Social Media Guidelines

Whether on Facebook or Twitter, YouTube or Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn, if you would like to use interactive communication platforms to exchange views about the University of Basel, we request that you adhere to the following guidelines:

Protect confidential information

Use any internal information related to the University of Basel responsibly and do not disclose confidential information.

Comply with all applicable Laws

Each user is personally responsible for his or her own posts. When publishing text and images, it is essential that you respect copyright, data protection and the privacy of others. Communicate in an appropriate, respectful manner, and use language that is clear and easy to understand.

Respect University Time and Property

Social media should only be used for university-related business whilst at work. A small amount of use for private, non-commercial purposes is permitted as long as it does not interfere with your professional duties.

Be aware of University Policy

The use of social media is subject to the existing regulations and directives of the University (see «Downloads»).

When using social media in a personal capacity, the following guidelines apply:

Speak only for yourself

Official comments, statements and publications by the University of Basel are issued by authorized employees only; this includes publication on the internet. When expressing your personal views, always use the first person and make it clear that your posts represent your own private opinion.

Be transparent

When posting comments about the University of Basel, make it clear that you are an employee of the University.

Respect the logo and signet

The use of the corporate design and the logo of the University of Basel on private social media sites is not permitted, even in modified form. The University of Basel’s logo is legally protected.

When using social media on behalf of a university facility or service, the following guidelines apply:

Getting started

You may only open an account on behalf of a facility or service of the University of Basel if you are authorized to do so.

The managers of the university faculties decide who may open and administrate an account on behalf of the university for a unit within their faculty. For organizational units that are not attached to a faculty, this decision is taken by the Communications & Marketing department.

Identify your target groups, messages and goals in advance and be clear about how your site differs from the University of Basel’s homepage. Think about how you will organize the publication of frequently changing content on your social media site in the long term.

Appoint one person to be responsible for the content and administration of the social media site. The primary administrator should be a full-time employee of the University, as student appointments are by their nature temporary. If the administrator is replaced, the passwords should also be changed.

Please notify the Communications & Marketing department whenever you set up a social media account, and send the name of the administrator by email to socialmedia@unibas.ch

Nomenclature and Presentation 

Use only the official designation of your organizational unit and extend it by adding the designation “University of Basel” (example: “Graduate Center University of Basel”). Avoid using the short form “Uni Basel” in your designation.

We reccomend to mark a URL with «.unibasel» as in:  https://www.facebook.com/nachhaltigkeit.unibasel

Use the logo of the University of Basel and/or of your organizational unit on all official social media sites. However, please ensure that any names, profile pictures and content do not create the impression that the site represents the University as a whole.

Institutional communication at the University of Basel is based on expert knowledge. Producers of content are obliged to comply with professional standards governing both form and content. This applies equally to social media posts.

Identity and forms of address

Publish your posts on behalf of a university unit (e.g. “Institute for Jewish Studies, University of Basel”), not as a private individual. This generates a distinction, since the first person form is reserved for posts written by individuals (see “Speak only for yourself”).

When writing in German, you are free to choose whether to use the familiar or polite form of address. You should, however, remain courteous and respectful at all times. On business networks such as Xing or LinkedIn, we recommend the use of the polite form.

Links

Wherever possible, links should lead to websites of the University.

Facebook administrators should add the University of Basel’s Facebook page to their page’s favorites. The University will in return list official university sites as ‘favorite’.

Monitoring and moderating comments

Monitor your pages daily and respond to enquiries, comments and questions immediately.

Answer questions within the limits of your expertise. If a question falls outside your area of expertise, direct the inquirer to an appropriate unit or contact the Communications & Marketing department.

Respond to negative comments honestly, positively and in a friendly manner and do not delete them from the platform. Try to respond to such views as soon as possible. Do, however, feel free to delete offensive or irrelevant comments (spam).

Implementing the guidelines

The Communications & Marketing department is in charge of institutional communication at the University of Basel and is responsible for Social Media Governance. Its staff members will provide you with advice and support for your social media activity and in implementing to these guidelines. If these guidelines are infringed, you will be contacted by the Head of Communications & Marketing.