These guidelines help Duke communicators apply Duke policies to social media. Questions? Email socialmedia@duke.edu. 

 Duke Health employees should follow Duke Health-specific standards. 

Before You Create a New Account 

  • Avoid creating new accounts unless absolutely necessary. 
  • Best practice: Partner with existing major accounts (e.g., @DukeU, schools, departments) and share content there for bigger impact. 
  • Maintaining an account requires dedicated staff and multiple posts per week .

Units and departments are responsible for ensuring that content posted by, or on behalf of, any unit or department adheres to all Duke University policies and to appropriate laws that govern the public dissemination of information. To that end, units and departments should periodically review the guidelines for social media and consult with the Office of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs if they have questions about their implementation: 

Key Principles 

  • Remember you are representing the Duke brand. 
  • Have a strategy:  
    • Who is your audience? 
    • What do you want them to do? 
    • Is social media the best way to do it? 
  • Everything is public: Posts live forever and are searchable and shareable. 
  • Be transparent: State your role and goals; correct errors quickly. 
  • Moderate actively: Monitor comments for abuse or off-topic content. 
  • Respect time and property: As stated in Duke’s OIT policies, use Duke resources for Duke business only. 
  • Set up accounts responsibly:  
    • Use shared email addresses. 
    • Track passwords securely (e.g., Duke 1password). 
    • Ensure continuity if staff changes. 

Duke University Comment Moderation Policy  

Duke University reserves the right to hide or delete off-topic, vulgar or abusive comments and hate speech. We do not permit comments selling products or promoting commercial ventures. Students should adhere to the Duke Community Standard when posting or commenting on social media. Posted comments and replies do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the university. All content and posts are bound by the individual platform’s terms of service. If you have any concerns about the content posted on Duke University’s social media, please email us at socialmedia@duke.edu. We welcome all of your feedback. 

Branding and Graphics

Representing the Duke brand on Social Media

When you post to social networks from an official Duke University account, you are representing the Duke brand. Here are some simple guidelines to help put your best foot forward. If you have specific questions on branding, please contact socialmedia@duke.edu.

  • Begin with “Duke” when creating a name for your Facebook Page, Twitter account or other social media presences
  • Use of the Duke logo is reserved for Duke’s institutional departments, centers and units
  • Where available, departments, schools and units should use their official logos and iconic images to build their profiles

Please follow Duke’s policies and procedures regarding copyright, privacy and sharing of information.

Images for Albums and Sharing

Duke’s Asset Management System (NETID required) is a wonderful collection of thousands of current photos and videos of Duke’s campus, programs, people and more. It is refreshed regularly with community-sourced images as well as new content captured by the University Communications team.

University Social Media Channels