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Social Media and Digital Requirements

We have a new Brand Stewardship Policy and related Procedures that impact York’s social media accounts and digital properties managed by staff and other senior leaders. The below guidelines and requirements have been updated to align with the new Policy and Procedures and aim to provide clarity to all employees who use and/or manage social media and digital properties that include the university brand.

Digital properties offer an excellent way to engage with our community and beyond in real-time and we hope that the updated Policy, Procedures and these guidelines and requirements will serve to help prepare you and support your work while ensuring brand alignment and compliance. Failure to comply may result in the University taking steps to have an account closed or temporarily shut down until the user is in full compliance with the Requirements.

York University social media accounts must meet the requirements set out in the Brand Stewardship Policy and related Procedures. Please click here to begin the process.

Requirements

  • University accounts: If you currently have or wish to create a new digital account for a faculty, central unit, division, or to support a senior leadership role that includes the University’s name (e.g.: YorkULAPS, YorkUPresident), you will need approval from Communications and Public Affairs (C&PA). If/when a new or existing institutional handle is approved, C&PA’s brand and digital team will provide you with the necessary branded assets and templates that must be used, including an approved avatar. Please refer to the Procedures for more detailed information about the obligations that come with managing an institutional account.
  • Personal accounts: If you are a staff member and wish to include your job title @ York University in your personal public profile on social media and digital platforms, you must comply with your terms of employment and any applicable Brand Stewardship Procedures. If you do not include your job title in your personal public profile, your online behaviour must still comply with your terms of employment. We encourage employees who wish to do so, to amplify, share, endorse, and support university initiatives, stories and news on their personal social media and digital platforms. If you have any questions, please reach out to the University Marketing and Brand team.
  • Confidential information: Some activities and information that you might wish to post or share online could be considered confidential or subject to privacy laws. When in doubt, please only post information that is readily available to the public and/or already published by the University.

Institutional Policies and Processes

Media Inquiries

Only York spokespeople are authorized to speak on behalf of the University in an official capacity with media. If you become engaged in a conversation (online or off) by a member of the media, please respectfully inform them that you are not a spokesperson and cannot speak on behalf of the University. Please contact the media relations team for assistance or send a message via Twitter to @Yorkunews.

Crisis/ Emergencies

It is critical that C&PA act as the voice of the University so that York can accurately, clearly and authoritatively communicate essential information in a timely manner and avoid the kind of confusion that can occur during such events. We encourage community members to amplify the University’s posts.

Crises could include weather emergencies (such as a flood or snowstorm), fire, medical emergencies on campus, operational issues, or community safety. During such incidents, please do not comment on the emergency or send messages out about it on social or other media. If you are asked on social media for information about an emergency, please advise people to monitor facebook.com/yorkuniversity and twitter.com/yorkuniversity for updates, or to visit security.news.yorku.ca for security bulletins. Please reach out to C&PA in the event of a crisis or emergency for guidance on next steps.

All media enquiries should be referred to the Media Relations team.

Know the Channel Requirements

Learn more about York’s Social Media and Digital Best Practices