Social Media Strategy

General Advice

In all areas of social media, remember that posting content on behalf of your department or club isn’t the same as using your own account. In all instances, attempt to avoid using the word “I” as it can confuse or isolate your followers. Stick to first person plural (such as we, us, our). If your Facebook page or Twitter account is unused and gathering dust, you must make an important decision. Will your department or club attempt to revive the account(s)? If not, it is best to delete the account. When students visit pages that haven’t been updated in months, or even years, it reflects badly upon you. If social media is not a priority for you to engage with students, then dismantling your accounts is a better choice than letting them become obsolete.

Maintaining a Facebook Page

If your department or student-led club has a Facebook page and followers, congratulations! You’ve already fought half the battle. But how can you keep your page relevant and active? Post regularly.

• Consistency is key. Students need to see your posts pop up regularly in their feeds, and they should know what sort of content they will see from you.
• Consider putting one person in your department in charge of Facebook, or utilizing a content calendar if you have multiple people running the page. 
• It pays to plan ahead for posts that relate to school events, department events, and national holidays. If specific photos need to be taken, or longer copy needs to be written, you’ll want to know before it’s time to post.

Keep content fresh.

• Every post on your Facebook page should be timely and interesting. If possible, don’t post belatedly. 
• Respond as soon as possible to any comments or questions on your posts. Students will appreciate your feedback, and are more likely to engage with posts if they know you are listening and willing to help. 

Use inviting words and pictures.

• Using high quality photos makes your page more fun to look at and engage with. 
• You can use images from the gallery, the La Sierra University Flickr account, or a copy-right-free site such as Pexels. 
• When writing the copy for your post, keep your sentences short, sweet, and well-written. Inform people of the event/occasion/piece of interest, and then direct them to it. 

Twitter Tips

Managing a Twitter can be a challenge. How can you keep your audience engaged and interested in your content?  Utilize the first three tips under “Maintaining a Facebook Page.” 

• Post often (consider using a platform to help you schedule tweets, such as TweetDeck)
• Keep your content new and interesting
• Use high quality photos and well-written copy 

Keep to 140 characters.

• Part of what sets Twitter apart from other social media is the limit on tweet length. Tweets can only use 140 characters, and often times links or photos attached to tweets eat up some of those characters. Choose your words carefully, and always be succinct. 
• If your message requires more than 140 characters, you can reply to your own tweet to create a “thread,” or you can quote your own tweet to keep the conversation going. 

Use the account to have conversations.

• Twitter, like Facebook, is primarily meant for two-way conversations. Though your tweets must be brief, interact with students when they ask questions. 
• Run polls to further engage with students and collect honest feedback.
• Join relevant relevant conversations on a larger scale by looking at trending topics and using their hashtags. 

Employ hashtags.

• Hashtags are words and phrases that are preceded by the pound/hash sign (#) that are used to identify specific topics that have also utilized the same hashtag. Use these as much as possible, as you will reach a wider audience. 
  • Example: If your department/club is getting together to watch the Olympics in the Lincoln Room of the library, use the hashtag #Rio2016 or #Olympics2016 in your tweets.