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UF Health Social Media governance

GUIDELINES NUMBER W8
LAST UPDATED 8.1.2025

Why we need social media rules

Social media is a big deal for places like UF Health. It helps us talk to people, share exciting news, and build our reputation. But if we don’t have rules, good things can quickly become problems.

Here’s why having social media rules is so important for large organizations like ours:

Protecting our image

  • One Voice: UF Health has many different parts, like departments and programs. These rules make sure all our official social media pages sound and look the same. This stops us from sending out mixed messages.
  • Dealing with Problems: If something bad happens, social media can spread the news super fast. Our rules help us watch what people are saying, fix wrong information, and handle problems so our reputation stays good.
  • How People See Us: Social media helps people form opinions about us. By carefully sharing content, we can show our values and achievements, which helps us attract students, staff, and donors.

Following laws and avoiding risks

  • Keeping Information Private: We handle private information about patients, students, and research. Our rules make sure we follow privacy laws (like HIPAA) by telling us what we can and can’t share online.
  • Using Content Fairly: We need to avoid using other people’s photos or writings without permission. Our rules explain how to give credit and what to do when sharing research.
  • Making Content for Everyone: We must make sure our social media content can be used by people with disabilities (like adding descriptions for images or captions for videos).
  • Stopping False Information: These rules help us prevent sharing wrong or harmful information, which can cause big problems for UF Health and individuals.
  • Employee Behavior: We have clear rules for how our staff and students use social media, even their personal accounts. This helps prevent bad behavior or sharing private information.

Working smarter and using our money well

  • Clear Jobs: Our rules explain who is in charge of social media accounts, what they need to do, and how content gets approved. This stops people from doing the same work and makes sure everyone is responsible.
  • Planning Content: These rules help us plan our social media posts so they support UF Health’s goals, like finding new students or sharing research.
  • Picking the Right Apps: We figure out which social media apps are best for reaching different groups of people, so we don’t waste time on apps that don’t work.
  • Checking Our Work: The rules include ways to check if our social media is working well, so we can make changes and reach our goals.

Better connections and community

  • Connecting with Everyone: By having rules for talking and responding online, we create a good place for students, alumni, and future students to connect with UF Health and each other.
  • Showing Off Our Experts: Social media is a great way for our staff to share their research. These rules make sure they do it in a way that follows laws and school rules.
  • Consistent Help: For a big place like ours, it’s important to answer questions and feedback on social media quickly. This builds trust with the community.

Employees helping out and training

  • Encouraging Employees: The rules allow and encourage our staff to share good things about UF Health while still following the rules.
  • Learning and Training: Everyone who manages social media needs to understand these rules, good ways to post, and possible risks.

These rules help UF Health manage social media in a smart way. They turn social media from just random posts into an important tool that helps UF Health’s mission, protects its name, and builds a strong online community.

UF Health now has over 200 social media accounts. We made these rules to make our social media work together, get more people involved, and show a consistent brand. On average, managing social media takes at least 10 hours a week for things like creating posts, getting approvals, posting, replying, and checking how well it’s doing.

What kind of social media accounts get approved

We put accounts into three groups, or “tiers,” to decide if they get approved and what they need to do:

  • Tier 1: Big UF Health Accounts
    • What it is: Accounts for UF Health as a whole or big regional parts.
    • Examples: @UFHealth, @UFHealthJax, @UFHealthCF.
    • Approval: Needs to meet our usual rules.
    • What’s needed: A communications expert or other approved person, 4 to 7 important posts every week, and monthly reports on how well the account is doing.
  • Tier 2: College/Major Group Accounts
    • What it is: Accounts for colleges, major centers, and hospitals.
    • Examples: @UFCollegeofMedicine, @UFHealthCancer, @UFHealthShandsChildrens.
    • Approval: Needs to meet our usual rules.
    • What’s needed: A communications expert, 3 to 5 posts every week, and reports every three months.
  • Tier 3: Department/Program Accounts
    • What it is: Accounts for departments, centers, and major programs.
    • Examples: @UFSurgery, @UFHealthMSTU.
    • Approval: Needs to meet our usual rules and have a very good reason for needing an account.
    • What’s needed: Two trained people to manage the account, at least 3 important posts every week, and a check-up twice a year.

What usually doesn’t get approved

  • Labs and Research Groups:
    • Why: Research content does much better on department accounts that already have a lot of followers. Individual labs usually can’t post often enough.
  • Smaller Groups within Departments:
    • Why: This breaks up your department’s followers and makes your message less powerful. Content for smaller groups actually reaches more people through department accounts using things like content series and special hashtags.
  • Individual Services or Clinics:
    • Why: This can confuse patients trying to find care. Content for specific services works better on hospital or health system accounts where patients already look for information.
  • Fellowship and Residency Programs:
    • Why: Information about these programs reaches the right people through department and college accounts.
  • Office and Support Services:
    • Why: They don’t usually have much public content or audience interest. Updates for these offices are better shared through internal emails, meetings, or other ways.

Rare Exceptions: Sometimes, a group might get an account if they serve totally different people, have a lot of content (at least 100 unique posts a year), have dedicated communications staff, and can’t be shown well through existing accounts.

How to request a social media account

Ready to ask for an account? Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Talk to Your Contact Person

  • Who to contact:
    • Clinical services: Your marketing contact.
    • Groups within institutes/centers: Your institute/center communications contact.
    • Academic departments: Your college communications contact.
    • Hospitals: Your hospital communications contact.
  • Contacts:
    • Greg Harrison, Assistant Vice President, External Communications, gregory.harrison@ufl.edu,  (570) 772-00366
    • Mickie Anderson, Associate Director, External Communications, mickiea@ufl.edu, (352) 265-9412
    • Bill Levesque, Senior Science Writer, External Communications, william.levesque@ufl.edu, (352) 265-9417
    • Dorothy Hagmajer, Science Writer, Editor, External Communications, dhagmajer@ufl.edu, (352) 273-5810
    • Peyton Wesner, Communications Manager, External Communications, pwesner@ufl.edu, (352) 273-9620
    • Matthew Walker, Media Coordinator, External Communications, matthew.walker2@ufl.edu, (352) 265-8395
    • Liana Resvanis, Director of Communications, UF College of Medicine, lresvanis@ufl.edu, (352) 265-9420
    • Anna Suggs Hoffman, Executive Director of Development and Communications, UF College of Nursing, asuggs@ufl.edu, (352) 273-6395
    • Karen Rhodenizer, Director of Communications, UF College of Dentistry, krhodenizer@dental.ufl.edu, (352) 318-9899
    • Matt Splett, Director of Communications, UF College of Pharmacy, msplett@ufl.edu, (352) 273-6873
    • Jill Pease, Director of Communications, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, jpease@phhp.ufl.edu, (352) 273-5816
    • Kelly Sobers, Director of Communications, UF College of Veterinary Medicine, k.sobers@ufl.edu, (352) 273-5844
    • Leah Buletti, Assistant Director of Communications, UF Cancer Center, lbuletti@ufl.edu, (352) 265-9429
    • Todd Taylor, Associate Director of Communications, McKnight Brain Institute, tmtaylor4@ufl.edu, (353) 265-9423
      Michelle Koidin Jaffee, Science Writer, McKnight Brain Institute, michelle.jaffee@ufl.edu, (210) 722-0462
    • Jennifer Moses, Associate Director of Communications, MTSI jgriffis@ufl.edu, 352) 294-5399

Step 2: Work on Your Request Together

  • Your contact person will look at your idea and give you feedback.
  • You’ll fill out a request form together.
  • Important: Your communications contact must be an account manager because they have consistent access to the account, even when people change jobs.
  • Your contact person will send the request to UF Health External Communications.

Step 3: Committee Review

  • A special UF Health Communications social media committee will review your request.
  • They will check it against our approval rules.
  • Possible outcomes: approved, conditionally approved, suggestion for a different approach, or not approved.

Step 4: Final Decision

  • Approved requests go to UF Health Communications leaders for a final decision.
  • You’ll hear back within 60 days of your request.

How to get your account approved

Not everything needs social media

Before asking for an account, think if social media will help your group reach its goals. Good social media content should be:

  • For people outside our organization.
  • Visually interesting: photos, videos, and graphics that tell stories.
  • Easy to share: content people want to share with their friends.
  • Timely and important: connects to current events or needs.
  • Interactive: encourages comments, questions, and discussions.

Things like office updates, meeting notes, rule changes, and everyday announcements are better for websites, newsletters, or internal messages.

What we look for (Standard Rules)

  • Does it fit with UF Health’s main goals?
  • Does it reach a different group of people than our existing accounts?
  • Can you consistently post content?
  • Do you have enough staff time for it?
  • Is the content different from other accounts?
  • Will it make our brand better, not worse?
  • Do you have ways to check its success, like reports, training, and regular reviews?

Content Rules

  • Must have:
    • Accurate facts from checked sources.
    • Follow privacy rules (HIPAA).
    • Use UF Health’s brand and voice correctly.
    • Post regularly based on your account’s group.
    • Reply to comments within 24-48 hours.
    • Show our three main goals: Discover, Teach, Heal.
  • Cannot have:
    • Personal opinions on touchy subjects.
    • Political statements.
    • Unproven medical claims.
    • Patient information without their permission.
    • Content that goes against UF Health’s views.

Keeping your account going

  • Minimum Posts:
    • Tier 1: 4-7 posts weekly.
    • Tier 2: 3-5 posts weekly.
    • Tier 3: At least 3 posts weekly.
  • Respond to comments within 24 hours during business days.
  • Reply to direct messages within 48 business hours.
  • Have a backup person for the account (your communications contact).

Training you’ll need

  • First training on UF Health social media rules.
  • Best ways to use specific social media apps.
  • Yearly privacy refresher.
  • How to handle problems and crises.
  • Updates twice a year.

Checking accounts

  • Required Reviews: All accounts must complete a check-up every three months.
  • Account managers work with communications contacts to send the report.
  • The social media review committee makes sure reviews are done and accurate, checks for privacy compliance, and monitors overall account compliance.
  • New Accounts: Have a 6-month trial period.
  • Yearly Review: Checks how often you post, if followers are growing, content quality, and if you’re reaching your goals.
  • If You Need to Improve: You’ll get a 90-day plan from the committee.
  • The final decision will be to continue, merge, or close the account.

Merging or closing accounts

What Gets Merged: Accounts may be combined with a parent or related account if they:

  • Have a lot of the same followers (usually 70% or more).
  • Post similar content to parent department or college accounts without being clearly different.
  • Struggle to post often enough but still have good content.
  • Have leadership changes that affect their direction or resources.
  • Serve people who would be better reached by a higher-tier account.
  • Have fewer people engaging, but the content is still important.

Merging allows us to keep good content and send followers to more active accounts instead of losing everything.

What Gets Closed: Accounts may be closed or merged by the social media review committee if they:

  • Fail to post often enough for 90 days or more.
  • Don’t have active managers and no one planned to take over.
  • Show less engagement and don’t improve even after getting help.
  • Have the same content as parent or related accounts.
  • No longer serve a purpose due to organization changes.
  • Fail the improvement plan after 90 days.

Why Inactive Accounts Are Bad: Inactive accounts hurt UF Health’s social media by:

  • Confusing people who expect current information.
  • Making it harder for us to show up in online searches.
  • Making us look unprofessional.
  • Breaking up our audience across many inactive accounts.
  • Wasting money that could support active accounts.
  • Making it harder for people to find correct, up-to-date information about our services.

How We Merge Accounts: When the committee decides to merge accounts:

  • We’ll have a meeting with both account teams to plan how to combine them.
  • We’ll tell followers about the upcoming changes and where to find content.
  • We’ll move valuable posts to the parent account.
  • There will be a 30-60 day period where both accounts promote each other.
  • Finally, we’ll make the switch with clear messages about the new, combined approach.

How We Close Accounts: When the committee decides to close an account:

  • We’ll give followers 30 days’ notice about the closing.
  • We’ll clearly tell them where to find future content.
  • We’ll move valuable posts to parent accounts.
  • We’ll properly save the account’s history.
  • The account will be officially closed or marked as archived.
  • We’ll update our lists to remove the account.

It’s better to have fewer, well-managed accounts that actively talk to people than many inactive accounts that make our brand look bad.

Security and rules

Required Security:

  • Two-factor authentication (like a code sent to your phone).
  • At least two managers (plus your communications contact).
  • Use a UF Health email for account recovery.
  • Change passwords every three months.
  • Have a way to close account access when someone leaves.

Rules We Must Follow:

  • Protecting patient privacy (HIPAA, FERPA, etc.).
  • Getting permission for patient stories or pictures.
  • University rules.
  • The terms of service for each social media app.

Instead of a New Account:

If a dedicated account isn’t approved, here are good ways to share your content:

  • Featured Content Series: Regular posts on existing accounts, like “Division Spotlight” or “Research Friday,” with consistent branding and hashtags.
  • Social Media Takeovers: For 1-3 days, your group manages content on a parent account. Work with your department or college to plan this, and promote it beforehand to get people excited.
  • Content Submission Program: A simple way to send content to higher-tier accounts, with content added to their schedule and proper credit given.
  • Better Web Presence: Strong department webpages that are easy to share, with blog features that connect to social media and tracking tools.

Who to contact

  • UF Health External Communications:
    • Manages the social media rules and main accounts.
    • Runs the social media committee reviews.
    • Makes the final decision on approvals.
    • Handles crisis communications.
  • Communications Representatives:
    • Marketing contacts for clinical services.
    • Institute/center communications contacts.
    • College communications contacts.
    • Hospital communications contacts.
    • Are required account managers.
    • Responsible for twice-yearly or yearly checks and following rules.
    • Manage patient privacy information and account access.
  • UF Health Communications Social Media Committee:
    • Reviews account requests after your contact approves them.
    • Checks requests against approval rules.
    • Makes suggestions to leaders.

Quick reminders

Before asking for a new account, think about:

  • Does an existing account already reach the people you want to talk to?
  • Can you reach your goals by doing content series or takeovers instead?
  • Do you have enough staff to manage the account regularly?
  • Will this account make our brand better or break it up?

Questions or ready to start?

Contact UF Health social media for advice before sending your official account request. We are here to help you find the best way to reach your social media goals.