Social media is key to UBalt’s image, reputation and outreach.
It serves not only as a critical recruitment tool but also as a means to build community and share information. These guidelines aim to help you make the most of your social media accounts. Here, we offer ideas and strategies, but remember to make your account unique for your audience.
The Office of Marketing and Creative Services manages the University’s main Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts. If your school, department, office or student group would like to create a social media presence or needs help crafting a more personalized strategy, we can work with you to discuss goals and strategies.
Getting Started
Before you create an account, there a some things you'll want to consider.
- Have a strategy. What do you want your account to say? How will your posts offer something new and valuable? Who's responsible for running the account? Strategizing is key to ensure the utmost impact, and considering these questions will help you decide if you need to create an account (and where) or if it makes more sense to support an existing one.
- Make a plan. Once you determine your strategy and goals, you should develop a maintenance plan to schedule your content. This will help you identify what content you have and what you still need so you can regularly update your account and, subsequently, keep your audience engaged.
- Connect with your social team. After your account goes live, please notify us so we can connect with you and share your content with our audience and our University social media managers.
Want to promote your program/initiative/project without launching a social media channel? No problem; send us the details ( and visuals, if you have them). See our Topics for Consideration for an overview of typical content. We're always open to new ideas, too!
Post Frequency
Facebook
1-2 times per day
Consider varying content types (video, galleries)
Instagram
daily across options
Take advantage of the different types of posts (Stories, Reels) and mix video and carousel posts in with static photos
LinkedIn
a few times per week
Focus on networking opportunities and professional achievements
Twitter
a few times per day
Don't just share links; engage with retweets.
Social media is constantly changing. Consider subscribing to industry newsletters and podcasts to stay informed on the latest trends.
Representing UBalt
As a social media manager, you are one of the University’s most visible ambassadors. Here, we offer some best practices to consider, but managers should also review our Social Media Policy. To be most effective in this important role, you should strive to:
- be present and responsive: People who engage with you—who could include prospective and current students and alumni—will expect a response. You'll need the dedicated time and resources to check in your your accounts regularly to post, but also view comments, react to others' posts, review analytics and check messages.
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be a valued community member. Don't just talk about your corner of the University—share the best information you find from trusted sources outside of UBalt. This will increase the value of your presence. Also consider sharing content from other University social media channels; this contributes to consistency in messaging and also reduces the need to create content from scratch all the time.
- be a good listener. Social media shouldn't be a one-way street. Make sure you're paying attention to what others are saying and doing across the various platforms, and don't forgot to engage with the people you follow and who follow you.
- remember, we are UBalt. Make posts and comments consistent with the University's values, mission and brand. Anything you post in your role as a University social media manager reflects on the institution. Be professional and respectful at all times.
Key Brand and Visual Guidelines
Our visual identity defines who we are. Please refer to our Brand Guidelines and Strategy on all matters related to visual identity, web standards, and appropriate use of graphics and logos.
Generally, you should avoid blurry or pixelated images, give proper credit when required, and avoid text heavy graphics. The latter is particularly important to make sure your posts are accessible. For all visuals, regardless of whether text is present, use alt text to describe your images. You'll also need to add captions to videos. If you're planning on incorporating more video on your social media accounts, please refer to our guide for shooting and editing your own videos. Learn more about ADA compliance.
Growing Your Network
Success with building community via social media is not an end result; it is a process. You have to be present and engaged consistently over time, and you have to measure the effectiveness of that engagement over time.
- Facebook Insights offer a wealth of knowledge, and there are a multitude of free Twitter metrics tools available.
- Services like Sprout Social allow you to monitor multiple social media services at once.
- Software applications such as Hootsuite can help you organize and monitor multiple social media channels, often for free.
- Use a service such as Bit.ly to create shortened, trackable URLs for Twitter.
- Consider a service such as Campsite to create a one-stop spot for links you share on platforms that aren't otherwise link friendly, such as Instagram.
Topics for Consideration
- achievements/initiatives by students, faculty and alumni
- success stories and awards
- features of staff and faculty in your area
- upcoming campus events and relevant or fun holidays (e.g. College Decision Day, National Sunglasses Day)
- photos from campus scenes (timely, colorful, unique)
- media coverage highlights
- archived or historic photos