UC Davis Social Media Policy

UC Davis Social Media Policy (PPM 310-40, Section B)

Campus-affiliated social media accounts (not including those for students, Registered Student Organizations, or for individuals) must:

  1. Register the social media channel.
  2. Follow the permitted uses of the university name as outlined in section 310-65 and the campus editorial style guide.
  3. Follow the social media guidelines and best practices.
  4. Secure approval from the director of social media out of the Strategic Communications office for all requests to create or manage a flagship UC Davis social media channel on any social media platform.

Visit the full policy manual PPM 310-40: Chapter 310, Communications and Technology, Section 40, University Communications: Publications, Graphic Standards, Marketing, Social Media and Media Relations.

Social media handle naming and logo use convention

  • For campus-affiliated accounts, the recommended naming structure is to start the handle with UC Davis and finish with the department/group name after - “UCDavis[NAME OF DEPARTMENT]".
     
  • Only use “UCD[NAME OF DEPARTMENT]” if character count is an issue.
     
  • When considering your handle name, look at the name to see if it spells anything strange. Avoid acronyms, underscores and periods if possible. For example: 
    • @UCDavisGovAffairs  👍 YES!
    • @UCDDOGA  👎 NO!
       
  • The UC Davis official logo lockup may not be used as the main account thumbnail or profile picture for accounts other than the main flagship channels. Departments may use their own logo lockups. For example: 

  @UCDavisSquirrelSupport  👍 YES! 

 @UCDavisSquirrelSupport  👎 NO!

Special consideration for Student Groups and Faculty

FOR STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS/GROUPS

If you wish to create an official club or student organization account, you must follow the Center for Student Involvement registration process. If you are a student employee and are being asked to create an account for your department, continue on to the instructions on this page. 

FOR FACULTY WHO WANT TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS THEMSELVES

We recommend checking out this great resource from the Office of Research on how faculty can engage in social media to help propel science and your career. If you want more, we recommend you check out the communications training offered by Strategic Communications, which gets you access to a two-hour social media training session on this topic.