Social Media Brand and Policies
These guidelines establish a consistent approach to representing Miami University across social media while allowing flexibility for the unique needs of individual colleges, departments, and units.
They reflect Miami's brand standards, current digital communication best practices, and insights from industry leaders. Because social media platforms, audience behaviors, and technology continue to evolve, these guidelines will evolve as well. We encourage all campus communicators to review them regularly and partner with University Communications and Marketing's Digital team when questions arise.
Brand
Miami's social media voice is conversational, authentic, and audience-centered. While our tone may adapt to the platform, audience, or moment, our voice remains consistent.
We prioritize genuine engagement over one-way communication by asking thoughtful questions, acknowledging our community, and creating opportunities for dialogue.
Preferred Hashtag
Brand Standard
Miami's preferred institutional hashtag is #MiamiOH. Use #MiamiOH whenever referencing the university to distinguish Miami University from other institutions and locations.
When creating campaign or event-specific hashtags, incorporate MiamiOH whenever appropriate (e.g., #MiamiOHClassOf2026) rather than using Miami alone.
For accessibility, write hashtags in Pascal Case by capitalizing the first letter of each word (e.g., #LoveAndHonor, #ClassOf2030, #MiamiOH). This improves readability for screen readers and all users.
Platform Guidance
Hashtags support discoverability, but they are no longer the primary way audiences find content. Strong captions, relevant keywords, and accessible content are equally important across today's social platforms.
- Instagram: Use a small number of relevant hashtags that support the content and audience.
- TikTok: Pair relevant hashtags with keyword-rich captions and on-screen text to improve search visibility.
- LinkedIn: Use a few professional or industry-relevant hashtags that reinforce the topic.
- Facebook: Use hashtags sparingly, primarily for university campaigns, events, or community initiatives.
- X: Use one or two hashtags when joining live conversations, events, or trending topics.
- YouTube: Prioritize descriptive titles, keywords, and video descriptions. Hashtags should be used sparingly and only when they add context.
Across all platforms, prioritize relevance over quantity. Every hashtag should have a clear purpose, whether supporting discoverability, participating in a conversation, or reinforcing a branded campaign.
Commonly Referenced Social Media Sites
All official Miami University social media accounts must follow Miami identity standards. Miami colleges, programs, departments and business units must use official Miami social media icons on official social media sites to visually connect with the university, differentiate from competing accounts, and establish uniform quality, credibility and user experiences. The simplest graphics that represent the Miami brand should be used so that sites can be readily identified at a glance.
For an overview of channel guidelines and best practices, refer to our Social Media Playbook.