Social Media

Our online community is as vibrant as our on-campus community. These tips and tools have been developed by the Office of Communications and Media Relations to help Stonehill’s social media administrators share content with online audiences. 

Social Media Management Tips

1. Respect the inherent dignity of others. As a social media administrator of Stonehill College, your posts should reflect the institution’s mission and values.
2. Consistency is key. Aim to post at least two or three times per week to ensure that your page remains fresh. Designate a member of your team or group to serve as content planner. Maintain a calendar so that you can pre-plan posts. The College may request inactive pages to be deactivated. 
3. Avoid copywritten material. Be aware of liabilities tied to your social media use—avoid using copywritten material including images and music. 
4. Exercise good judgment. When posting on social media, always exercise good judgment to maintain compliance with federal requirements like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as various Information Security policies and procedures. 
5. Ask for permission. Before mentioning or including a picture of someone on your social media channel, ask them for their permission. 
6. Monitor comments. Social media is a two-way dialogue, respond to comments when appropriate. At times, some may try inflaming situations by posting negative or derogatory comments. Promote constructive discourse by interacting with people respectfully. Should users comment on your posts using slurs or other derogatory language, you can delete those comments. 
7. Own up to your mistakes. If you post something that you later realize to be false or incorrect, don’t sweep your error under the rug. In addition to deleting the false post, you can also create another that both identifies your mistake and rectifies it. 
8. Know when to ask for help. If you find yourself dealing with a user who is posting threats of any kind, please reach out to our office at media-relations@stonehill.edu.

Social Media Naming Guidance

When naming accounts on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, consider the following naming structures:

Academic Department: Stonehill College [Subject] Department

• Example: Stonehill College English Department

Campus Program or Organization: Stonehill College [Name of Organization]

• Example: Stonehill College Anchors Leadership Society

X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram limit the number of characters users can use in their handle. Consider following these naming structures when creating handles for these platforms:

Student Club/Organization: @stonehill[name of club] 

• Example: Stonehill College Chess Club - @stonehillchess

Sports Team: @stonehill[sport]

• Example: Stonehill College Water Polo - @stonehillwaterpolo

Should character limits prove too prohibitive, the word “stonehill” may be substituted with “sc” in your handle.