Appearances: Profile Photos, Cover Images and Logos
From the UCO Branding Graphics Standards Guide:
"Consistency is key to successfully conveying the University of Central Oklahoma ‘brand’ to the world. A strong and consistent visual identity helps shape the way key constituents view our university, both now and in the future."
This doesn’t just apply to printed graphics — it applies to brand pages, as well. While messaging may vary depending on its source, it is still important that the University of Central Oklahoma brand is portrayed effectively, no matter the department or college. One size does not fit all, and this is especially true in social media. What works for one department or college may not work for another. It is encouraged that all official UCO social media sites use an approved UCO logo — whether specific to the department or a general UCO logo — for their profile photo, and a high quality image for cover art, such as a scenic campus beauty shot or photo of students involved in your programs.
The next aspect of appearances is your page’s 'About' information. It is in your best interest to fill this information out to the best of your ability, including the creation of a vanity URL (such as facebook.com/UCOBronchos), hours of operation, and any relevant information your audience may want to know. It is not unusual for users accessing a page for the first time to be seeking this exact information, and once your social media page is indexed by search engines, it will likely show up as a result as users search for your online presence.
Additionally, the university also requires that authorized pages include appropriate language for UCO’s legal and policy information, which includes the following statement:
"The University of Central Oklahoma does not own rights to <Insert Social Media Site Name> and therefore cannot enforce legal policies and procedures. While members of the University of Central Oklahoma community post to this public third-party site, the University is not responsible for the views, opinions and postings by others found on this site. The legal policies and procedures, including ADA compliance standards and support for disability services by which UCO operates are posted at https://www.uco.edu/offices/policy/. The University of Central Oklahoma complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. Persons who, because of a special need or condition, would like to request an accommodation should contact the Disability Support Services Assistant Director at (405) 974-2516 as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours before the event, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. The DSS Office is located in the Nigh University Center, Room 309."
Lastly, all paid placement marketing advertisements placed on social media sites must be developed or approved by the Office of University Relations prior to implementation.
Paid Advertisements and Marketing
All paid placement marketing advertisements placed on social media sites must be developed or approved by the Office of University Relations prior to implementation.
Naming Conventions
The university’s main Facebook page retains the full name of "University of Central Oklahoma" as the primary social media presence to the community. When possible, related pages should include "UCO" in the username and/or display name of your page. This helps support a united brand, shows consistency, and can even help improve visibility in search results. A majority of the time, the preferred format is, "UCO[Name]" or "UCO[DepartmentAcronym.]" Examples include:
- UCO College of Fine Arts and Design (Facebook.com/UCO.CFAD)
- UCO Campus Activities (Facebook.com/UCOCampusActivities)
- UCO Housing & Dining (Facebook.com/UCOHousingAndDining)
- @UCOBusiness (Twitter.com/UCOBusiness)
- @UCOCEPS (Twitter.com/UCOCEPS)
Depending on the office or department, this format might not always make sense, and once the account is created, it’s not always possible to make changes. In these cases, the affiliation with UCO should be clear from the profile image or description. "UCO" should always be in the username of the page, or should otherwise appear somewhere on the first page the user sees. Exceptions to this naming convention can be considered on a case-by-case basis. When possible, it is also strongly recommended that you use the same username across multiple social media channels; for example, UCOBronchos is the consistent username for all main University of Central Oklahoma pages.
Buddy Broncho: Administrator Privileges
When it comes to Facebook, multiple users can be allowed access to a page. The university utilizes the Buddy Broncho Facebook profile to maintain access to university pages at all times. This is done so that, in the event of faculty/staff turnover, the university can retain continuity of ownership of those pages. For security purposes, it is also a good idea to maintain more than one administrator on a Facebook page, due to the possibility of users’ accounts becoming compromised by a third party, forgotten passwords, accidental account lock-outs, and so on.
For Twitter and other channels, accounts should be registered under a general-use email that can be accessed by multiple people. Again, this is to create a secondary access point in the event of employee turnover and/or forgotten passwords.
Additional Information
- To be considered for inclusion in the Social Media Directory, the above branding guidelines must be met.
- A general UCO email address may be requested by requesting Email Assistance.
- All other university policies must be followed. Some examples include: