Maintaining a strong social media presence is a great way to communicate directly with alumni, show the personality of each club or affiliate through engaging content, and create an online community for local alumni. As an official club or affiliate, you are required to uphold the branding standards outlined in the branding guidelines for all social media accounts. This includes but is not limited to appropriate logos, colors, messaging, and more. For an indepth look at social media, review this presentation.

In addition, here are details on social media-specific requirements to implement on your club’s social channels.

New Account Creation

The creation of new social media accounts for your club/ affiliate requires written permission from the Association. Please fill out the New Social Account Request Form in the toolkit if you’re interested in opening a new account. 

If you’re interested in exploring the creation of a new social media channel, you should plan to assemble at least a six-month content calendar of potential posts prior to submitting a request. The success of new channels is predicated on frequent and regular posting, so it’s vital to plan ahead to set your channel up for both short- and longterm success. 

Administration 

For security purposes, and to ensure channels remain accessible over time as volunteers transition in and out of roles, the Alumni Association staff must have administrative access to all club and affiliate social media accounts. 

• All club/affiliate Facebook pages and groups must add the “Michigan Alum” account (umalumniassoc@gmail. com) as an administrator. For groups, once this account has been added, the Association will link club/affiliate groups back to the main Association page. This will create a listing on the Association page of all official club/affiliate groups. 

• Login information for Twitter and Instagram accounts must be securely shared with the Association, including when any changes are made. 

• All LinkedIn pages and groups must add the “Michigan Alum” account as an administrator. 

Account Activity and Posting Cadence

The frequency and cadence of posts may vary due to seasonality, but channels should remain active throughout the year. In this case, “active” is defined as each individual channel averaging at least four posts per month and never going 30 or more days without any new posts. 
 
If a channel becomes inactive over time, it should be deactivated or closed. Channels that are already inactive should be deactivated or closed as soon as possible. 

Naming Conventions

Display names should follow a consistent naming convention and be the same across all channels: 

• Location-specific clubs: University of Michigan Club of [city/region] (e.g., University of Michigan Club of Chicago

• Affiliate groups (where applicable): University of Michigan [affinity] Alumni (e.g., University of Michigan LGBTQ Alumni) 

• Please see the toolkit for a full list of club and group names. 

Usernames and channel URLs should also follow a consistent naming convention and be the same across all channels when available and possible within character limitations (abbreviations may be used in this case): 

• Location-specific clubs: umclub[city/region] (e.g., umclubchicago) • Affiliate groups (when applicable): um[affinity]alumni (e.g., umlgbtqalumni)

 • Please see the toolkit for a full list of suggested usernames and URLs by channel. 

Account Images 

Profile pictures should feature only the official club/affiliate logo provided by the Association. Cover photos should feature only images that tie back to the club/affiliate or U-M and are authorized for use. Authorized images include those owned by the club/affiliate or one of its volunteers, those provided by the Association, and those purchased for commercial use from Getty Images, iStock, or a similar source. To use any images from another source, such as U-M Athletics, an unaffiliated user on social media, or a website discovered via a Google Images search, written permission must be received from the image owner.

Website & Bio

The website displayed on your channels should link to your official club/affiliate homepage on the Alumni Association’s website. 

The account bio or description on your channels should include the following copy: 

• Welcome to the U-M Club of [city/region], a local club of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. 

• Welcome to U-M [affinity] Alumni, an affiliate of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. 

Posting Content

Content is what drives awareness, reach, and engagement. To make sure you’re connecting with, informing, and engaging your audience, make sure your posts are timely, appropriate, and relevant to your club/affiliate. Here are some additional guidelines to follow: 

• Possible content could include but is not limited to information about upcoming events, highlights of past events, and updates about the University of Michigan, alumni, students, faculty, the Association, and your club/ affiliate. 

• Official accounts for clubs/affiliates are a representation of not just the club/affiliate but the Association and U-M as a whole. Leave personal opinions for your personal accounts. 

• Channel comments should be regularly monitored to ensure any hateful or inappropriate content or spam is hidden or removed (and users who require repeated moderation are banned or blocked). 

• It is permissible to use the native share or retweet functionality within a channel to amplify another account’s post that may feature a photo or video. However, only authorized photos and videos should be directly uploaded and posted to your club/affiliate channels.

 • When possible, to make media more accessible, include an alt-text description for images and captions for videos.

 • Any text, images, or videos promoting events should not include the name, image, or likeness of current or former University of Michigan student-athletes unless they’ve granted your club/affiliate permission to feature them.