Social Media

Account Approvals

Before launching a university social media account, you must reach out to your college or unit communications lead and answer the questions below. These standards apply to all university employees and other people (such as volunteers, appointees, and students) who use university computing resources and are looking to create and manage a social media account on behalf of the university. Final approvals must come from the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing (form below). A departmental administrator should be provided log-in access to serve as a backup when needed.

Please note that your unit might have additional standards and requirements. UF/IFAS guidelines here and UF Health guidelines here.

Creating a New Account

You should be able to answer the following questions before creating social media accounts.

• Have you connected with your college communications lead? You must do so before filling out this form.
• What are your goals and how will your channel(s) support this mission?
• Is there an existing social media account with an established following that can help you meet your goals and share your messages?
• Who is your audience?
  • Are your proposed social media platforms the best way to reach them? Let us know if you are unsure.
• Have you managed a social media account for a brand before?
• Do you currently manage social media accounts for the university? If so, list those.
• Do you have enough strong content for each proposed social media platform? Remember that each platform is different, and posting the same content everywhere is not best practice. High-quality photo and video content are a must for all platforms.
• Have you reviewed the UF brand guidelines and are you familiar with social media best practices?
• Do you have sufficient staff time and resources to manage the platform(s)? Consistent and frequent posting, interacting, and engaging are essential to a successful social media presence.
• Do you have a social media backup contact to manage the account(s)? This is required.
  • Alternatively, do you have multiple people running the account(s)? Keep in mind that it’s important to maintain a consistent voice and presence.
• Have you evaluated what your peers are doing on social media?

Once you’ve answered these questions, submit your accounts below for the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing approval.

Social Media Directory

Keep up with what’s happening across the university by following along with the official UF social media accounts.

Email social@ufl.edu to submit your approved accounts for consideration in the UF social media directory.

Social Media Best Practices

Content Srategy

• Quality over quantity always. Focus on creating valuable content that resonates with your audience. You don’t need to post daily.  Invest time in crafting thoughtful captions, strong visuals, and informative posts. 

• Know your audience and tailor content accordingly. Consider creating audience personas to guide content decisions. Avoid cross-posting identical content without adaptation; posts should be unique to the platform and audience. 

• Post strong content consistently. There is no “perfect” time to post, but some social management tools offer “optimal posting times” based on when audiences are most active for your consideration. If the content is good, the timing doesn’t matter.  

• Develop a content calendar. Outline what content will be posted, when, and where. Look ahead by identifying national and social media holidays and recurring events. Even a simple Word document or Excel spreadsheet works well. 

• Include a balanced content mix. Combine educational and entertaining content while leaving room to accommodate trends. Outline content themes (e.g., campus life, research, student success) and cycle through these. 

• Ensure content relevance. Don’t post content that has no clear connection to your unit or mission. Trends should be timely and applicable to your work and audience – don’t participate just because others are.  

• Document processes and account access. Maintain up-to-date documentation for workflows and login credentials. Whenever possible, tie accounts to a shared group email rather than an individual. 

• Know when to sunset an account. If an account is no longer meeting goals, it’s ok to retire it. Remember to download an archive of your data before deletion.  

Content Creation

• Strong copywriting is key. Craft copy that is unique to each platform. Follow AP Style, triple-check accuracy and use the in-platform editing tools if you make a mistake. 

• Use high-quality visuals. Reference the UF DAM to locate strong images and videos. Avoid busy or cluttered graphics.  

• Include clear calls to action when appropriate. However, note that every post should not have a CTA – allow space for users to enjoy content without being prompted to act. 

• Lift up user-generated content. Use polls, questions, and interactive features to invite the community to share photos or stories that can be repurposed with permission.  

• Coordinate with campus partners. Engage other units during content development to avoid duplication and identify cross-promotion opportunities. Tag them in your content or add them as a “collaborator.” 

• Prioritize accessibility. Always add alt text to images and ensure all videos have captions. Also consider accessibility in design, checking color contrast and other aspects for readability and legibility. Avoid overusing emojis and use them intentionally. Learn more here. 

• Stay current on trends and platform changes. Follow native platform blogs and trusted industry sources such as Social Media Today and Ad Week.

Branding

• Download an official UF social media avatar for your profile. 

• Maintain a consistent brand voice. Tone may vary by platform, but content should always positively reflect the university’s personality and values. Humanize your unit while staying aligned with the brand. 

• Use brand elements consistently and appropriately. Always apply brand colors, logos, and fonts.  

Community Management

• Engage with your audience. Monitor post comments and direct messages regularly and respond in a reasonable timeframe when appropriate. Always assume private messages could be read publicly. 

• Follow UF community commenting guidelines. Comments can be hidden or removed if they are off-topic, contain links to third-party websites or content, or are made in violation of Florida or federal law.  

• Handle trolls thoughtfully. Before replying, ask yourself whether you can contribute something helpful or educational and foresee the next few interactions to consider how the conversation might escalate. Remember that not every comment warrants a response.  

• Set expectations. Apply automated responses that direct users to more information and additional resources outside of business hours as necessary. 

Issues Management

• Be prepared to pivot. In case of emergency as directed by SCM, pause posting, adjust messaging, and reschedule planned content as needed. 

• Never speak for the University of Florida. If you see something concerning, report it to the UF social team. 

Measurement

• Keep up with your KPIs. Export followers and analytics from native platforms to a spreadsheet every month for archival and further analysis. 

• Use data to inform strategy. Leverage charts and reporting tools to analyze weekly performance and aim to conduct deeper quarterly reviews. 

Community Commenting Guidelines

Comment moderation is an important part of social media management. Please add the following guidelines to your Facebook page “About” section and link to them for reference, as needed.

The University of Florida welcomes your comments on our social media posts and encourages interaction among Gators around the world. We also encourage our community to foster respectful and vibrant online connections. Before you post, please consider the UF Core Values and review these UF Community Commenting Guidelines (“Guidelines”).

We review all comments made, and when necessary, we reserve the right to remove comments that are:

– Off-topic

– Containing links to third-party websites or content

– Made in violation of Florida or federal law

Comments made by outside users are the authors’ opinions, not the university’s. By posting a comment on our social media pages, you agree to follow the University of Florida Community Commenting Guidelines, host social media channel Terms of Service, Florida, federal law, and UF regulations and policies – including but not limited to the university’s Acceptable Use of Computing Resources Policy. Your comments may be removed if they violate these Guidelines.

Branding and Style Profile Requirements

Avatars

UF-affiliated social media accounts serve as representatives of the university and therefore must adhere to all UF brand guidelines. Use of our official UF avatars and logos is strongly recommended for brand alignment and recognition. This will help people verify the status of your account as an official branch of the university at a glance.

These avatars, featuring the UF monogram, are available for download and have been adjusted to fit the various profile image displays. If you choose to use another brand identifier as your profile image, please be aware of image size and space to ensure that your visual is discernible and review the logo usage guidelines.

White on blue avatars are reserved for the flagship accounts.  

Departments and units can select from the following two options. Please note that these are not to be altered in any way.

Orange gradient avatars are reserved for college accounts (see below). Reach out to SCM for your custom image.

Naming

University accounts should include UF in their username @handle, and account name, along with mentioning the University of Florida spelled out as part of listing the full unit name and details in their bio. To allow for easier discovery, fully populate profiles with appropriate location, e.g., Gainesville, FL, UF website URL, etc. Maintain consistency with naming conventions across platforms whenever possible.

For example:

• x.com/UFAlumni
• facebook.com/UFAlumni
• instagram.com/UFalumni

Accessibility

Make your content accessible, remove barriers, and create inclusive content.

• #CamelCase your hashtags so that assistive technology can interpret each word – when using acronyms, test these with a screen reader to determine the appropriate letter case.
• Always add alternative (alt) text and captions, and never rely on the auto-generated options. THEY ALWAYS NEED EDITS!
  • All primary social platforms except for Instagram Stories allow for alt text, with auto- and self-generated options.
  • You can’t retroactively edit or add alt text to X or Threads.
  • Remember to add alt text to GIFs on X and Threads.
• Always include captions on videos with dialogue.
  • Note which platforms need open captions (embedded/burned-in – inaccessible to screen readers) versus closed captions (SRT file upload – accessible to screen readers).
  • All platforms now have options for auto-generated captions, but again, remember to edit these. If edits aren’t possible, use open captions.
  • Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube allow SRT file uploads. Instagram (Stories included) and Threads require open captions, because the auto-generated cannot be edited.
  • Facebook and LinkedIn captions cannot be edited after the post is live.
• Shorten URLs and remove “www.,” “https://,” etc.
• Consider how assistive technology interprets emojis – avoid overuse and don’t replace words with emojis.
• Use person-first language.
• When designing social graphics, check color contrast and combinations, keep text minimal, and consider typeface legibility and readability – left-aligned is best.
• For more on how to write alt text, platform features, and almost everything you need to know on accessibility (until the next app updates), view Accessibility Over Everything training.

Brand Hashtags

When possible, hashtags should be used within the narrative of your sentence instead of at the end of your post copy. Use CamelCase hashtags so that screen readers can decipher them correctly. More than two or three hashtags are usually unnecessary.

Presentations and Training

Do you or your unit need social media training or have a social media question? Complete this form for support.