Social Media Strategy

In FY13, the university approved funding for a digital communications director in the Governmental Relations & University Communications division. This investment indicates that the university acknowledges the importance of social media and values its potential. One of the first tasks of the director was to develop a university-wide social media strategy.

To coordinate and strengthen the university's social media efforts and to incorporate social media as an integral part of an overall communications strategy.

1. Build a collaborative university-wide social media environment.
2. Strengthen UC's brand and improve UC's reputation.
3. Recruit and retain students, faculty and staff.
4. Build a culture of philanthropy.
5. Establish social media as an official emergency and crisis communication resource.

• Ensure regular communication among those responsible for university-affiliated accounts.
  •  Develop a social media council, led by Director of Digital Communications.
  • Create, implement and enforce social media policy and social media best practices documents. 
  • Create an approval/review process for any new social media accounts or channels. 
  • Conduct a review process of existing accounts to determine whether to merge and/or eliminate accounts. 
  • Share messages from other university-affiliated accounts.
  • Share insights, best practices and success stories. 
  • Develop consistent hashtags to be used to aggregate conversations regarding the university (specifically on Twitter and Instagram). 
  • Develop a campus-wide editorial calendar for sharing university news.
• Provide resources, guidance and strategies to support social media efforts of campus units.
  • Identify, test and recommend third-party tools, such as social media monitoring platforms
    
• Ensure UC branding standards are met across all social media platforms and accounts.

• Integrate social media plan into overall university communications strategy.
  • Use social media to share top web content created by university units.
• Reinforce the UC brand.
  • Develop and promote university key messages in accordance with UC2019 and other key university initiatives.
  • Share university accomplishments, awards, rankings, etc.
    
• Build relationships using social media.
  • Monitor and respond to all comments, mentions, shares, etc., when appropriate.
  • Create Social Media Monitoring Team to continually monitor channels.
    
• Increase likes, fans, followers, subscribers, pins, etc.
• Increase engagement levels.
  • Use monitoring tools to measure engagement and reach.
  • Proactively engage constituents and join conversations about UC.
• Monitor regional and national competitors' social media accounts and trends.
• Increase exposure for social media accounts.
  • Use marketing and communications resources and traditional media.

• Build relationships with prospective, recently accepted and current students using social media.
  • Reply, retweet, share, like student posts
• Attract prospective faculty and staff and enhance relationships with current faculty and staff.
  • Share key university news and messages.
  • Share university and individual accomplishments, awards, rankings, etc.
• Increase engagement levels.
  • Monitor conversations and provide information for those seeking UC.
  • Use keyword searches on social networks or third-party tools to monitor conversations and respond accordingly.
• Push Web traffic to uc.edu, admissions.uc.edu, uc.edu/about.
  • Deliver prospective students information and links to more information at specific web addresses within the uc.edu framework.
  • Direct questions and comments to appropriate UC offices/units (admissions, financial aid, colleges, etc.)

• Use social media to increase awareness about the funding needs and priorities at UC.
• Cultivate relationships with prospective donors including students, alumni, faculty, staff, businesses and the greater community using social media.
  • Reply retweet, share, like posts related to philanthropic UC initiatives.
  • Share philanthropic university news and initiatives.
  • Share university and individual donor and scholarship recipient stories, college and university-wide funding priorities, etc.
• Increase engagement levels.
  • Monitor conversations and provide information for those seeking information about giving to UC.
  • Use keyword searches on social networks or third-party tools to monitor conversations and respond accordingly.
• Drive Web traffic to uc.edu/foundation, uc.edu/alumni, etc.
  • Include calls to action in social posts (give now, support UC).
  • Deliver philanthropic information and links to more information at specific Web addresses within the uc.edu framework.
  • Direct questions and comments to appropriate UC offices/units (Foundation, etc.)

• Include social media in emergency and crisis communication planning and policies. (Note that any social media communication can and may be regarded as official university statement.)
  • Develop a reporting hierarchy for crises.
  • Work with Emergency Planning Committee to incorporate social media.
• Create an action plan for responding to negative comments in social media.