Social Media Policy

Instructions: After reading, please confirm that you have read, understand and agree to comply with the policy. This is required of all those posting in an official LLS capacity.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Social media represent a wealth of opportunity for Loyola Law School (hereafter referred to as the Law School or LLS). New channels created by social media networking sites are a means to distribute content, establish relationships and connect in a more participatory fashion. These channels may take many shapes as information technologies and related platforms, systems, media, devices and uses are continually evolving. Current popular examples include LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs. For the Law School, these sites provide another way to reach out to its various audiences, particularly prospective students, as well as alumni, donors, journalists, academics and others with an interest in the school.

As an institution of higher learning that encourages critical thinking and intellectual discussion through an array of media channels, the Law School and its varied constituents are well positioned to make an impact through social media. This policy is designed to regulate its use on behalf of or in association with the Law School to ensure that the Law School’s social media endeavors embrace the school’s mission and ideals. The accompanying Considerations & Best Practices are designed to guide usage to maximize its effectiveness.

The Law School’s presence in social media is designed to accomplish the following objectives:

  • Extend the Law School’s reach and influence online by engaging and building relationships with key audiences, such as prospective students, alumni, donors, peers at other institutions and journalists;
  • Showcase the wealth of expertise and opinions available among the faculty, students and staff of Loyola;
  • Increase site traffic by providing additional channels for key audiences to communicate with the Law School;
  • Provide additional channels for audiences to receive official university information, including accolades, event details and emergency notices;
  • Present a unified theme throughout all official LLS messaging and to all audiences that demonstrates the school’s commitment to social justice, diversity and training attorneys prepared to excel in practice.

In order that all LLS social media sites maintain a level of quality and consistency, all LLS social media users are responsible for knowing the information contained in this policy and must acknowledge [c1] they have read and understand the terms contained in it. Following the policy is the Considerations & Best Practices section, which outlines usage recommendations. Finally, the Appendix contains important contact information, definitions and references.

Social Media Policy: Rules & Regulations

As with the LLS.edu website and other publicly facing outlets, the Law School’s Marketing & Communications Office is charged with overseeing the school’s official social media presence to ensure that the school’s image and brand are maintained with integrity and consistency. Nothing in this policy is intended to discourage speech. 

Posting to social media is the equivalent of posting to the world. Even micro-posts within Facebook can become public thanks to robust Internet search mechanisms. Consistency, professionalism and integrity are baseline characteristics of any social media publishing done on the Law School’s behalf or otherwise in association with the Law School. 

Departments with social media accounts, and staff members/faculty/students operating accounts as LLS representatives, must be registered with the Marketing & Communications Office. All LLS institutional social media channels must have an appointed employee who is identified to the Marketing & Communications Office as being the channel’s “manager” and responsible for content and knowledge about social media. New account information, including location, log-in credentials and assigned manager, must be sent to the Marketing & Communications Office. The Marketing & Communications Office will maintain administrator rights. If you already have an LLS social media account, please email media@lls.edu with the account information, including username and password. 

Managers may assign administrator rights to any faculty, staff and student workers to help maintain the social media presence. But each manager is ultimately responsible for ensuring their channel complies with applicable policies.

Content parameters and restrictions 

Channel managers are responsible for posting, monitoring and maintaining compliance with all LLS policies and protocols. Those include the Acceptable Use Policy at https://my.lls.edu/informationtechnologydepartment/policies/acceptableusepolicy. Additionally, all of the laws, professional expectations and guidelines applicable for interacting with students, parents, alumni, donors, media and other LLS constituents apply online as they would in the real world. In other words, all the same laws, expectations and guidelines apply to your communications irrespective of the communication platform. State and federal laws regarding defamation, copyright, confidentiality, appropriate language (including criminal threats) and other relevant laws and policies are in effect. 

Members of the LLS social media community are representatives of the Law School and, as such, all school policies and the guidelines here govern their actions, postings and behavior. Social media posters are legally responsible for everything they post to social media sites. Further, the Law School holds department heads/supervisors responsible for the content published by accounts they oversee even if social media posting responsibilities are delegated. 

Postings may not compromise the legitimate privacy interests of personnel, students, interested parties or the Law School by disclosing confidential personal information or education records with unconsented personally identifiable information. For example, this includes a name or other piece of personally identifiable information associated with an examination answer or grade on an exam, a student or staff ID number or health information. All users and posters should follow LLS policies and federal requirements, such as the Family Educations Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as their own good judgment. You may not post confidential or proprietary information about LLS, its students, its alumni or staff.                                

The Law School’s social media channels must conform to the usage policies of their respective platforms. Posts should at all times maintain a tone consistent with the Law School’s ideals. A good guideline: Do not post something you would not share publicly at a conference or in class. 

  • Maintain confidentiality. Don’t post confidential or proprietary information about LLS, its students, alumni or employees. Use good ethical judgment and follow university policies and federal requirements, such as FERPA.
  • Be aware of liability. You’re legally liable for what you post on your own site and on the sites of others. Individual bloggers have been held liable for commentary deemed to be proprietary, copyrighted, defamatory, libelous or obscene (as defined by the courts).
  • Respect trademarks and copyright. This is typically part of the terms of service for the social media site in question. Do not publish photographs of unknown origin. For example, you may not use images found on the web unless you know the status of their rights protection. Images found off sites like Creative Commons may require crediting the creator even if no fees are involved.
  • LLS images and logos: The LLS seal is exclusively for official LLS school use. It may not be used by student or outside groups. The LLS seal may be used only with the express permission of the LLS Marketing & Communications Office, which can provide use requirements and art optimized for the site in question. If using a campus photograph of unknown origin, please check with the Marketing & Communications office to on possible copyright restrictions.
  • Adhere to the LLS Acceptable Use Policy. It’s available at https://my.lls.edu/informationtechnologydepartment/policies/acceptableusepolicy.
  • Compliance with platform policy: Social media administrators must take care to ensure their content complies with policies set forth by social media sites regarding copyright, defamation, confidentiality and appropriate language. A summary of platforms’ related terms and conditions is below.
  • Don’t make endorsements on the Law School’s behalf. Do not use the Law School’s name to promote a product, cause, political party or candidate on the school’s behalf. If you are making such an endorsement in a private capacity, it should be clear as such.
  • Do not use the Law School’s seal, logo or iconography on personal sites. This includes manipulating the LLS logo. Permission from the Marketing & Communications Office is required to use school-owned images on personal sites.
  • Be accurate. Review postings prior to publishing for factual, grammatical and spelling errors. Spend the time upfront to confirm information before posting; it is difficult to correct or retract social media posts once published. If you do publish inaccurate information, correct it immediately; some social media sites allow a grace period for corrections. Consult the Marketing & Communications Office about appropriate approaches to corrections.
  • Be respectful. Loyola’s mission stresses adherence to “the highest standards of personal integrity, professional ethics and a deep concern for social justice.” The Law School’s social media presence should be consistent with that mission. Never use obscenities or personal attacks. Do not publish contentious postings. If ever in doubt about the tastefulness or tone of a post, contact the Marketing & Communications Office.
  • On personal sites, identify your views as your own. If you identify yourself as a Law School faculty or staff member online, it should be clear that you are not speaking for the institution and that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the institution. Consider including a sentence on your own social-media site such as: “The views expressed on this [blog, website] are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.”

The Marketing and Communications Office reserves the right to access and manage LLS social media accounts. This is especially important in the event of an emergency that may require the dissemination of an alert message through a department’s social-media channel (i.e.: a crisis in the library may necessitate posting a message on the library’s Twitter feed). For this and other reasons, the Marketing & Communications Office reserves the right to edit and delete content as appropriate. This includes the right to shut down accounts if necessary.

Student conduct

Student social media usage is subject to the Standards of Conduct as outlined in the Student Handbook: https://my.lls.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbooks. Student groups may not use the Loyola Law School logo or seal.

Students and student organizations are well advised to have no expectation of privacy regarding information posted on social media platforms. Students should consider any implications their social-media posting may have on their prospects for passing the bar’s moral character evaluation and future job screening. Employers are increasingly conducting web searches on job candidates before extending offers. Be sure that what you post today will not come back to haunt you. 

Students should be aware that those reading your posts could, and probably will, include faculty, staff, future employers, LLS donors, alumni, legislators, parents and the news media. Students may be held accountable for conduct that negatively impacts LMU’s or the Law School's reputation, goodwill and/or pursuit of its or their mission, goals or objectives. This may include postings that inappropriately share information related to the Law School or make inappropriate or unprofessional statements that could negatively impact the school or members of its community.

Recommendations about student conduct are available in the Appendix.

Rules governing extended LLS community

The Law School recognizes the growing popularity of alumni and other LLS affinity groups on social media sites and will, at its discretion, cooperate with those sites as and when appropriate. Third-party groups may not use the Law School’s logo or seal. LLS may grant or withhold approval of the use of its names or images in its absolute discretion. Social media accounts without an institutional tie to LLS must not be named in such a way as to construe LLS endorsement. Groups with “Loyola Law School, Los Angeles,” “LLS” or a similar derivation in their title must include a disclaimer stating: “The events, viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are those of _________ and do not necessarily reflect the sponsorship, views or opinions of Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University or its and their administration and their publication herein is not an endorsement of, or by, Loyola Law School or Loyola Marymount University.”

Rules regarding third-party postings

Official LLS social media administrators should monitor their channels for postings that violate the terms of the platform, the Law School, the law – or all of the above. Vulgar or threatening posts should be deleted. Before doing so, take a screen grab or otherwise make a record of the post and send it to Al.Taylor@lls.edu. If you feel a post is threatening in nature or otherwise merits greater concern, please contact the Office of Marketing & Communications or Security Office. Contact information is located in the Appendix.

Offensive posts should first be evaluated by the terms of service of the platform. This approach is the most protective of the Law School’s interests. The policies for the most frequently used platforms are listed in the Appendix.

Decision tree: Responding to third-party postings

If you find a social-media post about Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, consider the following. When in doubt, contact media@lls.edu with the subject line SOCIAL: QUESTION.

  • Is it positive?
    • Yes: Does it fit with or promote LLS' core mission or attributes?
      • Yes: Amplify and share
      • No: Let post stand
    • No: Is this a concentrated effort to defame LLS?
      • Yes: Monitor and refrain from responding. Forward to media@lls.edu with subject line SOCIAL: FLAGGED
      • No:
        • Is it a joke? Forward to media@lls.edu with subject line SOCIAL: FLAGGED
        • Is it inaccurate? Respond politely with correct information. Forward thread to media@lls.edu with subject line SOCIAL: RESPOND
        • Is it a response to a specific LLS incident/person/program: Forward to media@lls.edu with subject line SOCIAL: RESPOND

Deletion policy

The Law School reserves the right to remove comments and content from social media accounts if, in the Law School’s sole and absolute discretion, they:

  • Are inaccurate, defame or in the Law School’s sole and absolute determination otherwise adversely impact the Law School’s reputation and integrity.
  • Contain confidential information, illegal information and materials under copyright. Users may not alter or re-purpose any LLS-posted materials without approval.
  • Violate the copyrights, trademarks and/or intellectual property rights of LLS or third parties.
  • Compromise the privacy of personnel, students, interested parties and the Law School by disclosing confidential and personal information. All users and posters must follow LLS policies and federal requirements, such as FERPA.
  • Impersonate others.
  • Include offensive, vulgar, defamatory or discriminatory language, are unlawful or contain threats.
  • Include spam, repetitive/irrelevant posting, or other activities judged by the Law School to fall into these categories. This may include topics outside the scope of immediate interest to our community and posts promoting products and/or services unrelated to the Law School.
  • Advertise, promote or endorse a political candidate, a product or cause. Do not use the Law School’s channels, name, logo or seal for such endorsements. 

Considerations & Best Practices: Should you join a social media conversation or start a new one?

The best way to determine if you or your department should have a presence on a social media channel is to see what is already being done within the sphere of the Law School’s existing social media universe. A list is available in the Appendix. Observing activity on these channels will help you answer several questions: 

1)   Do you or your department want to be part of the social-media conversation?

2)   If the answer is yes, would your message fit into one of the pre-existing channels or necessitate a new channel? Members of the Marketing team can help you determine this; contact information is in the Appendix. Consider whether an existing account would suffice for conveying the information you wish to publish.

3)   If a new channel is necessary, which one would work best? 

Contributing to a pre-existing channel 

If you think your messaging fits within the parameters of a pre-existing LLS primary social media channel, you are encouraged to work with the Marketing & Communications Office to post your content. The Marketing & Communications Office can advise you on important specifications and best practices. It can also provide guidance on tone, style and consistency, some of which is covered below.

Starting a new social media channel

If you feel that your department or group requires its own space, after reviewing the Law School’s existing social media channels (available in the Appendix), please contact the Marketing & Communications Office. You will need to consider which social media platform would work best by completing a general assessment: 

  • What do you want to accomplish?
  • What are your goals with utilizing social media? Have you thought out what short-term and long-term objectives you have for the entity you will be representing in the social media universe?
    • Consider how you will integrate social media into your other communications and plans. Social media is not a stand-alone approach to your goals. Before getting started on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or another platform, consider:
      • Do you have the time necessary to maintain one or more accounts? Creating these accounts requires maintaining them with consistent posting of newsworthy and relevant content. Generally, you should post new content to a social media channel at least once a week – and usually more often.
      • Who is the audience? It could be students, alumni, journalists, academics or several other choices. Each audience will have different interests and respond to different messages.
      • What is the size of the audience you hope to reach? Is this tool effective based on this target audience’s size?
      • Do we have a sizable target audience that would be interested in this content?

Once you have made the above considerations, it is helpful to consider some platform-specific questions: 

Blogs 

  • Do I have the long-term commitment necessary to grow an audience base? Generally, blogs should be updated a minimum of once a week.
  • Does my special interest group/organization have a target audience base that is large enough to have a sizable readership if I create a blog?
  • Is there enough relevant content that I can use and produce over a long period of time to keep people visiting the blog? 

Facebook 

  • Facebook provides a certain amount of privacy. What sorts of information will you be sharing and what audience are you trying to reach? How public/private should it be?
  • Is this group or page made redundant by a pre-existing one that is a member of the LLS social media universe? See the Appendix for a list of LLS social media channels.
  • Consider frequency of posting and content. Your page will be an excellent tool to promote events, post follow-ups and engage interested parties on a daily basis. You should be willing and able to commit to updating the page at least twice a week.
  • How often will someone be able to monitor the page? Be aware that it takes resources to check and reply to posts that come to your page.
  • Will you use Facebook ads to promote the group, an event or other related item? If so, for what purpose and what audience? Examples include running an ad to promote a Study Abroad info session or photo contest. Whose budget will be paying for it? 

Twitter 

  • Do you have the desire and know-how to track and listen to others in the LLS community and beyond?
  • Do you have short and simple messages to share with a broad audience?
  • How frequently will you be able to Tweet? You should be able to commit to at least one Tweet a week, if not more.
  • What resources can you devote to monitoring the Twitter account? If someone sends you a message, how soon can you reply? It is worth considering posting the reply policy (direct Tweets will be answered within 24 hours) on the page.

Instagram 

  • A great forum for those who wish to convey a message through pictures.
  • How will you reach your target audience and gain followers?
  • Will you have the opportunity to take photos, or draw from a photograph archive, at least once or twice a week? Will those photos captivate your audience? 

YouTube

The Marketing & Communications Office manages Loyola’s YouTube channel and can facilitate posting your video on it. Depending on the volume of videos you foresee developing, the Marketing team can help you create your own section. Existing sections are “Learn More about Loyola” and “Hear Our Faculty.” 

It is important to take into account that individual users’ attention spans are short. Videos intended for general distribution on YouTube should be between 2-6 minutes long. Longer videos featuring content of broad appeal are acceptable but may be best suited for another channel. For longer videos directed at internal audiences, consider posting a streaming link on LLS.edu with the help of the Instructional Technology Department.

Defining success: Evaluating social media content 

To know if you are successful in your social-media endeavors, you need to measure how well you are meeting your goals. Develop metrics to measure the activity on your site. Are your posts receiving likes or comments? If you’re promoting an event on social media, be sure to ask registrants where they learned about the event. The Marketing & Communications Office has tools for measuring social media impact and can provide assistance with such measurements.

Best practices

This list of best practices highlights ways in which to maximize your social media efforts. 

  • Be transparent. Be honest about your identity. If you are authorized to represent the Law School in social media, say so.
  • Consider how others might respond to your post. Anticipate how others might react to your posting. Think twice before posting anything you suspect might generate negative comments.
  • Assume anything you post could be seen by anyone, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, other law school peers and members of the legal community. The whole world is your audience. Anything you post on social media is public.
  • Don’t fight fire with fire. Address a negative post offline when possible. If someone posts a complaint about service in your department, first attempt to address the problem directly with the poster. If you want to correct misinformation, please contact the Marketing & Communications Office for the best method of doing so.
  • Link back to LLS.edu content. Whenever possible, link back to the Loyola Law School website. Social media is an effective way to drive users back to the website to learn more.
  • Make it interactive. Social media posts work best when they create a dialogue between the Law School and its followers. Conceptualize features that will inspire a response. Options include surveys, contests, photo submissions, polls, etc. The Marketing & Communications Office is available to consult on methods of maximizing your social media presence.
  • Be frequent, but not too frequent. A key piece of engaging your community is posting regularly. 

Once you have read this policy, please confirm that you understand it and agree to comply with it.

Marketing & Communications Office

Contact Information

Loyola Law School
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Brian Costello
213.736.1444
213.736.8300