Any sort of social media interaction leaves a mark. Whether it be a post, comment, like, share, or any other form of engagement with a social platform, it will exist on the internet forever in most cases. For this reason, it is important to navigate social media in a way beneficial to yourself and Louisiana Tech and to get the most out of your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly social media endeavors.
This is not a comprehensive policy or regulation on university social media use. This is intended as a set of guidelines and best practices to help with the creation or sustaining of a social media presence. The “Big 3” social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) will be the main sources and points of reference throughout.
Social media implementation
Any social media account created with the intent of being tied to or recognized by the official university accounts should keep several things in mind:
- Be the brand. When creating any sort of “official” account, or implementing official university logos, colors, fonts, or any other sort of branding/licensing standard, please consult our branding site and contact social@latech.edu for review. The Louisiana Tech social media manager reserves the right to deny official status to accounts that do not meet university standards.
- Have a strategy. Know what you want to accomplish. A good jumping-off point is to have two weeks of content already prepared before launching an account. Creating a profile based on the belief that followers will come naturally and exposure will grow no matter what is misguided. Know the intended target audience and know how to best interact with them beforehand.
- Know your staff. It is imperative that one or more university members have control of the account(s) with a complete idea of what is expected of them. Social media should not be an afterthought, and it never sleeps. Keeping up with an account(s) as it grows requires more hands on deck. For many, social media is a full-time job.
- Keep it cohesive. Each official social media account should be registered to a shared or general email address accessible by more than one person to prevent loss of passwords or personnel changes creating general confusion.
- Strive for accessibility. Your content should be consumable by every individual who comes across it, intentionally or otherwise. Meeting accessibility standards is crucial in social media. Whether this comes in the form of alternate text, video captions, or readability, being able to reach a full audience with equal opportunity for engagement is necessary.
Ideally, being in charge of a higher education social media account should be challenging but rewarding. Any new or active social media manager should be prepared to:
- Maintain dialogue between themselves, their department/unit leadership, faculty, staff, and appropriate university administrators.
- Communicate with social leadership at the university to foster a mutually beneficial relationship.
- Actively engage with users and monitor appropriate social channels. Content discovered that violates platform terms of service or Louisiana Tech community guidelines should be watched and handled appropriately. This could entail communication to university administration or filtering, reporting, or hiding the content in question.
- Track and report account performance to establish growth goals and engagement milestones.
- Respond to queries, concerns, and other questions from the community that come as a direct message or comment/post.
- Adhere to strategies, goals, and standards set forth by the individual unit and the university as a whole.
In addition, social media managers should not:
- Violate city, state, or federal laws/regulations with posted content.
- Post or comment on ongoing or potential legal matters without approval.
- Endorse any view, product, business, or political candidate via the university brand name.
- Convey personal opinions as university stances.
- Create content that is profane, obscene, or a violation of copyright.
- Delete or moderate content to the point where it interferes with legal standards of free speech on the web.
Of course, every situation is unique, and social media is always evolving. Questions or concerns with new accounts should be directed to the unit’s or the university’s (social@latech.edu) social media leadership.
Other general guidelines for university-related social media include:
- Limiting the dissonance of the university brand. The more accounts created, the more the university units are splintered into separate entities, each with their own nuances and differences regarding the overall brand. Factually, there is not a need for everyone to have an account on every platform.
- Be mindful of the scenario. Each account, regardless of its purpose, is still representative of an educational institution. Fostering the engagement with and good will of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local community should be a foremost goal.
- Keep up with the evolution. Social media is constantly changing, and re-strategizing often is a necessity.
- Find your zone. Post at optimal and varied times to reach your target audience appropriately. Know what to expect from your target audience’s preferred times for engagement. For new accounts, there may be some trial-and-error involved in this regard.
- Know if it’s worth it. Social media is a big undertaking. If you have content that you believe deserves to be shared, and you believe you deserve some social media presence but are hesitant to create an account(s), contact university social media management (social@latech.edu) to communicate your thoughts and concerns. We are all here to help each other, after all.
- Engage, engage, engage. Interact publicly with appropriate content. User-generated content is the purest form of social media engagement and also the most rewarding and relatable for target audiences in general.
- Be wary. On the reverse side of the engagement guideline, social listening is important as well. Content deemed concerning to the university or any of its members can be related to violence, discrimination, mental health, etc., and should be reported to the appropriate university administrators.
Best Practices
Again, every platform and every account is different. This section will cover the “Big 3” social media platforms and some best practices for them, consolidated based off of experience with university social media accounts.
Facebook: Works best when using to INFORM. It’s getting harder and harder to reach students via Facebook. There are fewer of our students on Facebook with every new class. Facebook is a good tool to reach alumni and parents. However, don’t discount the idea of leveraging this connection to get to students.
Facebook is great for news releases, video content, and more. At the end of the day, it is still the most utilized social media platform in the world.
Use alternate text and video captions to make your content as accessible as possible.
It is important to optimize your profile to reflect your image and the university brand. This includes appropriate profile pictures, cover images, and page descriptions that effectively communicate the mission of your page and the university. Web address links and physical address links are also necessary when applicable.
Many users utilize Facebook as their primary means for voicing questions and concerns. Keeping an eye on your page’s inbox and responding to incoming messages in a timely manner is important.
In general, 1-2 posts per day on Facebook is enough to maintain a consistent presence. As with all platforms, maintaining a content calendar in some fashion will help with content production.
Tag relevant accounts and insert relevant links in posts. Creating a call to action for your followers is a necessary element to drive engagement.
Schedule content in advance when needed. In general, posting directly without scheduling works better for reaching your audience.
Avoid text-heavy graphics that hurt accessibility and manipulate Facebook’s algorithm. The more text-heavy a photo is, the less likely it will be to show up in your followers’ feeds.
Track your analytics. Facebook’s built-in analytics tools are great for monitoring your reach and engagement. Use this data to shift your goals and strategize when needed.
Twitter: Works best when using to ENGAGE. While students are on Twitter more than Facebook, the content they seek on this platform is often not what our university is offering. Even still, Twitter is a great tool to foster a sense of community.
Use alternate text and video captions to make your content as accessible as possible.
Photos in Twitter feeds are automatically cropped to 1920×1080 pixels. If you want the entirety of your photo to show up in somebody’s feed, it is important to scale the image(s) to this ratio. (NOTE: This has changed in Twitter’s most recent update. Twitter feed photos on a desktop will still appear cropped, but mobile Twitter feeds now allow photos of all sizes to be posted.)
Usually, 1-3 tweets per day is a good goal to strive for, though these don’t always have to be original. Utilize Twitter’s retweet function liberally, sharing content that you deem relevant to your message and the university brand.
A tweet also comes in the form of a reply. Engage with users who tweet at you or about you. Sometimes just liking a tweet will suffice. Get creative when you can and make use of personalized responses relatable to the member(s) of the target audience you are engaging with. As an example, the university has created branded GIFs that serve well for interaction on Twitter.
The life cycle of a tweet is much shorter than any other platform. Timing is everything, and Twitter is good for emergency notifications or important updates that need to reach a wide audience immediately.
As with Facebook, your Twitter profile picture and banner image should be cohesive and scaled appropriately.
Text-only tweets tend to be pushed to the bottom of people’s feeds. Use hashtags, photos, GIFs, videos, links, and emoji to catch eyes and add layers to your tweet beyond pure text.
Twitter’s built-in analytics tools are easy to use, and Tweetdeck is a free web service made available by Twitter that is good for monitoring multiple accounts, mentions, or hashtags at once, as well as posting or scheduling content.
Tag other university accounts for cross-promotion when necessary. Tagging the official university account (@LATech) is a good way to get a retweet or like from a central source.
Instagram: Works best when using to ENTERTAIN. Most students actually prefer to get their content through Instagram. With the rise of Instagram Stories, it is easier than ever to share relevant visual content on this platform.
Use alternate text and video captions to make your content as accessible as possible.
Instagram is, at its core, a photo sharing network. The vast majority of your shared in-feed content should be photo-based.
Photos should, when possible, be of high quality and frame your mission and the university image in a positive and engaging light. A solid camera goes a long way, though the occasional phone image doesn’t hurt.
Show glimpses into life at the university. Campus buildings, students, and other photos relevant to your unit will consistently get the most engagement.
A post a day is a good standard to adhere to, but Instagram is a quality over quantity platform. If 1-2 posts per week is all that is attainable, it’s equally as acceptable if it is achieving the same levels of engagement.
Video content works well on Instagram, but feed videos are limited to 1 minute without using Instagram’s Reels feature.
Be mindful of “The Grid.” The Grid is the overall appearance of your profile when a user visits your page. Your photo feed should be cohesive and the images should complement each other nicely. Maintain a visual aesthetic relevant to your page and the university, especially if it suits your mission.
Understand your audience and caption your photos with the purpose of appealing to them.
User generated content on Instagram is plentiful. Sharing this content is advised when it coordinates with your account’s and the university’s standards and image.
Avoid, at all costs, text-heavy graphics or infographics. Instagram photos should be visual and tell a cohesive story. Limiting words on this platform is essential. Wordy and dense graphics will consistently net you significantly less engagement and reach due to Instagram’s algorithm.
Utilize Instagram stories. Knowing what story you want to tell beforehand is critical. Plan out your story in advance, and, when possible, turn to students, staff, alumni, or others to help provide you with insightful story content that is also user-generated. Utilize GIFs and stickers and other editing tools provided by the platform to create a genuine and purposeful story. Monitor the engagement of your story throughout the day.
Tag other accounts and add a location to your photos when applicable. This will allow your photo to show up in other users’ Discover feed when they are not following your account.