Policy Owner: University of Kentucky Marketing and Strategic Communication
Applies To: All University of Kentucky (UK) colleges, departments, offices, units, faculty and staff operating or managing official UK-affiliated social media accounts. Student organization and student-run accounts are addressed separately in Section 2.3.
1. Policy Purpose and Scope
This policy governs the creation, management, governance and content standards for all official social media accounts affiliated with the University of Kentucky. The purpose of this policy is to ensure brand consistency, legal compliance, accessibility, security and aligned strategic communication across all digital platforms.
This policy directly incorporates and references the University of Kentucky Social Media Guidelines. Compliance with both this policy and the associated guidelines is mandatory for all authorized social media accounts.
2. Institutional Profiles and Account Governance
2.1 Account Creation and Approval Process
No department, unit or affiliated group may establish a new social media account representing the University of Kentucky without prior formal approval.
- Application: Account creation requests must be submitted through the official UK Social Media Account Creation Request Form.
- Existing Accounts: If an account exists but was created before the approval process was in place, it should be registered using the UK Social Media Account Creation Request Form.
- Pre-Launch Consultation: Anyone launching a new social media account is encouraged to meet with the Social Media Manager, Sarah Von Nieda, before launch to discuss strategy, platform fit, content planning, accessibility, account governance and best practices.
- Naming Conventions: Approved handles/usernames must use the prefix uky rather than uk (e.g., @ukyadmissions) to maintain organizational consistency across platforms and prevent confusion with the United Kingdom. Multi-platform accounts should maintain identical handles wherever feasible.
2.2 Account Responsibility, Access, and Oversight
- All official University of Kentucky social media accounts must have a designated full-time employee responsible for the account. This person must have direct access to the account and serve as the official owner for account health, continuity, brand alignment, accessibility compliance and regular activity.
- Contributors to social channels are not required to be full-time employees, but each account must have at least one official full-time employee responsible for overseeing posts, monitoring activity, maintaining access and ensuring published content follows University of Kentucky brand guidelines and accessibility standards.
- Current login information and account access details must be shared with the main UK Social Media Team by emailing social@uky.edu. Account owners are responsible for keeping this information accurate and updated when staffing, platform access, or account credentials change. Passwords should always be updated after staffing/personnel changes.
2.3 Student Organization Accounts
- Student organization accounts are not always able or required to have a full-time UK staff member assigned as the responsible party. Because these accounts are operated by students and student organizations, they are not held to the same brand governance requirements as official college, department, office or unit accounts.
- The university recommends that student organization accounts follow the University of Kentucky Social Media Guidelines, applicable university policies, accessibility best practices and relevant platform rules. However, UK Marketing and Strategic Communication cannot require student organizations to meet UK brand guidelines or enforce brand compliance for these accounts in the same way it does for official university-managed accounts.
- When possible, student organizations are encouraged to identify a student officer, advisor or other contact who can maintain account access, support continuity during leadership transitions and help ensure the account follows applicable laws, university policies, and respectful community standards.
3. Brand Voice, Tone and Content Execution
3.1 Voice and Tone Requirements
All content across UK-affiliated platforms must project a vibrant, approachable, authentic and professional tone that reflects the pride and academic excellence of the campus community. Content should be informative, genuine and inclusive.
3.2 Platform-Specific Messaging Strategies
Account managers must adhere to platform-specific strategies outlined in the Social Media Guidelines.
3.3 Language, Grammar and Style Standards
- Style: Captions must loosely follow AP Style, prioritizing clear, short and conversational phrasing. Avoid jargon and obscure acronyms.
- Hashtag Usage: Capitalize the first letter of each word in hashtags for accessibility (#CamelCase). Limit hashtags to a maximum of 5 per post.
- Account Tagging: Tag active, relevant internal and external accounts directly within captions, ensuring tag accuracy.
4. Multimedia, Technical and Accessibility Standards
4.1 Technical Sizing and Safe Zones
All graphics and video uploads must adhere to the recommended aspect ratios and safe zones specified in the guidelines.
4.2 Accessibility Compliance
All accounts must adhere to all federal regulations and the UK Accessibility Guidelines.
5. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Copywriting: Generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot) are permitted strictly for brainstorming, summarizing or draft generation. AI-generated text must never be copy-pasted directly to live channels without human editing and review for accuracy and UK brand voice.
- Images and Videos: AI-generated images, graphics and videos are strictly prohibited on official University of Kentucky social channels.
6. Social Media Customer Care and Comment Moderation
Account administrators must actively monitor and moderate comment sections in accordance with UK’s Guide to Moderating Comments.
7. Legal and Regulatory Compliance
All social media managers and account operators are legally responsible for the content published on their account(s). Compliance with the following legal standards is mandatory:
- Copyright and Intellectual Property: Unauthorized use of copyrighted text, images, video, music or trademarks without permission or license is prohibited.
- Student Privacy (FERPA): Personally identifiable student information (PII) or educational records must not be shared without prior written consent from the student.
- Health Privacy (HIPAA): Protected health information (PHI) or confidential health data must never be disclosed unless a signed HIPAA release form is on file. For social media, news, marketing, or PR purposes, disclosures strictly require our organization's approved HIPAA Authorization for Marketing/Media release form.
- Non-Discrimination and Title IX: Content that is discriminatory based on race, gender, or protected characteristics — or content that creates a hostile environment — is strictly prohibited.
- Confidentiality: Non-public, proprietary or unreleased research data, business plans or other information must not be posted.
- Defamation and Harassment: Defamatory, threatening or harassing posts regarding any individual or organization are prohibited.
- Endorsements and FTC Compliance: Commercial endorsements or unauthorized advertising are prohibited. Any sponsored or promotional partnerships must comply with FTC disclosure guidelines.
8. Policy Enforcement and Violation Reporting
- Reporting Violations: Suspected violations of this policy, legal standards or security breaches must be reported immediately to the UK Office of Legal Counsel or the UK Social Media Team with this form.
- Enforcement and Penalties: Failure to comply with this policy or its referenced guidelines may result in content removal, temporary or permanent suspension of social media accounts, disciplinary action (up to and including employment termination) and potential legal liability.