UNB Marketing Blog
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Social media strategy template

Author: Marketing

Posted on ${date}

Category: Web and Social Media

Before launching your social media account it’s important to develop a strategy that identifies what you’re trying to achieve and how you're going to use your account to reach your goals and objectives.

When developing your strategy, keep your overall marketing and organizational goals in mind so that your social media efforts drive toward your objectives. Use this social media strategy template to develop a plan for your account and reach out to us at socialmedia@unb.ca for advice around getting started or elevating your online presence.

Template

Goals & objectives

The goals & objectives section should outline specific, measurable, attainable and relevant goals with a completion deadline. What are we trying to achieve?

Examples:

  • Inform current students about programs, deadlines, etc.
  • Promote news and events
  • Inform and engage the community about public events
  • Engage and inform prospective students

Tone

Your tone will be based on your audience, situation and channel and should reflect the personality of your account. What is the voice and personality of our account? The tone of your accounts should always reflect UNB's brand voice, as outlined in the UNB Brand Foundation. You can build on this by identifying other characteristics of your voice like "informal" or uses emojis.

  • UNB's personality is friendly, supportive, positive and authentic

Audience

This section outlines who you want to connect with and who will be spending time on your accounts. Who are we trying to reach?

Examples:

  • Current students
  • Prospective students
  • UNB community
  • General public

Content, themes & key messages

This section should outline what information you want to share with your audience. What are our key themes, topics, etc. What are we trying to promote?

Examples:

  • Information for students (e.g. programs, deadlines, events, resources, etc.)
  • News & stories (e.g. faculty awards, student accomplishments, research, etc.)
  • Benefits of a specific degree (e.g. Alumni stories, career and co-op opportunities, etc.)
  • Photos from the faculty or campus (e.g. special events, beautiful days, etc.)
  • Avoid making your own graphics or using copyright protected images from the Internet – high quality & original photos perform best

Rules of engagement

This section helps guide the way you and your colleagues will manage your account. These are some best practices to keep in mind when building your own "Rules of Engagement". What are the guidelines or logistics that we’ll follow to grow and govern our account?

  • Use “We” instead of “I” when engaging with your audience (speaking on behalf of a group)
  • Respond to questions and Direct Messages within 1 day
  • Post a few times per week (at least once a week) when possible
  • Always use (high-quality) photos where possible - Facebook has evolved way past basic text posts.
    • Note: This does not apply to emergencies, cancelations, etc.
    • Tip: Facebook will automatically add an image (even a logo) from a page when you add a link. You can customize this by selecting other available images or uploading your own.
  • Shorten links using goo.gl or bit.ly (example)
  • Tag other pages where appropriate (e.g. @UNBFredericton, @UNBSaintJohn, @UNBAlumni, etc.)
  • Engage with comments through ‘likes’ or responses

Measurement

This section should outline the metrics you'll use to evaluate your progress toward your goals. How will we measure and learn from your success? Pay attention to metrics like:
  • Reach (How many people Facebook ‘serves’ your post to) – Which types of posts get the most reach?
  • Reactions (“Likes”)
  • Shares
  • Followers (and unfollows)

Explore the “Insights” tab on your Facebook page to learn who follows you, when your posts perform best, when people “hide” or unfollow you, etc.

Managing issues or negativity

Almost all social media managers encounter negative feedback. Please reach out any time you're not sure how to respond. You should take negativity seriously and react quickly but carefully. If it gives you X pause and ask for advice. How will we handle negative or harmful comments?

  • DELETE
    • Comments that are perceived to be harmful to an individual or group
    • Profanity
    • Vulgarity that is inappropriate for a public space
    • Advertisements or SPAM
  • ENGAGE
(Make sure you have approval to speak on behalf of your unit, campus or university on the issue in question)
  • Comments that are negative
    • Sample response: Hi _______ - sorry to hear this. Email us with more details? (This way you are encouraging them to deal with their issue directly – not in a public space online.)
  • Comments that you have an (approved) answer for or might be able to help resolve
  • Mistakes – if you slip up and people notice…own it, correct it and apologize. People like to know we’re people, not robots. (If it could be harmful or cause confusion, misinformation, etc., consider deleting & correcting. You can always ask for advice!)
  • MONITOR
    • Conversations that might be controversial, provocative, etc. (If harmful, delete.)
  • ASK FOR HELP
    • Sensitive or controversial issues
    • Complaints or conversations that are escalating
      • Don’t engage more than a couple times – try to take the conversation offline
    • Anything that gives you pause

By developing and following a social media strategy, you'll have a clear plan to follow to ensure your accounts look legit and achieve results. Before launching your account, fill out this template and get in touch with us to start building your social media presence: socialmedia@unb.ca.