4. Getting Started
Determining Fit
Building an effective social media account is a responsibility that requires significant commitment and time. The best way to promote your content or message may be to use existing platforms and accounts. Carleton’s flagship social media accounts already have thousands of followers and may include your intended audience. Utilizing existing brand accounts may be the most efficient way for you to promote your content and fulfil your unit goals.
Before creating a new account for your unit, project, or team, consider if the content you will publish could reside on one of the existing channels? Are you producing content for a short-term only? Do you have the resources to produce content daily? If not, consider sharing that content with the DUC for possible inclusion on the flagship accounts.
To promote content relating to your area of the university through the flagship accounts, contact DUC to request. Requests are evaluated based on current calendar, requests that have already been approved, content strategy and the goals/audiences of each social platform. If the content does not fit the objective or goals of the flagship channels, you may also reach out to other established university channels to promote your content. It is advisable to only contact one platform owner at a time, to avoid duplication of content.
If you feel that promoting content through the flagship accounts will not meet your unit needs, please review the following steps on getting started with social media accounts:
When applicable, seek approval from supervisors prior to creation and use of official accounts. When in doubt, seek the council of other institutional social media managers and coordinators and ask questions about social media best practice and platform trends.
Consider how your content strategy, communication plans, department goals, or service objectives will be met through a social media account, and which platforms are required to meet those needs.
Identify your audience is (e.g., prospective students, current students, internal staff), which channels they use and the type of content they would be mostly likely to engage with.
Know how you want to communicate. Develop your tone and voice and content that works for your audience while also meeting your objectives – review the university’s recommended tone for social communication.
Consider your resources. Effective social accounts have the ability to regularly produce content, monitor the activities and comments of the channel, tools to create a calendar or report on engagements.
Consider what success means to you and understand the timeframes for building audiences on these platforms – they take time. How will you reach your audience, who else in the institution could you partner with to meet your social goals?
Reflect on the risks, rewards, and implications of social media, both in the context of your intended use and the general function of social media in our climate. Familiarize yourself with social media culture and the tools you would like to use.
Determine your workflow and process for audience and user engagement. If you are part of a larger team, determine who is empowered to respond directly to comments or messages and when they should do so. Consider if there will be cross-over in audience needs with other departments that have their own social media accounts; how would you handle transferring inquiries, knowledge, and other data with those who need to know?
Develop governance structures around your applications and passwords. Know Carleton University policy surrounding digital security and cyber governance and be diligent in protecting accounts that operate as a voice of the university.