Handles (@jmu)

Naming structure

Profile image

Cover photo

About

• Usernames should always begin with ‘JMU’. This instantly ties accounts to the University brand as a whole and leaves out any confusion for potential audiences of current or prospective students, faculty, staff and alums. It also makes the accounts easier for users to find and follow.
• Avoid lengthy handles by abbreviating names in a way that will make sense to users and includes the most important information. Good examples include ‘The James Madison Center for Civic Engagement,’ which uses the handle @jmucivic, and JMU’s College of Business, which uses the handle @jmucob.

Facebook

• Page Title: JMU _______
• Hyphens should be avoided.
• Username: @jmu______
• Hyphens, underscores and spacing should be avoided (Example: JMU College of Business).

Twitter

• Handle: @jmu______
• Hyphens, underscores and spacing should be avoided (Example: @jmucob).

Instagram

• Handle: @jmu______
• Hyphens, underscores and spacing should be avoided (Example: @jmucob).

Snapchat

• Handle: @jmu______ (Example: @JMUUrec)

YouTube

YouTube accounts are Google accounts. So make sure to use a departmental Google account to start a YouTube account instead of a personal google account.

• Handle: JMU _______ (Example: JMU College of Business)

• White JMU Block over purple with department name below. This image should be used consistently across all social media platforms. It is only appropriate to use a different graphic for your profile image when one is provided to you from University Communications to support university-wide campaigns including Campaign milestones, Giving Day, Homecoming and other events.
• Sizing: Aspect Ratio: 1:1
• Dimensions: 960px x 960px
• Fill out a UCM Request Form to request new secondary marks.

• This image can be more customizable and can be updated overtime.
• Use a photo of a building or space on campus that correlates to the account.
• Use a photo of students doing something interesting in a space that correlates to the account.
• You can search for appropriate images in the University Photo Calendar.
• Use photos for this. Do not use images that contain text, logos or other design elements.
• Sizing: Avoid cropping your images before you upload them as cover photos. They will be posted on your timeline as a normal photo, and you want to avoid posting a distorted image.
  • Use an image that has an interesting composition in the top, middle, or bottom half of the frame. The rest will be cropped out.
• Dimensions: The wide part of the image should be at least 2000px wide. **Because of the compression experienced during uploading, images used for Twitter covers photos will appear somewhat blurry. This is unavoidable.

“Personal social media account” vs. “official university social media account”

• Under University Policy 1508, no university employee is to represent themselves as communicating on behalf of JMU on a personal social media account. One strategy for adhering to this policy includes using a disclaimer in the biography or about sections of a social media page that state that views expressed on that page are those of the individual. Additionally, no individual should be sharing propriety information related to JMU on personal social media pages.
• It is very important to note that faculty and staff should consider anything they post to social media to be public and fully accessible by students and reporters, even if it is on a personal page. Even if a user’s privacy settings prohibit the public from viewing the user’s content, those with access can screenshot posts and disseminate that information.
• “Official university social media accounts” include but are not limited to, channels for schools, academic departments and offices at JMU. Visit the Social Media Directory for a full list of official university social media accounts.