Brightpoint Social Media Guidelines

College Social Media Channels  

Brightpoint’s main social media channels are Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Flickr. These channels are maintained by the Creative Services and Public Relations teams:  

Starting a Social Media Page 

Before creating a new social media page, we strongly suggest you think through the purpose of the page and how it will be maintained.  

Consider:  

  1. What do you want the page to do?  
  2. Who do you want the page to reach?  
  3. What types of posts will you make?  
  4. How frequently do you plan to post?  
  5. Who will be responsible for posting?  
  6. Do you have ideas for regular post content?  
  7. Who will monitor the page and respond to inquiries or comments? 

Social sites should not be inactive. They should be active with posts that hopefully earn them more followers, start conversations, inspire interactions, etc. The frequency of posts depends on the social site, but at least one post a week is suggested. Inactive pages reflect poorly on our college and make our student life seem stagnant. You should not start a page until you have thought through strategies to sustain the development of the page over time.    

Requirements for A Social Media Page 

Managing the Page 

  1. A Brightpoint employee associated with the department or program, or, in the case of a student club or organization, its employee advisor(s) must be an administrator of the social media site, no matter what social media platform is used.  
    • If appropriate, a student can be an administrator as well, and a student or students may create content for the social media page. However, a college employee needs to monitor the site and offer guidance to students who are providing content to ensure accuracy and to intervene or assist should comments or posts of concern be posted on the social page.
    • For academic or department pages, two employee members should be administrators.
    • When a student or Brightpoint employee who has been an administrator of a social media page leaves the college, they need to communicate with other administrators who are responsible for the site and ensure a current employee can access the page.
    • If an employee or student who has been assigned an administrator role leaves the college, their administrator privileges on the social site should be removed.
  2. Social media pages associated with the college need to be regularly maintained. Pages that have not been updated in the last six months should be removed by the administrator who is a college employee.
  3. Social pages representing the college’s programs, departments, and student clubs/organizations should include Brightpoint in their name.
  4. Images used for the profile and header image on the page should adhere to image sizing standards established by the social platform.
    • Alterations to the college logo are also prohibited. Review the brand guide for guidance on using the logo properly.  

Writing Social Posts 

When posting to the social media page, administrators must remember that they are representing a Brightpoint department, program, or student group. This means it is necessary to adhere to our policies on expressive activity, in addition to other practices:

  • Copyright laws must be honored. Photos, music, and other items posted should not infringe on intellectual property rights. This includes altering the college logo. See the brand guide for more information on usage of the college logo.
  • Employees who develop a social media page must also adhere to the Brightpoint brand when creating posts.  

Web Accessibility Standards  

Web accessibility standards require social posts to include specific information to support the needs of individuals with disabilities. These requirements also improve user experiences for every social media user.

  • All images and graphics must include alt text. Text should be concise, descriptive, and written with context. Do not say “image of” or "graphic of" before the alt text. If an image is an illustration, you can identify it. Alt text is also best when written in the present tense. Examples:
    • You share an image of two students studying. One option for alt text could be, “Two Brightpoint students study together at the Chester Campus Library.”
    • To promote your club’s speaking contest, you share an illustration of a person standing in front of a podium. Alt text for this graphic could be, “An illustration of a person speaking to an audience. They stand confidently in front of a podium.” 
  • Videos must include captions. Captions that can be turned on and off are preferred to auto-generated captions.
  • When posting a video, include a short description of the video in the text of your post. This can be included at the end of your post.
  • Hashtags need to be written in camel case, where each word is capitalized. Do not add spaces between words. Examples:
    • #BrightpointCommunity
    • #StudentSuccessStory 

Encouraging Views and Reach  

By following the requirements listed above and best practices, you can increase engagement with your posts:

  • Tag the college’s main social media pages when Brightpoint is referenced in your posts. This will make administrators of the college’s main social media channels aware of your post, and they may choose to share your post with the college’s main channels and amplify your message.
  • When writing the content of your posts, always consider these questions: who, what, when, where, how, and why? This will help you share content that is meaningful and informative.  

Reviewing Page Engagements 

Social media is designed for dialogue, and you need to be prepared for negative comments.  

For our main college pages, we have a strict protocol against content (whether written or shared using visual or audio sources) that is [1] obscene, [2] indecent, [3] defamatory, or [4] threatening.* We also do not allow advertising or solicitations. The college reserves the right to remove posts that violate these guidelines, and, if necessary, will report such posts.  

*Important: See footnotes at the end of this page. 

How to Respond to Comments

  1. Comments that are critical of the college should not be removed unless they fall into one of the policies listed above.

    • In general, comments that violate the college’s guidelines should be hidden from the social media timeline but not deleted, in case they need to be referred to at a later time.

    • First Amendment (free speech) rights must not be violated, so it is imperative that posts not be hidden or removed without careful consideration.

      • Reach out to Heather Busch and Holly Walker if you need assistance with making a determination about a specific post. The college may, in some cases, consult legal counsel.

  2. Judgment is required when it comes to evaluating posts that could be considered advertising or solicitation. For instance, a post from a current student offering to sell their textbook should not be removed. A legitimate business that posts about internship and job opportunities for students/graduates does not need to be removed.

  3. Posts that are clearly spam, phishing, or trolling should be marked/reported as spam, using the social site’s reporting procedures. Once reported, if the social site does not immediately remove/hide the post, you may need to take steps to hide it.

  4. If a post containing threatening or concerning language is made–by anyone–to the social media page or group, it needs to be reported immediately. Follow the reporting process below:  

    • If you believe the threat poses an immediate danger, contact Security at 804-796-4025 (Chester) or 804-897-6678 (Midlothian). 

    • Notify the college’s Threat Assessment Team by filling out the Threat Assessment Team Incident Report form. An email may also be sent to Sandra Kirkland. 

    • Notify the college’s director of communications and public relations, Holly Walker.  

    • A screenshot of the threatening post should be included. The post should not be deleted, but it may be hidden if that feature is allowed on the social site being used, until a conversation is had with the Threat Assessment Team. We have had to occasionally ban someone from our official college social sites, and generally, when this happens, we are doing that after consulting with the Threat Assessment Team.  

Connect with Us 

If you have stories, events, and opportunities that help tell the Brightpoint story or would be of interest to a broader audience, please consider sharing them with Public Relations and Creative Services for possible inclusion on the main Brightpoint channels. We are always looking for student, alumni, and employee success stories, college updates, partnerships, and other exciting Brightpoint news. You can tag the college’s main account in any posts you write, or email your idea to Meghan Ochs, Heather Busch, and Holly Walker.   

Need More Information?  

For questions, please contact Meghan Ochs, Heather Busch, or Holly Walker. 

Footnotes

[1] Content which purpose is to appeal to a shameful or morbid interest in sex, excretory functions, or sadomasochistic abuse, and which goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description or representation of such matters and which, taken as a whole, lacks any serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

[2] Content that is an objectively and patently offensive portrayal of sexual activities or excretory functions but does not meet the standard for obscenity.

[3] A knowingly false statement of fact made with the intent to harm another’s reputation.

[4] A statement that is a serious expression to inflict bodily harm against a person or class of persons or is designed to incite imminent lawless action.