Creating and Maintaining Accounts
Should you create a social media account?
Launching a social media account for your college, department, or unit is a long-term responsibility. Before getting started, we encourage you to think through the following considerations:
- What audience are you trying to reach?
- Is there already another UARK account reaching this audience? If so, would collaborating with this account be more effective?
- What do you want to accomplish with social media?
- Do you have time and resources to manage a social media account on a daily basis?
- Do you have a content plan?
It is the responsibility of each college, school, and division to ensure that all social media accounts under their oversight follow university guidelines. Any social media account must be approved by the college, school, or division’s communications team. Whenever possible, accounts should not be managed exclusively by part-time staff.
By creating a University of Arkansas-affiliated account you agree to follow social media branding guidelines, including name/handle, bio, and profile image use.
How should your account be branded?
The following guidelines apply to official University of Arkansas-affiliated social media accounts representing colleges, schools, divisions, departments and units.
Account Handles
Official University of Arkansas-affiliated social media accounts must include "UARK" in the account handle whenever platform naming rules and handle availability allow. This helps create a consistent and recognizable university presence across social media platforms.
Examples of handles:
@uarkdepartmentname
@departmentnameuark
@uark_departmentname
@departmentname_uark
@uark.departmentname
@uarkdepartmentname_
Public-Facing Account Names
Official University of Arkansas-affiliated social media accounts must include "University of Arkansas" in the public-facing account name whenever platform character counts allow.
Examples of account names:
Department Name at the University of Arkansas
Department Name – University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas Department Name
Department Name | University of Arkansas (preferred only for Instagram)
"UARK" is only acceptable for use in social media handles and social media content. It cannot be used as a substitute for the preferred “University of Arkansas” or “U of A” in other communications.
Profile Icons
Official University of Arkansas-affiliated social media accounts should use their approved U of A-branded social media profile icon. To obtain an approved profile icon, contact your college, school or division’s lead communications team.
Profile icons are intended for social media use only and should not be used on other marketing, advertising or promotional materials.
Bio/Intro Sections
Typically located under the profile image, account name and handle, your social media bio or about section is one of your first opportunities to introduce your account to new users.
Think of it as a brief elevator pitch that clearly explains who you are and what your audience can expect from your account.
Character limits vary by platform. Review the current character requirements for each platform before creating or updating your bio or about section.
It is not required to include "University of Arkansas" in your bio or about section if "UARK" is included in your handle and "University of Arkansas" is included in your account name.
Departments and units must identify their affiliated college, school or division in their bio or about section.
On Instagram, departments and units should identify their affiliated college, school or division using an @mention rather than writing the name in text. All University of Arkansas-affiliated Instagram accounts are encouraged to include @uarkansas in their Instagram bio.
Examples of bio/about sections:
College, School or Division:
"The academic heart & soul of @uarkansas, bringing the world to Arkansas and Arkansas to the world. Arts | Humanities | Sciences"
"We provide student experiences beyond the classroom @uarkansas"
"Empowering Arkansas’s future business leaders with top-ranked education and innovative programs."
Departments or units:
"Empowering students for success through recreation and wellness! A department of @uarkstudents!"
"Research opportunities, student stories and department news in the College of Engineering."
"Preparing future educators through teaching, research and service, @uarkcoehp | @uarkansas"
Notify University Relations
Contact Arden Elliott, the university’s social media manager, with the following details so we can add the account to University Relations’ list of official U of A social media platforms:
- Social media platform (examples: Facebook/X/YouTube/LinkedIn/Instagram/Threads)
- Account handle
- Account administrators and their contact information (full-time staff preferred)
Content Release Form
You must receive a signed copy of the University of Arkansas content release form from any participants in photo, video, interview, testimonial and text content used on social media platforms.