General LSA Social Media Guidelines For Official Branded Accounts

Sharing U-M news, events or promoting faculty and student work through social media tools is an excellent, low-cost way to engage the community and build our brand. In the dispatch of your duties, please consider the following in addition to the University’s Social Media Implementation Standard .

Maintain Confidentiality

Do not post confidential or proprietary information about the University of Michigan, its students, its alumni or your fellow employees. Use good ethical judgment and follow university policies and federal requirements:

Maintain Privacy

Do not discuss a situation involving named or pictured individuals on a social media site without their permission. As a guideline, do not post anything that you would not present in any public forum. 

Correct Mistakes

If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and be quick with your correction. If you’re posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post—just make it clear that you have done so.

Think Before You Post

There’s no such thing as a “private” social media site. Search engines can turn up posts and pictures years after the publication date. Comments can be forwarded or copied. Archival systems save information even if you delete a post. If you feel angry or passionate about a subject, it’s wise to delay posting until you are calm and clearheaded. Post only pictures that you would be comfortable sharing with the general public (current and future peers, employers, etc.).