-2025.docx-1.pdf 

• Creating and Maintaining a St. Olaf College-Related Social Media Account

  • A request for a new St. Olaf College social media account must be submitted to the Assistant Director of Social Media within the Marketing and Communications Office for review and approval before creation.
  • A social media strategy plan must be developed and articulated to the Assistant Director of Social Media. This includes defined audience(s) and content ideas.
  • Brand Guidelines and College Codes of Conduct must be followed or the account risks termination. 

• Account Termination

  • The Marketing and Communications division may terminate or revoke access to any college-related account that violates guidelines or College Code of Conduct.

• Updates and Amendments 

  • These guidelines may be subject to updates or amendments at the discretion of the Assistant Director of Social Media or college administration. Collaborators will be informed of any changes.

By adhering to these guidelines, the college aims to optimize its social media presence, engage with its audience effectively, and present a unified voice that represents the institution’s values and goals.