We want to help you represent the Germanna brand effectively and will assist with using the college logo in your materials. You can find detailed information regarding use of the logo in our Brand Guidelines document.
The new Germanna mark should be used across all official college publications, promotional materials, and digital resources.
Templates
We provide the following approved branded templates for your department use.
Social Media Guidelines for Germanna Employees
These guidelines are designed to ensure that all content posted on behalf of Germanna Community College reflects the College’s values, maintains a professional tone, and adheres to branding standards.
1. Use of Approved Logos and Fonts
- Official Logos: Always use the approved college logos, without modification or distortion.
- Approved Fonts: Use Germanna’s approved brand fonts for text included in graphics:
- Poppins
- Source Serif Pro
- Brand Colors: Adhere to the official color palette for visual consistency.
2. Content Appropriateness
- Professionalism: Posts should reflect Germanna’s mission and values. Avoid using slang, overly casual language, or abbreviations (e.g., ‘GCC’ or ‘ACE’).
- Inclusive Language: Use gender-neutral language whenever possible.
3. Writing Captions
- Voice: Write in a tone that is professional and approachable and reflects our brand personality traits (confident, proud, optimistic & hopeful, warm & open-hearted, active & engaged, and quirky & experimental). Captions should sound like they are coming from the College, not an individual. For example:
- "We’re excited to welcome new students this fall! Have questions? Reach out to our admissions team for guidance."
- Call-to-Action (CTA): Encourage engagement with a call-to-action (e.g., “Join us for the upcoming event,” “Learn more by visiting our website,” etc.).
4. Graphic and Post Quality
- High-Quality Images: Use high-resolution images or videos that reflect the professionalism of the College. Avoid pixelated or blurry images.
- Consistent Messaging: Ensure that all content aligns with Germanna’s mission, goals, and activities. Avoid posting personal opinions.
5. Posting Frequency and Timing
- Regular Posting: Post consistently without overwhelming your audience.
- Optimal Timing: Post during peak engagement times (e.g., mornings or early afternoons on weekdays).
6. Review Before Posting
- Approvals: If needed, send drafts to Sydney Gaines (sgaines@germanna.edu) for review at least 48 hours before posting.
If you're promoting an event with registration, consider creating a free Linktree account. Linktree lets you host links on your social media profile, so followers can easily access registration forms, landing pages, and websites without leaving the platform. Simply add your Linktree link to your bio and encourage followers to click it.
Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool that allows you to create professional-looking designs without design training or complicated software. It offers a variety of tools and features to make it easy to create social media content.
- Access templates, design options, AI tools, easy file-sharing, and an online course to help you get started.
- Set up a Brand Kit to easily access your organization’s brand colors, fonts, logos, etc. Refer to the Germanna Branding Toolkit for details.
Creating a Canva account is free.
When creating your social media page, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure that your username has ‘Germanna’ in it so your followers will associate your page with the College.
- Here are some existing username examples of active Germanna-affiliated Instagram accounts: @germannalibraries, @germanna_ace, @germanna_cc, @germanna_studentleaders
- Avoid using ‘GCC’ in your page’s username.
- Select a profile photo that accurately represents your profile. For example, if your entity has a specific logo, that will work as a profile photo. You may also use the Germanna ‘G’ logo.
- Avoid using a photo of people for your profile photo.
The Marketing team asks that you either share your page’s password with us or add us as an admin to your page. We will never post on your behalf. But as a precautionary measure, we would like to have access in the event that anything happens (e.g., staffing changes within your department, inability to log in on your end, etc.). If you would like to add us as an admin, use the following email address: marketing@germanna.edu.
Images
- All images should have alternative (alt) text. You can add alt text for images on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- If image descriptions are automatically generated, make sure to review and modify the descriptions to capture the appropriate meaning and context.
- When placing text on a colored background, make sure the text is accessible.
Videos
- All videos should have captions of the audio for the benefit of those without hearing, who are hard-of-hearing, and who are non-native speakers. Captions can be either closed captions (where a user can turn them on and off) or open captions (where the text is embedded into the video and cannot be turned on or off).
- Text on screen should be accessible. You can use a contrast checker to make sure the foreground and background colors have enough contrast.
Animated GIFs
GIFs are not available on all platforms, and not all platforms have a way to add alt text to GIFs. If a platform doesn’t allow for alt text on GIFs, the content may be difficult for individuals who rely on screen readers to perceive.
Hashtags
- Use “CamelCase” for hashtags in your social media posts, capitalizing the first letter of each word – #GermannaInSummer. This format allows people using screen readers to hear the words individually rather than as one long, incoherent word.
- Limit the use of hashtags in each post, knowing that screen readers will read all hashtags out to users.
Emojis and Emoticons
Screen readers will read emojis as their description, e.g., “clapping hands.” Because of this, it can be confusing if emojis are placed between words. Do not overuse emojis in social media posts, and place a space between each one.
Infographics
- Make sure colors are well contrasted, so they are easy to decipher for people who are colorblind or have a visual impairment.
- Infographics are images and should include alt text.
Hyperlinks
Keep URLs short whenever possible because screen readers will read them out to users. There are many tools available that offer a free and easy way to shorten your URLs.
Plain Language
Avoid acronyms and make sure the meaning of your social media posts is clear.
If you're promoting an event with registration, consider creating a free Linktree account. Linktree lets you host links on your social media profile, so followers can easily access registration forms, landing pages, and websites without leaving the platform. Simply add your Linktree link to your bio and encourage followers to click it.
Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool that allows you to create professional-looking designs without design training or complicated software. It offers a variety of tools and features to make it easy to create social media content.
- Access templates, design options, AI tools, easy file-sharing, and an online course to help you get started.
- Set up a Brand Kit to easily access your organization’s brand colors, fonts, logos, etc. Refer to the Germanna Branding Toolkit for details.
Creating a Canva account is free.
When creating your social media page, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure that your username has ‘Germanna’ in it so your followers will associate your page with the College.
- Here are some existing username examples of active Germanna-affiliated Instagram accounts: @germannalibraries, @germanna_ace, @germanna_cc, @germanna_studentleaders
- Avoid using ‘GCC’ in your page’s username.
- Select a profile photo that accurately represents your profile. For example, if your entity has a specific logo, that will work as a profile photo. You may also use the Germanna ‘G’ logo.
- Avoid using a photo of people for your profile photo.
The Marketing team asks that you either share your page’s password with us or add us as an admin to your page. We will never post on your behalf. But as a precautionary measure, we would like to have access in the event that anything happens (e.g., staffing changes within your department, inability to log in on your end, etc.). If you would like to add us as an admin, use the following email address: marketing@germanna.edu.
Images
- All images should have alternative (alt) text. You can add alt text for images on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- If image descriptions are automatically generated, make sure to review and modify the descriptions to capture the appropriate meaning and context.
- When placing text on a colored background, make sure the text is accessible.
Videos
- All videos should have captions of the audio for the benefit of those without hearing, who are hard-of-hearing, and who are non-native speakers. Captions can be either closed captions (where a user can turn them on and off) or open captions (where the text is embedded into the video and cannot be turned on or off).
- Text on screen should be accessible. You can use a contrast checker to make sure the foreground and background colors have enough contrast.
Animated GIFs
GIFs are not available on all platforms, and not all platforms have a way to add alt text to GIFs. If a platform doesn’t allow for alt text on GIFs, the content may be difficult for individuals who rely on screen readers to perceive.
Hashtags
- Use “CamelCase” for hashtags in your social media posts, capitalizing the first letter of each word – #GermannaInSummer. This format allows people using screen readers to hear the words individually rather than as one long, incoherent word.
- Limit the use of hashtags in each post, knowing that screen readers will read all hashtags out to users.
Emojis and Emoticons
Screen readers will read emojis as their description, e.g., “clapping hands.” Because of this, it can be confusing if emojis are placed between words. Do not overuse emojis in social media posts, and place a space between each one.
Infographics
- Make sure colors are well contrasted, so they are easy to decipher for people who are colorblind or have a visual impairment.
- Infographics are images and should include alt text.
Hyperlinks
Keep URLs short whenever possible because screen readers will read them out to users. There are many tools available that offer a free and easy way to shorten your URLs.
Plain Language
Avoid acronyms and make sure the meaning of your social media posts is clear.