Starting a social media account is simple, but developing an effective account that gets tangible results requires careful planning, creativity and ongoing time and effort. Here are some things to consider before starting an account. We always recommend you reach out to social@umbc.edu before beginning a new account for help!
Define Your Goals
- What are your communications goals? Are you trying to attract event attendees or members, solicit donations, share news, or start a conversation?
- Are your needs short-term or long-term? Once a channel is started, it requires ongoing coordination and support. Regardless of how much enthusiasm you have at the start, in the long term an inactive account can do your group more harm than good, frustrating followers and suggesting unreliability. If your needs are short-term, such as promoting a single event, guest posting on a related account might be best. If your needs are long-term, consider whether you have the time and resources to keep the account going and whom you could connect with as collaborators.
- How will social media relate to your current website, discussion board, group emails, or print materials? Will it complement existing communications, compete with them, or replace them? Consider that each communications tool you use will require a time investment, and more energy spent on social media could mean less energy spent elsewhere.
Consider Your Audience
- Who is your target audience? Are they already active in existing social media communities? To find out, go to each platform you are considering and search for terms relevant to your group.
- How does your audience want to be reached? Would they find social media communications convenient, timely and lively, or intrusive and annoying?
- What tone, style of communication, and types of content would your target audience find most appealing? A major goal of social media is engagement—developing conversation—so consider what would inspire your audience to respond.
Develop a Content Strategy
- Determine who will be primarily responsible for managing your account and if others will contribute content or ideas. For UMBC-affiliated accounts: (1) consider how you will balance your personal voice with representing UMBC; (2) determine if you’ll need clearance from more senior colleagues prior to posting; and (3) when deciding who will serve as account administrator, consider longevity. For accounts with student contributors, we recommend designating a faculty or staff member as the primary administrator to maintain continuity year-to-year.
- Determine how frequently you will post. It is important to post regularly, but posting too frequently or repeating yourself can annoy and alienate your readers. Alternatively, if your time is limited and you are concerned about infrequent posting, consider joining an existing social media initiative rather than developing your own.
- Consider how you will respond to questions and to both negative and positive comments. Because it can be difficult to resolve conflicts online, particularly on past-paced social media, it can be helpful to move the conversation to a phone call or in-person meeting, where problems can be discussed in greater detail and resolved effectively. For example, if you post about an event and receive an angry response from someone who paid for a ticket and didn’t get an email confirmation, you could apologize for the problem they are experiencing and then ask them to reach you at a given phone number or email address so you can help them resolve the issue quickly.
Expand Your Readership
- Effective social media managers are both content creators and curators of existing content. Develop your range of content and expand your social media network by linking to, embedding, recommending, or commenting on material posted by others.
- Explore other UMBC-affiliated accounts already using your social media platform. Connect with them by following or liking their accounts and engaging with their content.
- Include social media links and icons in your email signature, on your website or blog, and in print materials.
- On Twitter, use hashtags to connect your posts to others on the same topic. Popular UMBC hashtags include #UMBC, #UMBCproud, #RetrieverNation, #UMBCgrad, #UMBCpresident, #FutureRetriever.
Track Analytics and Use That Data to Improve Your Account
- Review your goals and decide what measurements are most meaningful to you. Frequency of posts can indicate your own activity level. Number of followers can demonstrate reach. Comments, retweets, likes, and shares can indicate reader engagement.
- Keep track of how your analytics change over time, archiving older data so you can look back as needed.
- Regularly evaluate the data and adjust your behavior to better meet your goals: Are you posting often enough or too often? Are your posts successfully engaging your intended audience? Is the platform you picked meeting your needs? Is your audience large enough to sustain an active community?