Tweeted photos of pig fetuses used for teaching purposes might not cause much of a stir amongst those studying agriculture or veterinary medicine at the University of Guelph, but it wouldn't sit too well with everyone else.
It was one of the examples used recently at an information seminar for U of G staff on the school's updated social media policy. Roughly 40 staff attended the seminar.
The dead fetuses photo, innocently posted on the students_of_oac Instagram account, was an example shown a the seminar of how the various departments need to be aware of the message being delivered.
"To Grade 11 and 12 students you are the U of G," Angi Roberts, information services manager at the U of G told those gathered.
"I am representing the U of G. I have to have that lens on all the time," said Stephanie Craig, communications manager at the Ontario Agriculture College.
Another "questionable conduct" photo that went out on a U of G account showed an empty lecture hall, "A total yawn" and not the message the school wants to present to perspective students, Roberts said.
The bigger point being made was that as social media booms, the many departments and organizations within the university are more and more responsible for their own social media. Some rely on staff, others use students to some extent, to inform and promote their various departments.
They just have to make sure they are doing it the right way and conforming to the school's social media policies.
"Ten years ago Facebook and Twitter were just getting going," said Roberts. "Now there are so many different ways to get your information out there."
The school recently updated guidelines that were originally written in 2009. Roberts said the school will have to rewrite its social media guidelines on an ongoing basis every eight months.
"It's evolving so quickly. But what we put out on social media should always support what we put out on our web sites and what we put out on print. It's really just another way to talk to our audience.
Transparency, accuracy, appropriateness, terms of service, institutional voice, questionable conduct and brand consistency are all covered in the school's policy.
"We want everyone to be communicating the same overall message," Roberts said in a post-seminar interview.
The school encourages different departments to be active on social media in ways and on platforms that best suit their needs.
"Every department is going to have their own individual message that is maybe more important for their purpose. But there is an institutional voice: who are we and what do we represent in terms of our values. That, we hope, is portrayed in how they communicate outward."
