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Social Media Guidelines and Best Practices

Interested in creating a social media account affiliated with NYU Steinhardt? Please complete our Social Media Inquiry Form prior to getting started.

The Office of Communication will respond to your social media inquiry within one business week to set up a strategy meeting. We’re excited to get you started on your social media journey!

If you have any questions, please reach out to steinhardt.social@nyu.edu.

Questions To Consider When Completing NYU Steinhardt’s Social Media Inquiry Form

What are your top organizational goals?

Your goal(s) might include recruiting more students, increasing alumni involvement, connecting current students to one another, sharing research findings, or showcasing your unit’s work and activities.

How do you envision social media complementing these goals (if at all)?

Social media functions less as an independent entity and more as a tool to support larger communication strategies. Understanding your top organizational goals will help determine which platforms are best to utilize. 

Who is your audience?

Your audience might include prospective, incoming, or current students; parents; alumni; faculty and researchers at other institutions; potential funders; fieldwork partners; or some other group. This question helps determine the type of content you will post and which platform(s) you should focus on.

What type of content will you share? Where will you find it?

Does your website have a blog that’s updated regularly? Are your faculty members frequently published or quoted in the media? Is your unit’s work visually compelling? The content shared on social media should be diverse – not just events, or only news, or solely inspirational quotes and commentary – but a mixture that caters to your audience’s interests. This can often be determined by testing different types of content and asking audiences what they would find of value on your page.

Who will manage the platform(s), produce content, engage with followers, and measure results?

Keep in mind that social media does not sleep. You should be prepared to commit at least 5-10 hours per week, depending on the platform(s). During this time, you will need to schedule and generate posts regularly, monitor conversations, and be responsive to people engaging with you through comments and messages.

Additional Guidelines

  • All NYU Steinhardt-affiliated accounts should follow branding guidelines to help create a unified school presence and increase the validity of your account.
  • A student or alumni body should not create a social media account representing an entire department or program. Instead, they are encouraged to work with the department or program's social media point person to provide content that accurately represents student life on the official department or program accounts. Social media accounts created for student-run clubs and governing bodies, however, are allowed.
    • Examples of permitted accounts include:
      • Communications Club
      • International Education Student Board
      • Student Music Educators of NYU, affiliated with the National Association for Music Education
    • Examples of accounts that would go against these guidelines include:
      • Department of Media, Culture, and Communication student-run account
      • International Education Class of 2019
      • Music Education Program student-run account
  • Student bodies can create private Facebook Groups. Official NYU and Steinhardt logos are not to be used in profile images or headers. The following statement should be added to the group’s "Description": “This group is not directly affiliated with New York University, NYU Steinhardt, or the _________ program.” Students in the group must adhere to university-wide academic integrity policies: The Steinhardt Statement on Academic Integrity and Academic Integrity for Students at NYU. Links must be added to the group's description and a student leader should monitor and report any offenses.
  • Social media accounts should not be created for a single class. If you still believe the platform would be useful as a teaching tool, remove any affiliation with NYU and NYU Steinhardt. Also, make the account private if using Twitter or Instagram, or a closed group if using Facebook or LinkedIn.
  • Social media accounts should not be created for an event or conference. Please use other NYU Steinhardt-affiliated accounts for this purpose.
  • If the Office of Communication sees that your account has been inactive for more than six months, it will not tag the handle in content as to not provide audiences with outdated information.
  • If the Office of Communication sees that your account has been inactive for more than six months, it will reach out to learn about its status and discuss next steps. This ensures that audiences receive accurate and up-to-date information, and that inability to maintain social presence does not reflect negatively on your unit.
  • We advise individual units to not create YouTube accounts due to the increased effort for maintenance. Videos should be uploaded to NYU Steinhardt’s channel in an effort to streamline audiences' viewing and navigation experience. The Office of Communication can help with search engine optimization and distribution strategy to make sure your video is seen by the right audience.
  • All social media content must be accessible. NYU provides accessibility tips for major platforms.
  • All accounts must be affiliated with a permanent NYU email address to ensure access is not lost during a transition of ownership. 

Have an account but still want to discuss strategy, or unsure of where your account fits within these guidelines? Contact steinhardt.social@nyu.edu.

NYU Steinhardt Social Media Branding

To maintain consistency with NYU’s social media entities, please follow these NYU Steinhardt guidelines.

Username

  • Always include “nyu” before your department, program, or organization name (i.e. @nyuart). This will indicate that the account is officially affiliated with NYU and increase its credibility. If using "nyu" will cause your department, program, or organization to be confused with another NYU entity, please include "steinhardt." Usernames are limited to 15 characters.
  • Try not to abbreviate department, program, or organization name. If yours is too long, create a naming convention that is intuitive and fits any character limitations (i.e. @NYUteach instead of @NYUT&L).
  • Be consistent with your username and use it across all the platforms you are utilizing
  • If you need assistance coming up with a shortened version of your name, please contact steinhardt.social@nyu.edu.

Name

  • Include "NYU Steinhardt" in front of your department, program, or organization. This will indicate that the account is affiliated with NYU Steinhardt and increase credibility and brand recognition. If "NYU Steinhardt" does not fit character limitations (Instagram: 30 characters, Twitter, 50 characters, Facebook: no limit), use "NYU" followed by your department, program, or organization. If your name is still too long, use "NYU Steinhardt" along with an abbreviation of your department, program, or organization.

Bio / Profile Description

  • Always mention that you are affiliated with @nyusteinhardt.
  • Include a link to your website.
  • Include specific information about what your department or organization does.
  • Provide contact information if there is space allotted for it.

Profile Photo

  • Profile photos are created by NYU Steinhardt's Office of Communications. If you wish to start a social media account and need a new profile photo, please reach out to steinhardt.social@nyu.edu for assistance.
  • Do not use the NYU torch, NYU logo, or NYU Steinhardt official or social media logos on their own. These are reserved for NYU and NYU Steinhardt’s main accounts.
  • Use the same profile photo across all platforms.

Cover Photo and Header

  • Cover photos should be customized to your specific department, program, or organization such as a shot of your students or your facilities, or NYU specific such as a shot of the arch or Washington Square Park.
  • Do not use default cover photos or headers, as these look unprofessional and often result in fewer followers.

If you need assistance incorporating any of the above guidelines into your accounts, please contact steinhardt.social@nyu.edu