CONTACT THE SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST
We would love to set up a brief meeting to determine your social media needs and goals, the best platforms to reach your audience, a content mix, and posting frequency.
BE AUTHENTIC
Social media is so saturated with the noise of other brands crying out for attention, and your followers can spot insincerity and self-promotion from miles away. Maintaining a consistent and unique voice will humanize your department/college/organization and encourage others to talk positively about you. Here are a few ways that you can be authentic online:
- Real photos. Editing photos to post online is fun, but if taken too far, your photos will appear unrealistic and unflattering.
- Attitude. When most people start a social media page, they want a platform and megaphone, but what you should really want is genuine interaction with your followers by creating good, relevant content for them to react to.
- Intention. Be clear about why you’re on social media. Think about how you can be authentic and leave a good impression on your followers.
- Gratitude. Express gratitude to your followers and supporters regularly.
- Well-rounded sharing. People use social media because it makes it easy to keep up with what’s going on around them. Another reason people use social media is to see enjoyable, interesting, useful, or funny content. Create a good mix of different types of content for your followers so they never get overrun with your self-promotions.
Remember: Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s easy to start focusing too much on self-promotion or one subject. Being aware of these potential traps means you’ll be prepared to avoid them.
BE ACCURATE, POSITIVE, AND RESPECTFUL
Make sure all names, titles, and locations are spelled correctly. Check that every piece of information is fair and accurate. Be clear and transparent.
CONDUCT RESEARCH
Before starting a new social media page, it’s a good idea to look at the pages of similar organizations/departments at other universities to get an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.