Web and Social Media Policy

Introduction
The UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture is charged with using the web and social
media to engage with the community. CAHC employees and graduate students must be
aware of audiences, goals, and appropriate conversational tone when engaging with the
community. The audience includes local citizens, researchers, teacher, faculty, archivists,
businesses, governments, and other media outlets such as television and newspapers.

Scope
This web and social media policy governs all online ventures and activity of the Center and its
employees acting on behalf of the Center. The director of technology and digital initiatives is
charged with carrying out this policy.
The UALR Office of Communications has overall authority over the universitys web and social
branding and activity.
No website, blog, social media account, or other online representation may be created or
endorsed without the approval of the Director of Technology and Digital Initiatives.

Restrictions

Avoid content that would suggest a particular political and/or religious affiliation
along with specific endorsements.
Do not post content that is abusive, unlawful, false, harassing, or pornographic.
If you wish to post personal content that pertains to CAHC, obtain permission from the
director of technology and digital initiatives.
All content must adhere to the UALR non-discrimination policy. Do not post content
that discriminates against race, creed, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
Be sure that all images and videos are cleared of copyright restrictions before posting.

Tone

Because these accounts are meant to engage with the community, use a friendly and
conversational tone.
Be brief and descriptive when posting content so the community understands the
context of what they are viewing.
When posting images and videos, put information such as date, town, names, and
context if it is available. Include the collection name and number in the description.

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Be mindful of peoples names. While for collections it is necessary to use the official
name of a person, it is encouraged to use the colloquial name on the social media
page if applicable (e.g., James Guy Tucker and Jim Guy Tucker).
All comments and posts need to be actively monitored to create a friendly, engaging,
and responsive environment for all. See the UALR social media policy regarding
appropriate feedback and monitoring of social media. If any harassing or
inflammatory comments from others are posted on the Centers social media sites,
they will be deleted with approval of the director of technology and digital initiatives.
Avoid usage of text message slang (i.e. LOL).

Access to CAHC Accounts

The Director of Technology and Digital Initiatives has the authority to grant or revoke access
to the official CAHC web and social media accounts. If anyone granted approval abuses the
use of the accounts, the director has the right to revoke access. A warning will be issued after
the first incident. After two incidents, access will immediately be terminated for that profile.

General Posting Guidelines

Because there are multiple users with access to the Centers accounts, be mindful of
what others are posting in order to be consistent and prevent repetitive posts. If
possible, speak with others who have access to the account to discuss who will take
the initiative to post certain content.
Do not post images on any CAHC account until they have gone through the
digitization workflow. The digitization workflow requires making a preservation
master and uploading the digital image into CONTENTdm. See Instructions for
Photographs in the Complete Workflow for Digitization, V.2 for instructions on how to
create preservation and CONTENTdm masters.
Only post content that pertains to updates and research from CAHC.
If you would like to post content that is outside of UALR (i.e., repost a status from a
Facebook page or website), you must obtain permission from the Director of
Technology and Digital Initiatives.

Number of posts per day

To adequately showcase content posted, it is important that the post stays in a top level area
of the page for enough time. There should be no more than three posts, shares, or likes per
day. Be mindful of when content is posted by others with access to the account in order to
keep track of how many posts are made on a certain day.

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Sharing posts from outside sources

It is imperative to use discretion when sharing, retweeting, or
quoting posts from outside sources and profiles. Be sure the
outside account you are sharing from is not offensive or partisan
toward a specific political ideology. While the post itself may be
neutral and/or non-offensive, the profile it comes from may not
be.
Commenting, liking, and messaging
All replies, likes, and/or comments need to be approved by the
Figure 1: Hiding a post to prevent duplication
Director of Technology and Digital Initiatives. Any kind of post
that follows a particular partisan ideology is prohibited. You will also need approval by the
Director of Technology and Digital Initiatives if you wish to contact another person for any
reason using an official CAHC account. The Director of Technology and Digital Initiatives will
actively monitor comments to ensure that there is a friendly, non-abusive environment.

Facebook Timeline Guidelines

When uploading an image to Facebook, post a description in the status box instead of
re-posting what is already uploaded. This prevents repetitive posts. Preventing
repetitive posts will also keep feedback such as likes and comments together in one
post, which makes engagement with the audience easier and more organized. If
there is a duplicate post on the timeline, select Hide from Timeline under the right
arrow next to the post.

Be aware of the account you are signed in under. Anytime you are logged into the
CAHC account, you are posting under that name. If you want to share a post to your
own personal profile, be sure you switch back to your personal account and not the
CAHC account. If you dont switch back to your personal account, you will create a
duplicate post on the CAHC page.

Figure 2: Name of Facebook profile along with date of post.

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Posting updates through Twitter

Since Twitter limits your posts to 140 characters, it is important to be clear and concise. This
will enable the reader to immediately see what youre posting without confusion. Also try to
use an active voice when posting, which is easier to read than a passive voice. At times
passive voice is used to sound more formal, but it usually creates sentences that are unclear.
Hashtags and re-tweets
Be mindful of how you categorize your posts through hashtags. Always use a word or phrase
that is relevant to the content you are posting and avoid ambiguity. Obtain approval from
the Director of Technology and Digital Initiatives for re-tweets from other accounts.

Posting videos on YouTube

Before uploading a video to YouTube, make sure it has gone through the digitization
workflow. See the Complete Workflow for Digitization, V.2 for instructions on how to
create preservation masters.
Make sure the videos are relevant to work and research done at CAHC. This includes
interviews, archived video captured from a specific time that relates to Arkansas
history, and videos that showcase work in the Center.
Because users have short attention spans, it is important to post short clips of the
video for people to view. Find a 3-5 minute clip that best highlights the context of the
video. Obtain approval from the director of technology and digital initiatives in order
to post the entire video.
Always post a brief description of the video to give the user context of what they are
viewing.

Removing content
Authority to remove content from an official CAHC online account lies with the Director of
Technology and Digital Initiatives. If you see a post that you feel needs to be removed,
contact the director for assistance.

Out of office planning

If any poster with access to the social media accounts will be out of the office for an extended
period of time, coordinate at least two weeks in advance with the Director of Technology and
Digital Initiatives for coverage in your absence.

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