If you're interested in creating a Facebook page or group, please refer to these basic guidelines. 

Making Posts
It's important to make sure you're willing to make the time commitment to maintain your profile once you've created it. Updating and posting several times a week or more is considered normal in social media. Your posts can be as simple as short text updates; however, be sure to take advantage of all the different types of posts these sites support. You can post videos, photos, links to articles, polls, and events in addition to text. Be creative with your posts as well. By asking questions to your audience you encourage your online community to be an active one. View more ideas on what to post.

Using Discretion
You are responsible for ensuring that your posts are accurate and respectful. The content of your posts reflect upon the entire Knox community. Be sure to respect copyrighted materials and the confidentiality of others. If you realize after making a post that it contains an error, openly acknowledge the error and correct it. Everything you post online can be archived for years to come, so make sure to use discretion. As we are an institution of learning, it is important to use proper grammar and spelling. It is more professional and aesthetically pleasing to all. Posts that are not text based (such as photos and videos) should be posted with the same discretion and professional tone.

Monitoring Comments
Your goal with posting is not only to convey and share information but also to promote discussion within your online community. You must also monitor -- preferably daily -- the content which others post to your profile. Be sure to reply to comments. This is what makes these sites "social." Remove comments that contain spam, advertising, disrespectful remarks, inaccurate information, or inappropriate language and content. However, you should respond to negative comments that are constructive; this will ensure that the commenter feels recognized in his/her opinions, and that others feel comfortable knowing that the opinions expressed on the site are varied and not excessively censored. Please contact the Communications Office if you have a question about seriously inappropriate content, or refer to this commonly used comment/response guide developed by the Air Force.

Keeping Your Page Looking Great
Be sure to keep your profile and cover image looking great as they are the first things people will see on your page. Use a photo of high quality and clear resolution that looks normal in the set dimensions. As cover images are 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall, some photos will look stretched out and distorted. To prevent this, you can either edit the photo in Photoshop to meet the dimensions or move the photo within the "frame" using the click and drag feature in Facebook. Try testing different photos before settling on one to make sure you are happy with how it looks. Also change your banner image at least on a quarterly basis. If you still use a picture of the snow-covered campus during July, it will look like the page hasn't been updated in months and that the page is inactive. View a "Timeline Cheat Sheet" for more information.

To keep your profile sleek and easy to navigate, be sure to organize your photos into albums so they can be stored together with other similar photos. For example, if you have various photos from Commencement, you can put all the photos together and name the album "Commencement 2012." Learn more about uploading photos and creating new albums.

You can also add events to your page to keep your audience updated. Events allow you to provide an easy link to a page with details like the time, place, and nature of the gathering. This page also allows people to indicate whether they plan to attend, ask questions about the event, and make comments on the event. Read more about creating and editing events.