As an admin of a JMU-affiliated social media account, you have an integral role in the JMU community. You have a direct line to the JMU community to communicate about campus life, alumni stories, academic news, and more! Social media is a two-way conversation that provides opportunities for real-time engagement and feedback with the JMU community. We’re excited to walk alongside you and provide some best practices and things to consider when starting/running/sunsetting accounts. 

Please note: these guidelines are meant to be a resource for social media admins and content creators across campus and are not meant to replace, but rather supplement, the official JMU Social Media Policy. 

As a representative of JMU on social media, you will be required to uphold these industry standards and follow these social media guidelines and the JMU Social Media Policy. JMU Social Media Administrators are encouraged to join the JMU Social Media Community of Practice for up-to-date social news, workshops, and resources. To request access, please email socialmedia@jmu.edu. 

These guidelines do not apply to student-run groups on campus, though student groups are encouraged to contact socialmedia@jmu.edu for consults.

Any JMU college, school, department, office or division who want to create a new social media account must get approval from the highest level communicator in their area (i.e. a department or school must get approval from their college level communicator) before scheduling a consultation with the social media team for final approval. Questions about creating a new social media account can be emailed to socialmedia@jmu.edu .

Accounts must be regularly maintained and comply with all JMU policies.  

Content should follow JMU’s Brand Guide and Editorial Style Guide. Reach out to socialmedia@jmu.edu if you have questions. 

Do not discuss confidential or sensitive internal/external issues on JMU-affiliated accounts. Be conscious of the laws and regulations governing the privacy of student education records (FERPA), protected health information (HIPAA), and personally identifiable information. Do not post confidential or private information about faculty, students, alumni, or other employees.  

When representing JMU on social media: 

• Use appropriate, inclusive language (we, us, our) and represent JMU and its mission.  
• We encourage our community to post, comment, and interact with JMU social media accounts and with others in our social media community. Make sure to encourage conversation and engage with positive comments. Don’t participate in arguments or respond to negative comments and direct messages unless you can provide information that may help resolve the issue; clarification or acknowledgment is needed. When in doubt, contact socialmedia@jmu.edu.  
• You may delete or hide comments that are abusive, contain profanity, are threatening in tone, devolve into personal attacks, or are spam. 
• When you discuss matters related to JMU, you may need to coordinate your copy with University Communications. Please contact University Communications for guidance or consultation when in doubt. 
• All content posted to JMU account needs to be compliant with Title II accessibility guidelines.

Each social media account will have at least two administrators at all times: one administrator and one backup administrator. A student may help manage an account, but should not establish or have admin rights to the account.

Instagram and X accounts should have a JMU departmental email address, a username that starts with @JMU, and a secure password, so the account is not tied to a specific individual.

Account administrators will be responsible for managing and monitoring their social media accounts and removing content that may violate the Social Media Guidelines or any JMU policies. 

It is HIGHLY recommended that you use two-factor authentication on every social media account you access, including any personal profiles used for administering Facebook Business Pages and LinkedIn Pages. Two-factor authentication adds another layer of protection to your account. It is preferred that you set up two-factor authentication through the Duo Mobile app. 

It is recommended that passwords be changed on a consistent schedule or immediately after any suspicious activity, such as a security notification or when the account social media administrator transitions. 

Social media platforms should always be monitored and should never go without an active administrator. If the owner of a social media account is leaving JMU or no longer wishes to be an account administrator, a new administrator should be identified immediately and JMU’s social media manager should be notified of the transition.  

Ownership should be transferred to that individual and any administrative access the former employee had should be removed. For some platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook), this requires the removal of their profile as an administrator. Other platforms, such as X and Instagram, require a change of password. If you have Two Factor Authentication enabled, make sure that the authentication measure is changed to the new administrator by updating the Duo Mobile or cell phone number used.

In an emergency or crisis situation, account administrators are asked to share only official information provided by the main JMU social media accounts and in official messages. This ensures accuracy, a consistent message, and the latest information being shared. You will receive guidance directly from University Communications in these situations in the JMU Social Media Community of Practice.

If any of your social media accounts are inactive and you don’t have the resources or plan to resume activity, strong consideration should be given to indefinitely hiding your page or unpublishing/deactivating the page. Remember, most social media outlets allow you to hide your profile from public view with the ability to reactivate it at a later date. Please notify socialmedia@jmu.edu before doing so. 

• How to unpublish a Facebook page.
• How to disable an Instagram account. 
• How to temporarily deactivate or delete an X account.

Any change or updates to the administration of your accounts should be sent to socialmedia@jmu.edu. 

If you would like additional guidance related to these guidelines, reach out to socialmedia@jmu.edu.