Social Media Guidelines

Social media extends traditional channels of engagement and transparency and opens a two-way conversation with our community providing a means to share South Bend Community School Corporation news.

“Social media” refers to but is not limited to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and YouTube.

This social media policy is a guide for anyone managing an account representing any aspect of SBCSC on any social media platform. This does not apply to personal accounts.

The online spaces where you engage are visible to everyone. Respect, professionalism, and awareness are key.

Creating an account

If you intend to use social media in any capacity to represent a school, department, or any other SBCSC entity, use a shared departmental email address to create the account. For instance, “[email protected].”

Each official social media channel should have no fewer than two full-time staff members who have access to the username and password and are full administrators on the account. The username and password should be sent to [email protected]. Also include your Twitter handle, Facebook handle, etc. and a link to those.

Each official social media channel should follow SBCSC branding guidelines.

#TeamSouthBend

Everything you do in your role as an employee reflects on the corporation, including interaction through social media—even privately. Remember to be professional and respectful, and avoid engaging in arguments or debates on social media. Avoid posts with the appearance of speaking on behalf of the corporation. The SBCSC accounts do that. This pertains to all content, from the fairly innocuous to emergency situations.

Who to follow

Every account must follow, like, or subscribe to the official corporation social media accounts:

Do not follow parent or student accounts. Refrain from following other personal accounts. Exceptions would be the superintendent, governor, mayor, etc.

Quality matters

Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar are of the utmost importance—even on platforms like Twitter, which affords you only 280 characters to share your message. Make every effort to be clear, complete, and concise.

Care should be taken to not mislead or exaggerate information in a clickbait manner or in ways that could be considered spam.

Graphics

Graphics should be appropriate and in focus.

Photography and attribution

Use at least medium resolution for all in-stream images on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Facebook cover photos, use a large resolution photo. Images taken by SBCSC staff do not need attribution on social media, and attribution should not be included on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook posts. Refrain from downloading images online unless they are copyright free.

Videos

Videos must be appropriate for all audiences. The official SBCSC YouTube channel is http://www.youtube.com/c/SouthBendCommunitySchoolCorporation. Within that account are playlists. If you have videos to share on YouTube, contact Jane Morrow [email protected] for access to a playlist for your school.

Emergency communications

In the event of an emergency, such as inclement weather or another crisis, messaging will originate in the Communications Department. The official SBCSC Facebook and Twitter accounts will share the messaging as well as dialers, emails, etc. Other corporation social media accounts should assist in disseminating messaging by sharing these posts. Regularly check the SBCSC accounts for messages that you can retweet or share on your own channel to ensure safety and awareness.

Moderating comments

You are responsible for monitoring and moderating posts or comments on your page from other users. Remember that social media users have a right to disagree with us and express their opinion, so deleting or hiding comments should be used sparingly unless the comments:

  • Use profanity.
  • Include personal attacks.
  • Solicit, advertise, or endorse a third-party business or service.

If you believe you have encountered a user who repeatedly violates these guidelines, please email [email protected] to discuss a course of action that may include blocking the user.

If you are concerned about a post or comment or are unsure if it should be deleted or hidden, please contact the Communications Department.