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Policy

Cedarville University Social Media Policy

About

All Cedarville University social media accounts are guided by a Code of Conduct that reflects our commitment to biblical principles of communication and our Community Covenant.

Mission

Cedarville University is a Christ-centered learning community equipping students for lifelong leadership and service through an education marked by excellence and grounded in biblical truth. (See our full Mission Statement.)

Standards of Conduct

As we seek to live out this mission, the University’s social media presence is guided by our core values of love for God, love for others, integrity in conduct, and excellence in effort.

All posts and comments should reflect the biblical principle that people are created in God’s image and should be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect. Interactions should be marked by honesty and grace, as we — as an online community — seek to uphold the highest standards of Christian charity (1 Cor. 13:4–8a).

The University appreciates feedback and desires to respond to questions or expressions of concern. Although discussions of these matters may not be appropriate for the public context of social media, please send private inquiries to feedback@cedarville.edu for a timely response.

The University may in its sole discretion remove content and block users who violate these guidelines.

Posts and Comments Policy

Cedarville University encourages free, open, and honest expression and robust dialogue through its social media channels. However, the University reserves the right to edit, block, or delete posts and/or comments by users on any official social media accounts that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, or religious group. Further, the University also reserves the right to edit or delete posts and comments that:

• Include spam or include links to controversial third-party sites
• Violate the terms of use or rules of the service on which the comments are posted
• Violate the terms of the University's general employee Computer and Network Usage policy.
• Are clearly off topic or irrelevant to the post being commented on
• Falsify, distort or misrepresent the actual identity or role of the user 
• Use profanity or other inappropriate language
• Incite violence or advocate other illegal activity
• Promote particular commercial products and services, or political organizations
• Infringe on copyrights or trademarks
• Contain other proprietary or confidential information

Users who consistently violate the University’s comments policy may be blocked or otherwise prevented from posting further comments on social media accounts managed by the University.

�㽶ֱ��Role

In light of Cedarville’s mission and your role as a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, always let Scripture guide your social media conversations. Here are just some references to consider:

• Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person (Col. 4:6).
• Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29).
• A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly (Prov. 15:1–2).
• A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit (Prov. 15:4).
• Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels (2 Tim. 2:23).

As a Cedarville employee you’re a brand ambassador for the University 24/7, even when you’re “off the clock.” Consider the following:

• �㽶ֱ��Social Media Posts are Public.  As a social media user, you need to be aware that online communication is considered public. Privacy does not exist in the world of social media. Think about what could happen if a post becomes widely published and how that may reflect both on you and the University. Search engines archive and display content years after it is created, and your comments can be forwarded or copied. So, please always use caution, wisdom, and discretion in your social media posts.
• �㽶ֱ��Personal Social Media Use Reflects on Cedarville. Even when using your personal social media accounts, your online conduct reflects back on the University. Employees, of course, have the right to participate in social media using personal equipment on their own time. However, you are expected to never post any content that would be potentially embarrassing or considered offensive. �㽶ֱ��personal posts and comments must be clearly identified as your own. If you are writing about your professional work for Cedarville University, clearly identify yourself and your role.

Planning

Planning �㽶ֱ��Social Media Outreach

Steps

Manager Approval: Discuss with your manager how you plan to use social media to further your department’s work for the University.

Review: Read through Cedarville University's Social Media Policy.

Notify: Inform Cedarville's Marketing department about your plans to use social media by filling out our . Look through the Social Media Strategy Worksheet to help identify your goals and track success. Submit the registration to keep Marketing aware of your plans.

Define: Consider each of the points under " �㽶ֱ��Strategy" below to create and refine your goals and strategies.

Create: After defining your goals, create your page and begin communicating. Please provide marketing with the username and password, and notify us of any changes. Marketing — along with Information Technology — can provide assistance with setting up your account or deleting an old one, if needed.

Support: Marketing can assist you in answering any questions related to social media best practices and planning.

Already Have an Account? Please use our  to notify Marketing of any existing University social media accounts to evaluate strategy, goals, and overall brand image of the University.

�㽶ֱ��Strategy

A successful, strategic social media outreach should consist of the following steps:

Choose the specific platform or platforms that reach(es) your target audience(s).

Engage your audience(s) in an authentic, relevant, and compelling manner.

Sustain your outreach with consistent, regular posts.

Share your plans and ongoing efforts with Marketing.

Evaluate your efforts on a regular basis to determine what is and isn’t working.

Consider these elements when you create a social media strategy for your department, event, or program. At this point, it's very likely that your program or department already has some social media presence. If so, you can evaluate, plan, and re-focus (as needed) your existing accounts.

Team:  Identify who will have primary responsibility for populating, maintaining, and monitoring your social media presence. Ensure they have the time and enthusiasm needed for success. List the team members.

Primary Goals: Set your primary goal. Are you trying to communicate a campaign, promote general information about your department or program, communicate with alumni, etc.? Define goals for your social media presence.

Measuring Success: Determine how you will measure the success — or lack of success — of your social media strategy. Consider some ideas:  increased traffic to your website, more frequent or intentional communication with prospective students, networking with colleagues, etc. List how you plan to measure success and the tools you’ll use to track that success.

Current Conversation: Listen! Survey the social media landscape for the “thought leaders” in your field. What are people already saying? What are people saying about you? Who is saying it? List the topics, people, and sites that are leading the conversations that are relevant to you and note what they are doing — both correctly and incorrectly.

Content: Identify the content you have available to share. Is it primarily news, research, events, or networking information? Photos? Video? List the content you will be sharing via social media channels.

Name and Design: Identify a simple and descriptive name for your profile that clearly identifies your affiliation with Cedarville. Remember to request assistance in designing a cover image, if needed.

Evaluation: Set a timeline for when you will conduct an evaluation of your site’s success, using the goals and measures identified above. At that time, be prepared to realign your site’s content. Ongoing evaluation should also be part of your strategy. Define your timeline.

What to Post

We encourage you to post content related to University programs, services, and alumni, student, or community ventures. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Spontaneous, fun “slice of life” moments that convey a sense of the Cedarville life and community
• Human interest items or unique campus happenings
• Announcements of upcoming events (CU Friday, theater productions, concerts, etc.)
• Links to videos about Cedarville programs and highlighting student activities 

Best Practices

Branding

All Cedarville social media presences should have a consistent look and feel, including use of the Cedarville logo. Please refer to our University Logo Guide for details. If you need assistance creating a customized profile picture or identity, please submit a Design Service Request.

Consistency

An overarching theme of all of our Cedarville social media sites should be consistency. All social media platforms must be used consistently and regularly in order to be effective.  

Accuracy

Always verify your facts before you post them online. If the accuracy of a  fact is doubtful, verify it with an authoritative source. If you cannot verify a fact, then don’t post or share it.

Quality and Style

Review content for grammatical and spelling errors. This is especially important if you are posting on behalf of the University in any capacity. For reference, please consult the Cedarville University Style Guide.

Platform Appropriate

All social media platforms are distinct and different entities, with their respective styles, rules, expectations, and audiences. What works when posting to one doesn't necessarily hold true in posting to others. This should be evident in all your social media posts. It’s important that your posts reach the right audiences and are relevant and meaningful to your recipients. In the sections to follow we will consider best practices for optimizing your posts to the major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Monitoring

Marketing staff members monitor official University social media channels regularly during office hours and periodically at other times. However, you, as a Cedarville staff member, play an important role as additional eyes and ears for the University. If you see any social media post that concerns you or that you think is positive for Cedarville, contact the Marketing Department (Send Email).

Guidelines

Finally, here are some specific guidelines when using social media in you role as an official representative of Cedarville University:

• Let Marketing know about your social media outreach by filling out the Cedarville University Social Media Account Registration form.
• Share content with Marketing that may be of more general interest to the larger Cedarville community and appropriate to also post on Cedarville’s main social media accounts (Facebook.com/cedarville and @cedarville).
• Protect sensitive or personal information, or any information embargoed for future public release.
• Monitor user comments (if enabled) on a consistent basis. Immediately remove, block, or otherwise hide inappropriate or abusive comments.
• Notify Marketing of negative, inappropriate, or abusive comments.
• Be accurate in the information you post. If in doubt, leave it out!
• Post information that is within your or your department’s area of expertise and authority.
• Correct any mistakes and openly acknowledge any mistakes.
• Be considerate of your audience’s time, patience, and attention.
• Honor copyrights and trademarks for all images, brands, logos, etc.
• Use official Cedarville email addresses (Ex: employee@cedarville.edu) and set strong passwords for your accounts.
• Personalize your posts; tell Cedarville’s story from your perspective and in your words.
• Emphasize the positive elements of your story, and focus on being encouraging and building up your readers and followers.
• Clearly identify who you are and the University department, program, or group you represent.
• Post and share public news and information.
• Be mindful of how your posts may come across to others, either intentionally or unintentionally. If you’re concerned about how a post may be interpreted, it’s probably best not to post it. When in doubt, leave it out!

• Compartmentalize; i.e., assume that all content you post will only be of interest to the audience(s) you’re trying to reach, and not share content with Marketing content that may be of wider interest to the larger Cedarville community.
• Announce news or information that is private, confidential, or embargoed. Comment on work-related legal or policy matters, unless you are an official Cedarville spokesperson for the matter and have the permission and authority to do so.
• Comment on specific political issues and elected officials, or endorse/oppose candidates running for elected public office. Doing so could jeopardize Cedarville’s tax-exempt status.
• Criticize other groups, organizations, or people. Post comments that are negative, sarcastic, or angry in tone, or use angry words.
• Endorse, advertise, or sponsor any third-party group, organization, or person unless you have official permission from Cedarville to do so.
• Respond directly to negative, inappropriate, or abusive posts, or directly engage those who are posting such comments. Instead, forward and report all such comments to Marketing to address.)
• Use humor that could be considered crude, inappropriate, derogatory, or demeaning to individuals or groups.