Social media
A page within University Marketing & Communications
Social media is an excellent tool for sharing information and connecting with various audiences. UWL supports participation by colleges, offices, departments and university organizations who believe their entity will benefit from the connection that social media fosters.
However, use of social media to conduct university-related messaging can introduce a variety of legal and policy issues.
Colleges, offices, departments and organizations that choose to represent themselves on social media should first view the recommendations below to ensure they protect the university's reputation, support the UWL brand and adhere to university policies. Keep in mind that social media is not a substitute for official communication from your department or organization. UWL entities must use secure, internally controlled services to conduct required or official university activities including communication that contains privacy-protected information.
Creating an official UWL social media account
Official accounts will receive support from UComm. Please note if your page is not “official,” we will not advertise your page on our website or through our flagship social media pages.
Questions to ask yourself before creating an official UWL social media account:
- Why do we want and/or need a social media presence outside of what has already been created?
- Can we meet our organization/department purpose by doing so?
- How much time per week can we commit to managing the content and activity?
- Who will be our official account administrators?
- Are we willing to comply with University Communications’ policies and procedures regarding social media accounts?
*You must have a personal social media account if you plan to be an administrator for a Facebook page or LinkedIn. Accounts on other platforms (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok) are created independently.
- Notify UComm via email of your plans to create the account(s).
- In your email, briefly explain the need and strategy for the account.
- Follow official naming convention.
- Ex: UW-La Crosse English Department
- Note: This is for consistency and searchability purposes.
- UComm must be included as an administrator on any official account:
- When creating an account with shared administrative rights (Facebook, LinkedIn), UComm AND at least one active UWL employee (faculty or staff) as administrator for your account.
- When creating an account on a single sign-on platform (Instagram, Twitter, TikTok), you must use an office or department UWL email as the login email - not an individual's NetID email address.
Ex: ucomm@uwlax.edu Not: mwalz@uwlax.edu
- Feature an “about” description that includes information about your college/office/organization/department.
- Make sure to clearly identify your office, department or organization that is associated with the account.
- Add a disclaimer that content your account shares from external sources does not endorse the viewpoints of that source.
- Add a link to our official UWL webpage.
- Must feature a link to UWL’s social media policy:
- Make sure the account follows UWL brand guidelines.
- If you need assistance, email UComm with material requests or questions.
- Account managers must actively engage with UComm after the account has been created.
UWL social media pages are inclusive:
UWL accounts are open to any person who has interest in the topic or organization of the page. To ensure this, accounts should be public. Exclusive groups or private pages will not be recognized by UWL as an official account.
Social media participation is extracurricular
Social media can be encouraged but should not be required for coursework, and alternative options should be provided. When social media is being used for evaluation within a course or for an official use, faculty and academic departments should not formally critique students on social media. Instead, evaluation should be provided privately through Canvas, email, etc. Social media should be considered a method for supporting existing official channels of communication.
UWL social media accounts are public
Never communicate personal, educational or health records via social media or any other non-secure third-party system.
"The Good, The Bad, but not The Ugly"
Regardless of whether an external user’s content is favorable or unfavorable, it is allowed. But if the content is ugly: offensive, denigrating, or completely out of context, it may be rejected. With this, do not delete or hide content without first consulting University Marketing & Communications. Refer to UWL’s social media policy for more on this topic.
Be active
University Marketing & Communications recommends a minimum of one post per week. If you are unable to meet this frequency, consider reevaluating your social media strategy or the need to have a social media presence.
Accounts follow UWL branding
UWL has set branding that includes logos, fonts, colors and more. Be sure to follow these branding elements to comply with UWL policies. If you have material requests or questions, email UComm.
The very first thing you should do with your new account is explore. Understand the various features it provides and how to best go about making it an engaging, informative resource for your fans and followers. Look at accounts similar to yours and see what works for them.
Once you feel comfortable with your account, it’s time to get to work:
- Invite fans/followers – engage students, alumni, employees, and others to get your account noticed. Make sure to have a comprehensive plan for your startup so when you gain followers, you keep them!
- Have a plan; post regularly – this varies from platform to platform but make sure to not fall behind with posting content!
- Engage your followers – you need to communicate for your account to catch steam. Try to start conversations and solicit questions.
- Like and tag other UWL official accounts – an easy way to collaborate and connect with other accounts on campus. Tag the university!
- Show personality – remind fans and users that there is a person behind the account.
Above all, publicize your account! Simply posting content doesn’t always help you gain followers. Update department documents, brochures, websites, and any other marketing materials that you regularly use. Add a link or icon in your email signature. If you are going to put the work into having a social media presence, be sure to promote it!
Direct message and tag us on UWL's official channels with your post for a chance to be reshared. Official UWL handles:
| Facebook & Twitter | uwlacrosse |
| Instagram & TikTok | uwlax |
| school/uwlacrosse |
Why?
Resharing content from our UWL friends helps grow brand awareness among prospective college students and improve alumni engagement. When you share the UWL experience with your social media followers, you are helping us reach people and share the message of what it means to be part of UWL.
How to increase the likelihood of us resharing your post or story:
- Be current
- Share campus beauty shots
- Highlight school events with friends
- Elevate major achievements that make a big impact
- Make people feel something
If you’re no longer interested in managing an account, you can delete it. Please notify UComm if you plan to do so and the account will be removed from the directory.
Social media guidelines one-pager
Interested in creating your own, spirit mark branded profile picture or other eye-catching graphics for social posts? Send us an email to get added to the official UWL Canva channel!
Connect with us
Interested in highlighting our campus organization or department? Maybe you're a student that wants to show the world what it's like at UW-La Crosse? Or an alum that wants to show what a degree at UWL can do?
Fill out this application below for a chance to be featured on the flagship social media!
Facebook: uwlacrosse
Twitter: uwlacrosse
Instagram: uwlax
LinkedIn: school/uwlacrosse
TikTok: uwlax
YouTube: uwlacrossevids
Social media contact
University Advancement
Content Specialist
115J Graff Main Hall
chart@uwlax.edu
608.785.8572