Naming your account
Social Media Naming Conventions
It’s not always going to be possible to refer to the University of Glasgow in full on social media channels. Each social media channel has its own rules around usernames including character length, special characters, and restricted words.
We’ve created this guide to support you in maximising your impact and discoverability on social media.
This document is a supplement to the University’s Social Media Guidelines.
General
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The University is in competition for acronyms on social media with all of the other universities beginning with G (University of Guelph, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, etc.)
- You should not use "Glasgow Uni/University" or GU in your social media profiles. The institution's correct name is the University of Glasgow and UofG is the only approved abbreviation
- Any other nicknames or shortened versions of the University's name should also be avoided in social media profiles and posts
Profiles
We do not recommend creating Facebook profiles for use in a professional capacity unless absolutely necessary. Facebook can take action if they believe an individual is operating more than one profile. If you have concerns around using a personal profile for work purposes (e.g. managing a Facebook page) it is recommended that you explore privacy settings as a potential solution.
Pages
Page names must follow the format:
University of Glasgow Department/Faculty Name
- e.g. University of Glasgow Library
- e.g. University of Glasgow School of Education
- e.g. University of Glasgow College of Science & Engineering
Facebook limits Page names to 75 characters (up to 10 words). If you are unable to follow the naming convention above, you should contact the University’s social media team at socialmedia@glasgow.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.
Custom Username
We recommend creating a custom username for your Facebook Page. This adds a professional look to your page, and makes it easier for users to tag you in their posts using the @ symbol. You should aim to use the same naming format as per the Instagram guidelines to ensure consistency across platforms.
Groups
We recommend Groups are set up under the administration of a department or faculty Facebook page, and at least two members of staff are assigned the administrator role.
Group names must follow the format:
UofG Department/Faculty Name Group Name
- e.g. UofG Business School Undergraduates 2024
- e.g. UofG Engineering, Electronics & Computer Science offer holders
The use of “UofG” is appropriate for Groups when they are a ‘child’ of a Page (the parent). If your Group is not associated with a Page, please follow the naming convention for a Page.
University of Glasgow Department/Faculty Name Group Name
- e.g. University of Glasgow - Business School Undergraduates 2024
-
e.g. University of Glasgow Engineering, Electronics & Computer Science offer holders
If you need advice on whether to create a Facebook Group vs. a Facebook Page, you can contact the social media team for guidance at socialmedia@glasgow.ac.uk.
Instagram is not as generous with its character limits when it comes to creating or updating profiles. In this section we will outline guidance and expectations for all Instagram profiles established for the purpose of furthering the goals of the University of Glasgow.
The important character limits to keep in mind here are:
- Name (30 characters)
- Username (30 characters)
- Bio (150 characters)
All Instagram accounts should follow the naming format UofG[Insert department or service here]. For example:
- UofGLibrary
- UofGPhysics
Please note that when setting up accounts, the 'U' and the 'G' should be capitalised and the first letter of the Service, College or School should be capitalised. Please don’t use underscores like @UofG_Library as these are not user friendly.
Following this naming convention supports UofG’s branding and helps users when they search for our pages and accounts.
The use of “UofG” is acceptable for this platform due to the limited character length allowed for usernames. The remaining 26 characters should be used wisely, although avoid overly complicated acronyms or abbreviations an external audience may not recognise or understand.
Instagram accounts should include reference to the University, using @uofglasgow. By tagging the University it provides a good user experience for your audience as they navigate between accounts. Example:
Where possible, we advise against creating new LinkedIn Company Pages as they typically do not receive the same engagement as personal profiles. It can also reduce your discoverability if you list your employer as a company/research centre rather than the University.
You could also end up with a Company Page that receives little or no engagement, and this may not be the best way to get your message heard. In most cases, niche business related pages struggle to grow large audiences, particularly if you are dividing your content creation time across multiple platforms.
Please seek advice on using LinkedIn Company Pages prior to creating a new company profile. The social media team can offer you suggestions on the best platforms to use to communicate your messages.
Where Company Pages are used, the title should include the “University of Glasgow” either before or after the name of the page. For example:
e.g. University of Glasgow School of Law
e.g. Astronomy Research Group University of Glasgow
TikTok
TikTok is still a relatively new platform for the University of Glasgow, and we’re continually learning how our audiences react to content we publish.
Before creating an account for your department, faculty or service we ask that you contact the University’s social media team to discuss your plans for a TikTok account.
Twitter / X Profile Name
Your profile name can be up to 50 characters, although we recommend that you avoid using all of them. Your audience could be viewing your profile on a mobile device, and in some cases your details could be shortened.
Twitter / X Handle
Your handle (aka your username) cannot be longer than 15 characters and this can present a challenge when selecting a suitable name for your social media account. Given our international audience, where possible we need to avoid using acronyms or localised shortened words.
Please do not use underscores in your Twitter handle or name.
Example of good practice
YouTube
YouTube only offers 30 characters for account names and the same for their new account handles. You should follow the format:
- University of Glasgow [Insert department or service here]
- For example, University of Glasgow Library
It is also important to write a suitable description for your YouTube channel.
“You can also use the description as a chance to rank higher. Your description will also pop up as a rich snippet in the search results so be sure to make the most of this space to encourage people to click on your video.
Try to include the most important information and relevant keywords in the first 157 characters of your description.” - Influencer Marketing Hub
Other Social Platforms
At present we do not support any other social media platforms not listed in this document, other than those we operate for our Chinese audiences.
If you have plans to create social media profiles on platforms not referenced in this document, please contact the University’s social media team before creating accounts.