Social Media

Best Practices

Thinking of starting a social media account for your school, department or program? Read this list of best practices to get the best results.

  • Want to get more students in your program? Want to connect with alumni? Want to make connections with community members who may offer your students internships? This planning will ensure that you get the best return on the investment of time you must make.

    Decide what your goals are for your social media account and which social media channels are best suited for your purpose and your audience. For example, most people 19-64 use Facebook, but rates are declining among teenagers. In contrast, 13- to 29-year-olds are the primary users of Instagram. So, if you wanted to target future undergraduate students or current students, Instagram would be the better choice. Remember, you don’t have to be on all social media channels; just the ones that work for you.

    If you have an existing account, look at what’s working and what’s not so you can decide what to do more of or what to stop doing.

  • Social media operates 24/7, and users are constantly checking for new content. You should be ideally posting daily but at a minimum three times per week. If you can’t keep up that frequency, you don’t have the time for social media and should find a different way to communicate with your audience.

  • Using visuals will make your users more likely to engage with you and remember what they see. This is especially important on Instagram given its emphasis on photography and videos.

    Additionally, each platform has a size requirement so make sure your visuals are the correct size. Check out this cheat sheet for the correct sizes.

  • Keep people interested in your content and your school by engaging with them. Quickly reply to and like any comments that they make and use @TheirUserName to talk to them. Be friendly and conversational. Check for comments and messages every day so that you can reply to them in a timely manner. According to Hootsuite, “Social media + comments + mentions + respond now (not later) = a relationship.”
  • Your tone will depend upon the social media channel. For example, with LinkedIn you would want to take a more professional tone. But with Instagram, you would likely want a more light-hearted, playful tone. And, avoid jargon on your channels or your message may be lost.
  • Follow the social media Rule of Thirds: one third of your posts can promote your department, school or program; one third of your posts should be shared posts from others related to your area; and one third should be engagement—liking your followers’ posts, responding to comments and sharing personal stories that make them see you as real people.
  • Each social media channel has a different audience and different tone. Use each effectively instead of posting the same thing to all your channels. Irrelevant content is annoying to users and will lead to unfollows.
  • Where appropriate, use a link or button along with a call-to-action. If you tell them about your great program but don’t link them to information on applying, you may have just lost a new student.
  • Your profile information is a marketing opportunity and where people often go when they want more information or to get your contact information. Fill the profile section out completely to ensure your audience can find the information it needs.
  • Most social media platforms offer analytics. Keep an eye on them to determine if your strategy is working and then make needed adjustments.

Kennesaw State University Social Media Guidelines

 

 

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