These guidelines provide best-practice advice for anyone working in social media around the University of Cambridge.
They provide guidance on:
- The University of Cambridge’s social media presence
- Managing channels and creating content
- Security and account management
- Behaviour, risks and policies
- Support and crisis management
- Training and community
1. The University of Cambridge’s social media presence
The University of Cambridge has a lively, wide and engaged social media community. It includes the official University channels, individual researchers and staff, students and alumni, and channels from Colleges, Departments and projects.
It is one of the biggest higher education social media communities in the world, with over 7 million followers represented across the University, College and Department accounts, and tens of thousands of engagements about Cambridge University life each day.
Social media supports the University’s mission by sharing knowledge, research, and opportunities with global audiences, fostering dialogue, and strengthening connections with students, staff, alumni, and the wider community.
Social media is one of our most important communications assets and must be managed with care, consistency and creativity to reflect the values, reputation and excellence of the University of Cambridge.
Working with the Social Media, Video and Photography team
The University of Cambridge social media channels are TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, Threads, Bluesky and LinkedIn.
The channels are managed by the Social Media, Video and Photography team in OEAC.
This team are experts in digital research communication, student engagement and creative content production. They use social media to help the University share its research, people and stories with global audiences. The team publish around three pieces of content a day on most channels, targeted to a range of audiences and covering University priorities through the week. Content is a mix of planned and reactive, and every piece is always checked by at least two team members.
The team work with colleagues across the Departments and Colleges in three ways:
- Publish and amplify a selection of their news and features to support priorities. If there is something you’d like to pitch and see if it is right for the University channels, please contact the team.
- Provide informal advice and ad-hoc support during a crisis or daily communications situation, helping colleagues respond quickly, appropriately and in line with University guidance.
- Provide video, photography and social media services for larger projects, sometimes at a charge. Request support or services.
The team always try to support where they can, but have finite resources and must therefore make choices about priorities.
Official University channels - their purposes and audiences
Each channel has an intended purpose and target audience. The content is planned to achieve this purpose. The reach for each channel varies, and is provided for a sense of the scale of our audience (September 2025 figures).
Purpose: share news, student stories, and posts to showcase the Cambridge experience, drive applications and maintain community engagement.
Audience: 2.6 million followers. Current students, alumni, parents, local and global public.
Instagram @cambridgeuniversity
Purpose: visual storytelling using photos, Reels and Stories to highlight university life, research snapshots and people-first content that builds aspiration.
Audience: 1.5 million followers. Visual-first audience: prospective students (Gen Z), current students, alumni, tourists and local and global public.
X @Cambridge_Uni
Purpose: rapid dissemination of research updates, news and statements. Amplification of staff and researcher voices and media engagement.
Audience: 870,000 followers. Academics, researchers, journalists, policymakers, current students and local and global public.
YouTube
Purpose: host longer-form research explainers, campus films, student content for in-depth storytelling and evergreen resources.
Audience: 514,000 subscribers. Prospective students, current students, alumni, educators and global audiences.
TikTok
Purpose: short-form, creative video to reach younger audiences—showcasing student life, trends, and bite-sized research communication to boost reach among Gen Z.
Audience: 271,000 followers. Teenagers, prospective students (Gen Z) and digital-native audiences.
Purpose: professional and alumni-facing content: research impact, job vacancies, partnerships, institutional announcements and thought leadership.
Audience: 1.2 million followers. Alumni, employers, industry partners, academic and professional networks, postgraduate students.
Threads
Purpose: share research, news and stories in a text-first but conversational format, and engage with communities shifting from X.
Audience: 250,000 followers. Prospective students, current students, alumni, and the public active on Instagram.
Bluesky
Purpose: establish a presence on an emerging platform, experiment with new engagement and engage with communities shifting from X.
Audience: 1,000 followers. Academics, researchers, digital innovators, early adopters, and communities interested in new social media platforms.
2. Managing channels and creating content
This section covers information about creating and managing a social media channel, and provides tips on channel management, content creation and comment engagement.
Objectives, audiences and channels
You do not need permission to create a new social media account for your Department, College or project. However, the accounts must be managed responsibly and professionally, and follow appropriate brand guidelines covering social media profile picture and name.
Before launching new social media accounts, make sure you have a clear purpose and audience in mind. Opening channels without these foundations can result in duplication, inconsistent messaging and accounts that quickly become inactive.
Start by defining your objectives. For example, do you want to raise awareness of research, support student recruitment or connect with alumni? Clear goals will help you choose the right content, tone and level of activity.
Next, consider your audience. For example, are you aiming to reach prospective students, alumni or the wider public? Different groups use platforms in different ways and expect different types of content. Understanding this will help you create an effective presence.
Finally, select the platforms that best fit your aims and audiences. Research the type of audiences you want to reach and understand where they are live online. You do not need to be on every platform: focus your efforts where they will be most effective, and ensure you have the capacity to keep the channel active.
Content strategy
Start by defining the types of content you will share – such as news, research highlights, student stories or events - and how often you will post. You could use a calendar, spreadsheet or content planning tool to plot this out.
Consider format and platform: short videos, photos, graphics, and text updates each work differently depending on your channel.
It is important to only commit to content that you or your team has the capacity to produce and manage effectively. Posting inconsistently or failing to respond to engagement can damage audience trust and reduce the impact of your channel. Focus on the types of content and posting frequency that are sustainable for your team, and consider quality over quantity.
Social media algorithms prioritise content that generates engagement — such as likes, comments, shares, and saves — showing it to more people and extending its reach. Regular posting helps your content stay visible in followers’ feeds and signals to the platform that your account is active and relevant. By maintaining a consistent posting schedule, you increase the chances of your content being promoted by algorithms and reaching wider, more diverse audiences.
Measuring success
Measuring success helps you understand whether your social media activities are achieving their intended objectives. Success is not just about follower numbers; it also includes engagement, reach, comment sentiment and the quality of interactions with your audience.
Think about what success looks like for your channel. This could be increased awareness of research in policy-maker audiences, an increase in comments about applying from prospective students or selling out an event for alumni.
Use the metrics available on each platform to monitor performance. Depending on your goals, key quantitative indicators might include likes, shares, comments, video views, link clicks or story completions. Comparing these metrics over time can reveal trends, help identify content that resonates with your audience and guide future planning.
Qualitative insights like feedback from surveys, mentions from high profile figures and comment sentiment can provide valuable context beyond the numbers.
Combining quantitative and qualitative measures ensures a more complete understanding of your channel’s impact.
Monitoring and scheduling tools
Using monitoring and scheduling tools can make managing social media channels easier, but they are optional and should be considered based on your needs, capacity, and budget. These tools can help track mentions, conversations, and trends, while scheduling features allow you to plan posts in advance, maintain consistency and coordinate campaigns across platforms.
For teams with limited budgets, there are effective free options such as Buffer Free or in-platform scheduling tools like Meta Business Suite, as well as the native scheduling options available on many platforms.
For teams with more resources, premium tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite or Later offer advanced analytics, monitoring and collaborative workflow features.
If you need social media monitoring around a crisis or media issue, please contact the Social Media team.
Comment management
Engaging with comments on social media is a valuable activity. Thoughtful replies build trust, encourage further interaction and extend the reach of content to wider audiences. By taking the time to reply to questions and comments, teams reinforce the University’s credibility, demonstrate approachability, and foster a sense of community.
The University of Cambridge’s central social media channels attract more than 10,000 comments and mentions each month. Comments and mentions often come from prospective and current students, staff, alumni and other interested supporters.
The team have a full set of comment management guidelines that describe which comments to engage with, prioritise or escalate. While freedom of speech and robust discussion are encouraged, comments that are spam, abusive, violent, irrelevant, or posted by bots or fake accounts are removed to maintain safe and productive channels.
Working with student content creators
Collaborating with student content creators is a highly effective way to bring fresh perspectives and authentic voices to University social media accounts. Student content creators can produce engaging videos and other multimedia content that resonates with audiences, offering insight into student life and research experiences. This authenticity often results in higher engagement, stronger storytelling and a relatable portrayal of Cambridge life.
For the University’s official social media accounts, we hire up to 10 student content creators each year. Each creator is paid the Cambridge Living Wage and may spend a maximum of 5 hours producing a single video. This ensures fairness and supports students while maintaining high-quality content production. We work with Colleges communications teams and Senior Tutors to ensure appropriate permissions on workload and access are granted.
When working with student creators, it is important to consider risks and responsibilities. Creators should be given a clear brief on what they are creating for your channels, as well as guidance on tone, style, accessibility and copyright considerations. It is also essential to obtain consent from anyone appearing in videos and to ensure that the content reflects inclusive, respectful and professional standards. Creators should not be given direct access to channels or passwords to minimise risks to channel access. All content should be signed off before publication.
Accessible social media content
At least 1 in 5 people have a long-term illness, an impairment or a disability.
Accessible social media content can be more effective because it can be accessed and understood by the widest possible audience – regardless of whether people have a visual, hearing, speech, motor, cognitive or other combination of impairments.
Accessibility best practice for social media copy includes:
- adding alt text to images and photos to describe what is going on
- adding subtitles and captions to videos
- using line breaks to create space in your social posts - spreading out your copy and making it clearer to read
- limiting emojis to 3 per post and placing them sensitively. Most text-to-speech and screen reader software will read out emoji descriptions. Don’t replace words with emojis.
- using capital letters at the start of each word in your hashtag, e.g. #UniversityOfCambridge
- ensuring that any words on a graphic are included in the main copy
3. Security and account management
The University, Department and College social media accounts are high-value targets for hackers. Keep your accounts safe with these tips.
Passwords and two-factor authentication
Strong passwords are the first line of defence against unauthorised access. Always use complex, unique passwords for each social media account and avoid sharing them via email or unsecured channels.
Wherever possible, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to add an extra layer of security. 2FA ensures that even if a password is compromised, a second verification step – usually a 6-digit code delivered by text or email - is required to access the account.
Accounts and reviews of who has access
It is essential to know who has administrative or posting access to University, Department, and College social media accounts. Regularly review access permissions and remove staff who no longer require access, such as those leaving roles or projects.
Keep a record of all account holders, their roles and responsibilities to ensure accountability. Limiting access to only those who genuinely need it reduces the risk of accidental or malicious posts and makes it easier to respond quickly if security concerns arise.
Use of third-party scheduling tools and apps
Third-party tools can help manage content, but they introduce potential security risks if misconfigured. Only use reputable, supported apps and ensure login credentials are protected. Review app permissions regularly and remove tools no longer in use.
4. Behaviour, risks and policies
This section covers information about University policies that can helpful when thinking about behaviour, responsibilities and risks on social media.
Dignity At Work Policy for staff behaviour
All University staff are expected to engage on social media in a manner consistent with the University’s Dignity at Work Policy.
This means maintaining courtesy and professionalism, even when debate is robust or opinions differ.
Section 5 of the Dignity at Work Policy defines inappropriate behaviour to include “bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct and victimisation”. On social media, this includes actions such as abusive comments, threats, stalking, sending unwanted messages, messaging unwanted sexual content or targeted harassment.
If you identify or experience this type of inappropriate behaviour from a staff member, there are both informal and formal options available in the University’s grievance and disciplinary policies to resolve issues, as described in Section 7 of the Dignity at Work Policy. To identify the most appropriate option, individuals should speak with their line manager or the person responsible for HR in their area or their central HR Business Partnering Team. They can also contact the Dignity at Work Contacts for confidential advice and if they feel unable to seek advice from within their own institution. There is also an anonymous reporting tool for staff and students.
Statutes and Ordinances for student behaviour
Standards of behaviour expected from students are set out in the Rules of Behaviour, as specified in the University’s Statutes and Ordinances, and includes reference to online activity.
Section 2 (d) of the Rules of Behaviour describes that registered students “must not engage or attempt to engage in physical misconduct, sexual misconduct or abusive behaviour” towards anyone in the University community. Both sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour can take place on social media or online, and could look like abusive comments, threats, stalking, sending unwanted messages, messaging unwanted sexual content or targeted harassment.
If students identify or experience behaviour from another student which fits this description, there are several options for investigation and student discipline, as described in the Student Disciplinary Procedure. Any social media messages or posts may be considered as evidence. There is also an anonymous reporting tool for staff and students.
Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech
The University of Cambridge’s Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech sets out its commitment to upholding freedom of speech within the law, recognising it as a core principle of academic life.
The policy applies to all members of the University—staff, students, and visiting speakers—and governs activities on University premises, including online platforms. It protects the right to express ideas, opinions and information, including controversial or unpopular views, while ensuring that such expression does not breach legal obligations, such as protecting public safety or the rights of others.
For social media, this policy underlines the importance of encouraging open dialogue and debate. University channels can be valuable spaces for sharing information, fostering discussion, and engaging diverse audiences. Users should feel confident expressing lawful views either on the University social media platforms or on their own personal social media channels, while understanding that posts must comply with both University behaviour rules and UK law.
All comments on the University social media channels are moderated by balancing freedom of speech with responsible comment moderation. We actively encourage followers to share their views and opinions by adding comments and questions on our social media posts. Just like the in-person University of Cambridge experience, debate and discussion may be robust and challenging. We never remove comments that express controversial or unpopular opinions within the law. OEAC's Social Media team has clear guidance for responding to comments, reporting concerns and managing contentious discussions.
Information Services Acceptable Use Policy
The aim of the Acceptable Use Policy is to help protect the University and its people from cybercrime. It sets out how University and College staff, students, and other users can help prevent security-related incidents and avoid harmful activities.
Section F (18) states that users must not use a private email account or private social media account to handle University or College personal or otherwise sensitive data.
Charity Commission social media guidance for Charities and Trustees
Charities - including higher education institutions like the University of Cambridge’s Colleges - are widely encouraged to harness social media as a dynamic tool to increase visibility, engage beneficiaries, and support awareness and fundraising efforts.
However, social media's speed and permanence also introduce risks to charities: posts can be seen as inappropriate, reputationally harmful, or hard to retract; and personal and institutional boundaries may blur.
We recommend reading the guidance from 2023 in full and paying particular attention to recommendations on creating a tailored social media policy that covers conduct, channel management, crisis management, safeguarding and reputational issues.
5. Support and crisis management
This section covers how to deal with trolling, how to provide support for team members who manage social media channels and how to approach safeguarding and working with young people and social media.
Dealing with trolling, attacks or harassment on social media
Using social media to share your achievements, news or research with public audiences can bring lots of positives.
But social media can be a challenging place too. Some people may not always have positive things to say about your ideas. Discussion and debate can often become heated. Sometimes accounts exist purely to stir up controversy around specific topics.
It’s important to remember that not every negative comment is trolling and not every media storm will be seen by large numbers of people, and what may look like a social media storm may blow over very quickly. It is not always necessary to respond, as this comes with risks that may add scale, scrutiny and impetus to an issue. Stop and check the veracity of what is being said by checking sources or asking colleagues.
There are some steps you can take to protect yourself if you experience repeated trolling, personal attacks or targeted harassment.
Read our full guidelines on dealing with trolling, harassment and abuse or start with this quick checklist:
- Tell leaders and colleagues in your College, Department or project.
- Contact the Social Media, Research Communications and Media teams in OEAC to let them know what is happening and for advice.
- Avoid getting into back-and-forth arguments with anonymous accounts, journalists or campaigners.
- Make your accounts private and check your passwords are strong.
- Block the accounts to stop seeing their content and to stop them engaging with yours.
- Report harassment to the platforms using their tools in-platform.
- Report threatening and abusive messages to the police.
- Sign out of your accounts and uninstall the apps on your devices for a few days to take a breather from notifications and messages
- Seek support from friends, family, the Staff Counselling Centre or the Student Counselling Centre to help to manage stress and anxiety.
Providing support for team members who manage social media accounts
Managing social media accounts for a large organisation or programme can be exciting and creative, but it does also come with challenges. The 24/7 nature of social media, the possibility of being tagged into graphic images of war or pornography, and the ability for issues to quickly gain wider attention mean that the stress and responsibility can sometimes be heavy.
Having clear guidelines on the types of issues or comments the social media team can manage themselves and other types where managers, legal services or HR should be involved will reduce pressure on the team to deal with everything.
Having a rota for comment management or on-call duties will help prevent burnout in a team where each month there might be hundreds or thousands of comments and engagements.
After handling a challenging situation or being exposed to graphic material on social media, encourage team members to talk about what they’ve seen, reflect and take a break from monitoring for the rest of the day. This can help people feel supported. The Staff Counselling Centre can also be a source of support for ongoing stress from the job.
Working with young people and social media
Digital native generations often have high confidence and skill-levels with social media.
But there are still important safeguarding considerations to keep in mind when working with prospective students, current students, interns and content creators on social media projects.
Maintain professional boundaries by using your professional email account as the main method of communication and avoid private messaging or texting.
Publishing content without proper oversight or allowing them to respond to comments from a University social media account without proper training can lead to risks.
Protect their privacy by avoiding sharing identifiable details likes full names and ensure any content has the correct permissions before publishing. Obtain and record consent from the young person themselves, and their parent or guardian if they are under 18 and make sure they understand how and where the content will be used.
Monitor comments and engagements carefully for any content that features students or young people. Being bullied, harassed or abused by the public or fellow students in a public external place can be extremely unpleasant and upsetting. Remove comments that are personal attacks, constitute bullying or targeted harassment.
6. Training and community
This section covers information about training available from the OEAC Social Media team and external providers, and ways to connect with others who work in social media.
Social media training from OEAC
The Social Media, Video and Photography team in OEAC run free termly webinars that are open to anyone working in social media around the University and Colleges. There is usually a short presentation followed by an open question and answer session. Contact socialmedia@communications.cam.ac.uk to receive an invitation to the next session.
We provide complimentary creative, advice and consultancy under one hour including preparation time, whether for strategy, crisis communications or campaigns to any University Department or College.
We also provide creative, advice and consultancy services over one hour such as workshops or other training, for which there is a charge.
All filming and photography requests from Colleges and Departments, such as new video header for a website or photography for an event, are also charged-for services. Charges for 2025-26 are photography at £400 a day, shooting at £600 a day and editing at £300 a day. We aim to be 25% cheaper than external providers, and so offer good savings and a professional service. All revenue we earn goes back into investing in video and photography kit. VAT is charged to external organisations including Colleges, but not to University departments.
Social media training from external providers
We can advise on some experienced external providers for social media and video training.
Connecting to the social media community
OEAC runs a Cambridge Communicators Network Away Day every year which usually features a workshop or presentation on social media. Contact communications@admin.cam.ac.uk to be added to the invitation list.
Connect here to the Cambridge University Social Media, Video and Photography Forum on Teams.