Social Media Profile
Social Media Profile Guidelines
Your social media profile is one of the first things people will see when searching for your college, department, or division. All university social media profiles must comply with any approved applicable university branding standards.
Profile Pictures
The template below combines the UHD logo and a short line of text to create a profile picture that identifies your profile. Other university-approved symbols or marks that are associated with your college, program, department or business unit may also be used as a profile picture.
The vertical version of your department’s wordmark logo is also permitted as a profile picture. Be mindful that the vertical logo’s text may appear small when used as a profile picture. Any color combination that is defined as acceptable by the UHD graphic standards may be used.
When by itself, the UHD logo represents the University of Houston-Downtown in its entirety. Only the official University of Houston-Downtown social media profiles are permitted to use it as a profile picture without additional text.
Profile Names and Handles
Profile names (sometimes referred to as display names) are a place to identify specific department and college names on social media profiles. These are separate from usernames (sometimes referred to as handles).
In the example below, University of Houston-Downtown College Name is the profile name, whereas @UHDcollegename is the username.
We strongly recommend adding UHD to social media handles. Capitalize the first letter of each word for readability (ex. @CHSS_UHD or @UHDAdmissions). Use underscores as needed (@UHD_Gators vs. @UHDGators). Avoid “UHDowntown” in handles, bio or profile names.
Avoid using acronyms in display names unless the entire name does not fit within the character limit. If the full name of your college, department or group does not fit in the display name, include it in the profile’s bio so the profile can easily be searched for.
Below are the current character limits for display names and usernames by platform:
Display Name Username
Facebook 50 50
X 50 15
Instagram 30 30
Threads Mirrors Instagram Mirrors Instagram
YouTube 60 30
Snapchat 50 30
LinkedIn 100 50
Pinterest 20 15
Tumblr 50 32
Cover Photos
Many social networks have the option of uploading a cover photo. A cover photo is a wide image of your choosing that sits at the top of your profile, near or partially behind your profile picture. A good cover photo is an image that is eye-catching and aids your profile picture in representing your profile. Cover photos are to meet UHD’s graphic standards (i.e. color, logo and font).
It’s important to make sure that your cover photo is the correct size so that it appears high quality and no important information is cut off. Avoid low-resolution or pixelated images.
Check both mobile and desktop versions after being uploaded, as some social networks crop them differently depending on the type of device being used. Below are the currently recommended upload sizes for cover images for each platform.
Facebook 820x312 pixels (displays 640x360 on mobile devices)
X 1500x500 pixels
YouTube 2560x1440 pixels (safe area for mobile 1546x423 pixels)
LinkedIn 1128x191 pixels
Bios
Your profile’s bio is a place to write a 1-2 sentence description of your profile. It should concisely summarize what group your profile represents and can be used as a place to set the tone for your content. When relevant, a hashtag related to the profile can be placed at the end of your bio.
Website/Link
Most social networks allow a link to be added to profiles. We recommend linking to your college/department/organization’s specific webpage on the UHD website. Including a more general URL (such as uhd.edu) is not as useful to your followers.
Birthdays *Important*
Many social networks have the option to include a birthday in the bio. This feature is designed for people, not brands. If a date younger than the age of someone who is allowed to have a profile on the social network is entered (often under 13 years old), your profile may be banned by the social network. For this reason, we do not recommend entering a birthday for your profile’s bio.