The College of the Liberal Arts has official Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and YouTube accounts. You are welcome to create a page or group for your department or unit if one doesn’t already exist. Since creating and maintaining these social media sites can require significant time and resources, you are welcome to instead add a link to the college social media accounts on your website or in promotional materials. Before creating a new account or group, consider if you have enough content to share at least one post per week. Accounts must be active and engaging since they represent the college.
Review the University Social Media Guidelines here.
Social Media Handles and Names
Please refrain from using PSU in any graphics and account names. If Penn State doesn’t fit in the account name or handle, then it’s permissible to use PSU. For Twitter, if the name of the account is too long to include “Penn State,” please make sure Penn State is included in the description. On Facebook, you should have plenty of room to include Penn State and the department name in your account’s name. For example, Penn State Department of Anthropology.
In your account descriptions on Twitter (X) and Facebook, please include Penn State and the full name of the department. (Never use Penn State University. It’s Penn State.) Add @PSULiberalArts in your Twitter (X) bio and @pennstateliberalarts in your Instagram bio.
You may have noticed that some colleges, like the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Engineering, use “PSU” in their Twitter (X) handles. This is because using “Penn State” would make the handles too long. If adding “Penn State” to the name of the account would make your account name too long, you should at least include “Penn State” in front of your unit’s name in the account description.
Social Media Avatars and Cover Photos
Use the avatars provided via the links below instead of creating or using other designs or your unit’s wordmark. There are two different color options for (1) Departments, Programs, and Schools and (2) Centers, Institutes, and Initiatives. The “LinkedIn” files should be used ONLY for LinkedIn. Please use these to update your profile picture avatars for your social media accounts.
You may customize your cover photos however you would like, but the content should relate to your unit, the college, or Penn State.
How-To Instructions
How to change your social media page’s profile picture to the Nittany Lion shield avatar image:
- Go to your page.
- Hover over the profile picture then click Update.
- Select an option and follow the on-screen instructions.
- Click on your page’s profile picture inside the circle at the top.
- Click Edit Profile next to your page’s Instagram handle.
- Click the blue Change Profile Photo right below your Instagram handle, in the next window that appears.
- Next, click Upload Photo in the new menu that appears and follow the guided steps on screen.
- Click the head icon on the left (second from the bottom) to go to your profile.
- Click Edit profile button below your header image.
- Click on the camera overlay over your current profile picture inside the circle.
- Scroll down and click Save to save your new profile picture.
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How to change the name of your social media page (avoid acronyms/abbreviations; include Penn State or PSU if it doesn’t fit):
You’ll need to be an admin to request a change to your page’s name.
New Facebook:
- Go to your page and click “Page Settings” in the bottom left.
- Click Edit Page Info in the left column.
- Click your page’s name.
- Enter a new page name and click Save Changes.
- Review your request and click Request Change.
Classic Facebook:
- Click “About” on the left side of your page.
- Click Edit next to your page’s name.
- Enter a new page name and click Continue.
- Review your request and click Request Change.
App:
- Start the Instagram app.
- Tap your account icon in the bottom right of the screen to go to your profile page.
- If you have more than one account configured in the app, tap the account name at the top of the screen and choose the account you want to change.
- Tap Edit Profile.
- On the Edit Profile page, tap the field next to Name or Username and type your changes. When you’re ready to save your changes, tap Done.
Web Browser:
- In a web browser, navigate to Instagram.com.
- Click the account icon at the top right of the screen.
- Click Edit Profile.
- Click in the Name or Username field and type your changes. When you’re ready to save your changes, click Submit.
App:
- Open the Twitter app on your Android or iOS phone.
- If the app doesn’t open directly to your profile page, click your small profile picture at the top of the screen.
- In the sidebar that appears, tap the profile picture again.
- On your profile page, tap Edit profile.
- In the “Edit profile” window, tap your name and change it to whatever you like. The new name can be up to 50 characters long, and there’s no requirement for it to be unique.
- When you’re done, tap Save.
Web Browser:
- Navigate to Twitter in a web browser.
- Click your profile picture on the left side of the screen.
- On your profile page, click Edit profile.
- In the Edit profile window, type a new name in the Name field. This can be up to 50 characters long, and there’s no requirement for it to be unique.
- When you’re done, click Save.
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How to tag the College of the Liberal Arts in your page’s bio descriptions on Instagram (@pennstateliberalarts) and Twitter (@PSULiberalArts):
- Open Instagram on either your mobile device or your desktop and navigate to your account by clicking on the profile icon (on mobile) or your profile picture and username (on desktop).
- From there, select Edit Profile. On mobile, Edit Profile will appear below your bio. On a desktop, it will appear to the right of your user name.
- You can edit your profile picture, display name, user name, website, and bio, all of which are public-facing.
- This screen will also allow you to edit your private information, including email, phone number, and gender. This will not appear on your public profile.
- If you’re accessing Instagram from a desktop, the edit profile page will also give you the option to “Change Password” manage the “Apps and Websites” you use to access Instagram; control “Email and SMS” notifications; “Manage Contacts”; manage account “Privacy and Security”; see your “Login Activity”; and view “Emails from Instagram.”
- Similarly, the “Settings” tab of the Instagram app gives you more access to account settings.
- When you’re finished editing your profile, including adding or editing your bio, hit Done on mobile or Submit on desktop to save your changes.
- Click on your account name in the upper left corner of the Twitter homepage.
- Click Edit Your Profile in the upper right corner of your profile page.
- Type a bio in the box provided for it.
- Click Save Changes.
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How to change the handle (username) for your social media page (include Penn State or PSU if it doesn’t fit):
You’ll need to be an admin to edit a username for your page. Your page’s username will appear below your page’s name and in your page’s URL to help people find and remember your page.
- Go to your page.
- Click Edit Page @Username on the left side of your page.
- Delete your old username and enter your new username.
- If the username is available, click Create Username.
App
- Start the Instagram app.
- Tap your account icon in the bottom right of the screen to go to your profile page.
- If you have more than one account configured in the app, tap the account name at the top of the screen and choose the account you want to change.
- Tap Edit Profile.
- On the Edit Profile page, tap the field next to Name or Username and type your changes. When you’re ready to save your changes, tap Done.
Web Browser
- In a web browser, navigate to Instagram.com.
- Click the account icon at the top right of the screen.
- Click Edit Profile.
- Click in the Name or Username field and type your changes. When you’re ready to save your changes, click Submit.
- Go to “Settings and Privacy” from your profile icon drop-down menu.
- Under “Account”, click the text box beside Username and type a new username in the space. If the username is taken, Twitter will prompt you to make a new one. If the username is available, you’ll see a green Available! notification.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.