Guidelines
on the use of social media
of the Faculty of Arts
of Masaryk University
specifying the essential requirements defined by MU Faculty of Arts
Directive No. 2/2022 On the methods and principles of internal and
external communication
Last update of the guidelines: 21 May 2024
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Basic starting points
The Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University (hereinafter referred to as "FF MU" or "the Faculty") strives to
ensure good accessibility of information for employees, students, applicants for studies or jobs and the
general public. Article 3(1d) of MU Faculty of Arts Directive No. 2/2022 On the methods and principles of
internal and external communication shows that the faculty-wide profiles and the profiles of faculty
departments on social networks also play an important role in this context. Therefore, attention and care
should be paid to their management.
These are not only profiles representing the department as a whole but also official profiles of smaller
parts of the department, such as unofficial sub-departments, disciplinary groups or research teams
(although we do not recommend setting up such profiles; see below).
Off to the side and in a somewhat looser mode are profiles of student clubs and other informal groups.
At the same time, however, according to Article 3(5) of the MU Statutes and the MU Code of Ethics,
neither students nor employees may endanger the reputation of Masaryk University or the dignity of
employees and students. This also applies to social networking, especially on the official profiles of the
faculty or faculty units; however, it also includes any activity of individuals (or clubs) on social networks
that is strongly associated with their activities at the MU Faculty of Arts.
For official profiles, it is especially necessary that they consistently respect the core faculty values, defined
more broadly in the Guidelines on selected language conventions in the communication of the Faculty of
Arts of Masaryk University:
– consciously emphasising more than a century of tradition and core values such as freedom,
respect for rules and responsibility,
– reflecting current trends and social needs,
– open and equal access for all,
– consistency in dealing with facts.
These guidelines elaborate on these principles in detail while also introducing the Faculty's Decalogue of
Social Media, among other things.
Creating new profiles
Considering the structure of users of each social network, it is generally advisable to limit yourself to
Facebook and Instagram.1
Before setting up a profile, it is advisable to define:
– specific objectives and target group,
– the form and frequency of content.
If you are clear about the above, it will help you to better a) assess whether you are actually able to keep
your profile up to date in the long term and, especially in the context of Facebook, b) determine the
appropriate form of profile, i.e. whether it will be a classic page or a private group:
– site - ideal for presentation to the public
– private group - ideal for internal communication (e.g. with students or research group members)
ATTENTION! From the point of view of the functioning of social networks, it does not make sense to
create profiles for individual study programmes or projects. On the one hand, you will struggle to fill the
profile with appropriate content; on the other hand, you will struggle with low reach. It is, therefore,
preferable to limit yourself to a department profile that can adequately cover all the activities related to it.
1
We recommend using only trusted social networks. From April 2023, for example, it is explicitly forbidden to use the TikTok social
network in accordance with the recommendations of the MU Cybersecurity Team.
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Profile name
Facebook
The profile's name should correspond to the faculty's organisational structure; the abbreviation FF MU is
also appropriate, e.g. Department of English and American Studies FF MU.
Instagram
The name of the Instagram profile or its username should ideally be in the format muni_ff_abbreviation
of the workplace name, e.g. muni_ff_kaa.
Profile picture
Especially for the profiles of official faculty units according to the organisational structure, it is
recommended to use a social networking logotype created according to the Unified Visual Style (JVS)
rules and available on the Brandcloud. In justified cases, however, working with a custom visual identity
is also possible.
ATTENTION! If the JVS logotype is used on the profile, it is impossible to modify its appearance from the
original design.
Profile management
Responsible person
We always recommend that you select a person who will be responsible for managing your profile. This
will ensure that the profile is regularly updated and that the visual appearance of the content is consistent.
Content rules
The content reflects the stated objectives and target groups and should adhere to the following principles:
– Messages are brief, and texts are shorter,
– the written language is used,
– a certain degree of friendliness and humanity is allowed, but we recommend that you stick to
more formal language,
– the use of profanity is not allowed, nor call for violence, labelling or trolling,
– it is desirable to use gender-sensitive language,
– copyright is strictly observed for text, photos, illustrations and videos (preference is given to
own content; we recommend using photo banks and other similar databases only
exceptionally),
– messages shall not take the form of political agitation and shall not be ideologically loaded.
ATTENTION! Internal disputes do not belong on social networks under any circumstances. Their
publication will damage the reputation of the department and the faculty. Disputes should be resolved
privately directly with your co-leaders.
Tagging and sharing
If you want to reach a broader (faculty) audience with your content, you can tag faculty or even university
profiles in your post. However, keep in mind that it is up to the administrator of the profiles to reshare, or
the content of the post must be in line with the content strategy of these profiles.
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Comments
We recommend that user activity be closely monitored to eliminate vulgarity, pornography or calls to
violence. The following steps can be followed (ideally in this exact order):
– restriction of comments (prevention tool)
– for potentially controversial content, only users who have followed the profile for at least 24
hours can be allowed to comment (this can also be set additionally, except for posts with
paid promotion)
– hide/delete comments
– in the case of vulgar comments and comments calling for violence
– blocking users
– only in the case of repeated inappropriate behaviour - usually three times and enough
Advertisement
Paid promotion can be arranged through the Office for External Relations, which then recharges the costs
to the department's account. If you are preparing an advertisement for social networks, always keep in
mind that:
– Hundreds of posts await each individual user in your target group when they open the app in
their feeds,
– based on what the user is watching, the algorithm selects the most potentially interesting posts
and ads to show in the top five positions to keep their attention,
– these are the positions that the hundreds of posts mentioned above are trying to get into,
– for the algorithm to evaluate your post as potentially interesting, it needs to see that other users
are interested and interacting with it,
– you have about half a second to catch the user's attention.
TIP: So how to do it? Work primarily with the image. If you're publishing a text slide, it's like leaving a sign
by the side of the road with a text warning and hoping that drivers can register it, read the whole thing,
and still have an amazing experience. If you really want to create text slides anymore, make sure you
have interesting visuals and keep the principles of visual perception in mind (see image below). In the
case of multiple slides (carousel), the first three are always the most readable. So you need to put the
most important things right at the beginning. At the same time, less is always more, which applies doubly
to text. Be concise, clear, and punchy.
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Security
Social networking rules
First and foremost, you must strictly adhere to social networking rules, which you must at least formally
agree to when setting up your profile. Otherwise, you risk having your account blocked or even deleted.
Two-step verification
Each user connected to the profile must have two levels of security. In practice, this means that, in
addition to a username and password, additional authentication (PIN, SMS code, fingerprint, Face ID,
etc.) is required to log in to your social network account.
Updating connected accounts
The responsible person regularly updates the connected accounts - and then removes users who have
been terminated without undue delay.
Using AI
If you decide to involve AI tools in managing social networks, we recommend familiarising yourself with
the Statement on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Teaching at Masaryk University. In the context of
social networks, it is important to ensure that the use of these tools is ethical, creative and safe. They can
be used especially when preparing content strategy or creating specific posts.
Influencer marketing
Engaging influencers (typically publicly known alumni and alumnae) can be a great way to effectively
deliver content to your target audience (typically applicants). However, the following must be observed:
– Get to know the composition of the audience of the influencer, or whether it is in line with your
target group,
– get to know his or her content to date or whether the work is in line with the faculty values and
tone of communication,
– clearly define the scope of the collaboration, the copyright and the form of remuneration
ATTENTION! It is advisable to enter into a contract with the person in question, which, in addition to the
financial remuneration, also settles the copyright ownership.
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Decalogue of Social Media
General principles
1. No social media activities must jeopardise the Faculty’s reputation or the dignity of employees and
students.
2. The principles of polite communication are strictly observed - the use of profanity is completely
unacceptable. Calls to violence, labelling or trolling are also unacceptable.
3. Hiding or deleting negative comments is the last step - it is advisable to prioritise discussion and
relevant arguments first.
4. The use of any text, photographs, videos or music is subject to appropriate copyright clearance.
5. It is always necessary to strictly respect the facts - lying is forbidden. If we make a mistake, we will
not hesitate to admit it and apologise.
6. Internal disputes do not belong on the social network under any circumstances - disagreements
must always be resolved privately.
Recommended
7. If the post is about the whole faculty community, we mark faculty-wide profiles - this can ensure
a higher reach (e.g. more people will attend the event).
8. We contribute reasonably often, emphasising quality over quantity, consistency, and long-term
sustainability.
9. We present ourselves naturally - we adapt our communication style to the target group. But let us
remember that as a public institution, we contribute to cultivating the language.
10. Two-factor authentication must always be used - this must also be required of all persons with
access to the profiles.