We encourage engagement on our social media posts. We value feedback — both positive and negative. We believe in transparency. And we want to connect with individuals who may have concerns or questions. 

In order to create a positive and engaging environment for our community members on social media, we ask all users to treat each other with respect. Users may disagree with an idea -- we welcome diverse viewpoints and differences of opinion. However, they must always be respectful of others. Insults, threats or harassment of other users, organizations or employees are prohibited.  

As a practice, Bentley University does not remove or disable comments on social media posts. Doing so is antithetical to who we are as a university. Exceptions to this rule are rare but will be made if comments violate our community guidelines. 

Comments that fall under the following categories will not be tolerated under our community guidelines and will be removed and/or reported to the social media platform: 

• Spam including repetitive comments that dominate discussion on a post and prevent civil discourse 
• Encouragement or suggestion of illegal activities 
• NSFW (Not Suitable for Work) material 
• Hate speech of any kind 
• Doxing or violation/spread of other users’ private information 
• Promotion or encouragement of violence or self-harm 

In addition, any comment(s) posted that we deem to be criminal in nature, or that instigates or implies violence toward oneself or another, may be reported to the proper authorities. 

Bentley University reserves the right to ban any user from following our social media pages without prior written notice or consent for violations of community policies. Accounts that fall under the following categories will not be tolerated for the safety of our community and may be blocked and/or reported to the platform: 

• Spam accounts 
• Accounts associated with and/or representing hate groups of any kind 
• Accounts that repeatedly violate the above community guidelines 

Be Transparent

• Identify your relationship to Bentley University
• Link back to the Bentley University institutional channels and website
• If you have a personal profile, it should note it reflects your personal opinions and not those of the university
• Always give credit to the original author of photos or other content that you share

Be Social

• Engage with others!
  • Ask questions
  • Answer questions
  • Respond to comments
  • Respond to direct messages
  • Comment on content you share
  • Comment on content others share
  • Curate content from others
  • Invite and share user generated content
  • Invite feedback
• Engage with Bentley's university social media channels
• Tag Bentley's university social media accounts in posts that you would like the university to consider sharing
• Show a genuine interest in others and in building a community
• Make sure that your posts serve a purpose and add value to your audience

Be Authentic

• Humanize the Bentley brand
  • Avoid automating content when possible
  • Show personality
  • Share experiences and opinions (when appropriate)
  • Find points of similarity with others
  • Acknowledge errors

 Be Accurate

• Ensure you have the right answer before responding to a university-related question
• Do not share information related to Bentley from unverified sources
• Direct people with specific questions to the appropriate section of the Bentley website or the correct department
• If someone posts inaccurate content to your page or post, politely correct them or remove it if necessary

Be Cautious

• Do not share confidential information
• Do not release proprietary information
• Do not ask for private information via public channels
• Do not share university news prematurely

Be Strategic

• Have a clear social media strategy
  • Define your audience
  • Define your voice and tone
  • Define your goals and objectives
  • Determine your posting schedule
  • Determine your resources
  • Create a content calendar
  • Create a follow-up strategy
• Work to build and maintain relationships
• Closely follow, track and measure your efforts on social media

Be Respectful

• Be mindful of the timing of your posts
• Be mindful of the language in your posts
• Be respectful of different opinions
• Do not support, promote or engage with hateful posts
• Use the Bentley Core Values to help guide your social media efforts

Be Bentley

• Check out Bentley's Brand Assets page to make sure the visuals and language on Bentley-affiliated social media accounts are "on brand"

Have questions or need help? Email GA_Social@Bentley.edu