Communications guidelines + resources

• News submissions + guidelines
• The College of Music obtains media release agreements from all students when they enroll, given the likelihood that they could appear in photos and videos from concerts, rehearsals, etc.
• General media release form for participants in College of Music activities (i.e., ensembles, performances, etc.)
• Media release form for minors—students, program participants and visitors under age 18.
• Off-campus activities: Responsibility, accountability, waivers + releases. The university recognizes that off-campus activities can enhance the academic and co-curricular learning environment. It’s also recognized that off-campus activities may pose additional responsibilities and increased risk to participants and the university.

While many College of Music faculty and staff choose to be active on social media as individuals, this does not replace the strategic imperative for official College of Music-branded department, studio, ensemble, etc. channels that are actively maintained by TAs or other preferred administrator(s). 

For example, studio channels capture studio highlights over time, independent of personnel changes; and are therefore more readily amplified on the college’s main channels than posts from individual faculty members. Anything that you’re proud to share on your individual social channels—relevant to your department, studio, ensemble or program—should also appear on the appropriate college-affiliated channel(s). Examples include student, alumni and faculty accomplishments, recruitment-related calls to action, upcoming events and performances, behind-the-scenes photos and short videos, announcements, etc.

Key takeaways

• Consult with Communications Manager MarieFaith Lane before creating a new social media account. Together, we’ll determine whether an existing College of Music channel can serve your purpose instead of creating a new one.
• If a new department, studio, ensemble or program channel is called for, we recommend starting with Instagram, our most engaged platform.
• Always tag the College of Music for amplification, and flag strong video opportunities for Instagram Reels and Collab posts. The goal is to post content on department, studio, ensemble or program channels that best serves its audience while creating opportunities for the College of Music to amplify it.
• Keep account access and management information current.
• Follow CU Boulder social media and digital engagement guidelines and best practices.

All social media accounts representing the CU Boulder College of Music must be created and managed in consultation with Communications Manager MarieFaith Lane. Before launching a new social media account, or to review and update an existing channel(s):

1. Start with Communications

• Email MarieFaith Lane at com-comms@colorado.edu to schedule a planning meeting to: 
  • discuss the audience, goals, and proposed content and frequency of the intended platform(s);
  • determine whether a new account is necessary or whether the proposed content can be shared through an existing College of Music department, studio, ensemble or program other account; 
  • and identify who will manage the channel(s).

2. Choose an approved platform

For maximum engagement, Instagram has emerged as the college’s preferred platform. At the college-level, we’re also active on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn—as well as X to a limited degree, specific to amplifying campus news.

3. Set up + document the account

When a new account is approved:

• Familiarize yourself with and follow CU Boulder social media guidelines.
• With MarieFaith Lane’s guidance, create a username/handle consistent with CU Boulder conventions (e.g., @CUBoulderTrumpets).
• Use an approved avatar provided by MarieFaith Lane that aligns with campus brand standards; do not create your own avatar.
• Use a simple, consistent and shareable URL.
• Use a shared department or program email address (colorado.edu); please see the “General email addresses” section, below.
• Establish and document account credentials (updated annually, and shared with MarieFaith Lane): Platform, handle, login info, access roles and account manager contact info.
• For official college-affiliated Facebook accounts, add both Sabine Kortals and MarieFaith Lane as primary page administrators with full access (including page deletion) so that we may help troubleshoot any issues that inevitably arise, as well as ensure continuity when personnel changes occur. Note: This will change when the College of Music creates a business portfolio coordinating all College of Music-affiliated Instagram and Facebook accounts in one place with Meta Business Suite—check back soon!

4. Collaborate on Instagram content

Strong visual or video content should be flagged for potential collaboration with the College of Music including:

• Instagram Reels
• Instagram Collab posts
• Performance and event promotions
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Student, faculty or other studio features
• Takeovers or day-in-the-life content
• Recruitment content

Also prioritize relevant tagging to increase reach:

• Tag @CUBoulderMusic on Instagram and Facebook when appropriate, for our further amplification
• Tag relevant departments, studios, ensembles, programs, etc.
• Use CamelCase hashtags (e.g., #MusicBuffs).

5. Maintain and review channels

Departments, studios, ensembles and other designated channel managers are responsible for ongoing content and account maintenance; Communications provides oversight, coordination, continuity and support, as needed.

Channel managers should notify MarieFaith Lane when:

• A new channel is needed.
• A channel becomes inactive or is discontinued.
• Account management changes.
• Access or login information changes.

• Are you trying to track down specific photos or need new ones? Email Sabine Kortals and/or MarieFaith Lane.
• Portrait services (headshots): Strategic Relations + Communications provides free headshots—by appointment—for all CU Boulder employees.
• Free photo booth for students, staff + alumni—no appointment needed.
• When submitting photos for the website, social media and more, always send your photos in the highest (original) resolution possible. You can tell higher-resolution images by their bigger file sizes—preferably, submit image files that are 1MB or higher. 

Related:

Does your department or studio need a new video to effectively convey our offerings to prospective students and other College of Music audiences? Contact Sabine Kortals, sabine.kortals@colorado.edu.  

Freelance videographer referrals are available upon request. 

Whether writing a departmental email, submitting a web update, posting to Instagram or writing for a publication, text should be presented in Associated Press (AP) Style, with a few exceptions. Please familiarize yourself with CU Boulder editorial style—from how we use abbreviations to how we state academic degrees, names + titles, addresses, building names, capitalizations, composition titles, dates + times, inclusive language ... and more.

At the College of Music, we adhere to AP Style as well as possible on our website and social media as well as our newsletters, magazine and more. While we certainly don’t expect you to be an AP Style expert, be aware that we may edit the content you provide according to AP Style, if needed. 

Quick tips: 

• No Oxford comma.
• Periods: Never use double spaces after periods; single spaces always.
• We use “smart” (curly) quotes and apostrophes, not "straight" quotes; more info here.
• Titles: Never use Dr. and know when to use lowercase and uppercase. Examples: Professor of Trumpet Ryan Gardner (CAPS when the title is in front of the name); Ryan Gardner, professor of trumpet (lowercase when the title is after the name).
• On first reference: University of Colorado Boulder College of Music.
• On subsequent references on the same page: CU Boulder College of Music, College of Music, college (lowercase).
• CU Boulder (not CU-Boulder, CUB, UCB or CU).
• Ensemble names: On first reference, CU Boulder Wind Symphony; on subsequent references on the same page, Wind Symphony.

Accessibility language: 

Avoid words/phrases like “View more” or “See this page”; replace with simply MORE (all CAPS and bold). For links to video content, consider phrases like “Check out the video” or “Explore …,” “Experience …” and the like. 

We regularly coordinate and collaborate with Strategic Relations + Communications (SRC) and other campus units to ensure alignment of College of Music communications with overall campus priorities, and to amplify the college’s universal musician approach to achieving our mission across campus and to the broader community—including media pitching.

SRC provides our campus community with:

• development and distribution of press materials for news, announcements and upcoming events with a compelling news hook;
• pitching of faculty experts to media, often related to trending topics;
• interview preparation, such as scheduling and facilitating interviews with media;
• media training sessions;
• booking for live or taped interviews;
• crisis communications management;
• media monitoring ... and more.

Questions? Ready to share a potential media pitch? Contact Sabine Kortals, sabine.kortals@colorado.edu.

Related:

Faculty + graduate students: Another way to get the word out to peers and the general population about your research and academic expertise is by writing for The Conversation—an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics and edited by journalists for the general public.

Faculty, did you know? CU Experts is a research and expertise database used by media and other collaborators. Search for your name and—if anything's incorrect, incomplete or missing entirely—submit your updates.

As often as feasible, weave into your communications the following College of Music messages (or a version thereof in your own words)—especially when communicating with prospective students: 

At the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music, our mission is to inspire artistry and discovery, together. Our students earn more than a music degree in the foothills of the Rockies: We develop multiskilled, multifaceted universal musicians who are well-equipped to participate in the 21st century as artists, educators and scholars; as broadly based professionals with flexible career options; and as passionate, compassionate world citizens.

Our faculty are deeply dedicated pedagogues, award-winning performers, scholars and composers who are standing by to support our students’ success and flourishing—whether their passion is to teach, perform, compose, research or rethink music entirely.

Shorter, more personal examples include: 

“I'm excited to contribute to the College of Music’s innovative approach to developing multiskilled, multifaceted universal musicians who are well-equipped for broadly based, sustainable careers.”

“I support the college’s emphasis on supporting our students in developing flexible skills for a range of career options—as performers, composers, educators, entrepreneurs, scholars, songwriters, producers and more, often across disciplines.”

Explore more info and key messages on the College of Music’s About page.

Consistent email signatures deliver a visually coherent look across university departments and offices. Follow these campus guidelines for your email signature. 

Need a general departmental, program or ensemble email address? Request a secondary @colorado.edu email address (e.g., CUBoulderChoirs@colorado.edu, CUBoulderBands@colorado.edu). 

Questions? Contact MarieFaith Lane, com-comms@colorado.edu.

Please refer to the guidelines below for best practices—from logos and logo lockups to approved fonts, colors, layouts and more—including examples and downloads. 

BRAND ASSETS

The Brand Toolkit is the best place to start for comprehensive guidance and existing brand assets.CU Boulder’s guidance on type treatments, specifically wordmarks, can be found here.

From there, to submit your design(s) for approval by Visual Identity Manager Whitney Fullmer, please submit your request here.

Once approved, please share the final designs with Assistant Dean for Communications Sabine Kortals and Communications Manager MarieFaith for tracking purposes.

SWAG ITEMS

Any designs for stickers, buttons, T-shirts, etc., should be run by Whitney Fullmer for approval, per above. Depending on the item, your vendor’s licensing department may contact CU Boulder; getting approval first will speed up that process.

Use the existing “I am a XX Buff” design concept that’s frequently seen on stickers rather than creating a custom design for this phrase. Whitney can provide the template.

Note: There is some flexibility for designs that do not use the CU Boulder logo (and possibly also the CU Boulder name)—e.g., smaller items, like stickers, buttons, etc.

FLYERS AND POSTERS

Flyers and posters are generally a pairing of a department, studio, ensemble or program wordmark like these (top center) and a College of Music logo/lockup (bottom center or bottom left): Center and left.zip

There is a degree of creative license for social media cover images (i.e., Facebook), flyers/posters and merchandise, but must closely follow the design approval process outlined.

Assistant Dean for Communications Sabine Kortals and Communications Manager MarieFaith are available to review flyer/poster layouts to ensure brand coherence across the College of Music.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Campus has an approved style for social media avatars. There is no room for creative license when it comes to official CU Boulder social media avatars.  Per campus guidance, consistency and cohesive visual identity across College of Music studio and departments will be prioritized. 

• Event scheduling + promotion: CU Presents promotes public College of Music events and encourages attendance. Scheduling, publicizing and creating programs for College of Music events is a coordinated effort between the College of Music Scheduling Office and CU Presents.
• Preview, download or print CU Presents digital programs—performances, student recitals + past programs.
• Lectures + other education events (e.g., master classes, performance classes, lectures, etc.).

CU Boulder non-discrimination statements: We are legally required to include one of these statements in all publications intended for external audiences.