Social Media Guidance for Employees

Whether you're using social media to promote the university, your work, or just connect with family and friends, we pulled together some best practices to help employees who may have questions about utilization, based on the purpose of the account. 

Types of Employee Accounts

Professional Accounts

Accounts utilized primarily to conduct university business

Hybrid Accounts

Accounts used to regularly conduct both university business AND connect with family, friends and personal interests

Personal Accounts

Accounts used primarily to connect with family, friends and personal interests

Professional Employee Accounts

Defined as any social media account created as, and utilized by, an individual faculty or staff member, using their own name, primarily to promote their research or their work, connect with higher-ed peers, assist with recruitment efforts, community outreach or otherwise conduct university busines.

Employees are expected to abide by all:

  • Federal and state laws and regulations 
    • Including privacy and confidentiality (HIPAA, FERPA) regulations 
  • University policies 

Employees should also follow the policies and guidelines of the social media platform in which the account is operating.

Additionally, employees who use their social media accounts to conduct university business are asked to follow the best-practice recommendations below:

  1. Disclose their affiliation with the university in their account bio, to provide transparency.
  2. Include language within their account bio, such as: “Opinions are my own.” 
  3. Notify your Unit Social Media Lead about the account so the unit can interact/engage with your content, as appropriate. 
  4. Follow official account guidelines for endorsements, sponsored content and accessibility best practices

Finally, employees are responsible for what they post on any social media account. The views and opinions expressed by individual employees do not represent the official positions of the University at Buffalo.

Note: Professional employee accounts are NOT considered official UB social media accounts. For definitions and guidance for official UB social media accounts, please review UB’s Official Social Media Account Expectations.

Hybrid Employee Accounts

Defined as any social media account created as, and utilized by, an individual faculty or staff member for both regularly conducting university business (e.g., promote research and/or work, connect with higher-ed peers, and recruitment) as well as personal use (e.g., to connect with family and friends, and follow personal interests).

Employees are expected to abide by:

  • Federal and state laws and regulations
    • Including privacy and confidentiality (HIPAA, FERPA) regulations
  • University policies

Employees should also follow the policies and guidelines of the social media platform in which the account is operating.

Hybrid accounts are not permitted to use UB trademarks in their account icon(s) or cover photo(s). However, you may use a photo taken on/of campus and may use UB’s photo database to find images.

Additionally, employees with hybrid accounts should follow the best-practice recommendations below:

  • Disclose their affiliation with the university in their account bio, to provide transparency.
  • Include language within their account bio, such as, “opinions are my own.”

Please note, employees are responsible for what they post on any social media account. The views and opinions expressed by individual employees do not represent the official positions of the University at Buffalo.

Personal Employee Accounts

Defined as any social media account utilized by a faculty or staff member primarily for personal use (e.g., to connect with family and friends, follow personal interests) or other purposes that are not affiliated with their role at the university.

Faculty and staff should be aware of how they present themselves on their personal social media accounts to ensure that they are not inadvertently seen as an official university account or speaking on behalf of the university.

To reduce confusion, it is recommended that employee accounts follow the best practices below:

Individuals who choose to affiliate themselves with the university on their personal social media accounts, via the account bio, or by listing UB as an employer, for example, are strongly encouraged to include language within their bio, where possible, to denote that their views do not represent that of their employer, such as, “opinions are my own.”

Including this language may not be possible on all social networks. Furthermore, on certain platforms (e.g., LinkedIn and Facebook), including your employer is a common practice. Still, employees should be mindful that others may view that affiliation and associate you with the university.

Employees are also expected to abide by:

  • Federal and state laws and regulations
    • Including privacy and confidentiality (HIPAA, FERPA) regulations
  • University policies

Additionally, personal social media accounts are not permitted to use UB logos or marks in their account icon(s) or cover photo(s) in ways that might be interpreted as representing or speaking on behalf of the university.

Employees are encouraged to use their personal accounts to share their pride and celebrate university milestones and accomplishments and engage with UB social media content.

Please note, employees are responsible for what they post on any social media account. The views and opinions expressed by individual employees do not represent the official positions of the University at Buffalo.

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