With the total proliferation of social media it can be hard to wrangle for campus communicators. Who should have an account? How do you manage those accounts? How do you best represent your brand on social? Having a social governance strategy is key to your success in the space. Here are a few thoughts to get you started:

CREATE A PROCESS FOR NEW ACCOUNTS:

• Make sure that your university social media policy outlines that new accounts must be approved and registered with the central communications office.
• Create an easy procedure for campus communicators to request and register accounts through online forms, or a dedicated email.
• Create a directory for registered accounts with the contact info for the account managers on your website so that there is a consolidated list that’s easy to find and update.
• Conduct regular audits of social accounts related to your brand. Weed out the ones that are approved or active.

HAVE A CLEAR PHILOSOPHY ON SOCIAL ACCOUNTS:

• The approach to social media accounts across campus varies by institution. Some have a “the more the merrier” style while others feel it’s best to keep the information condensed to a few well-manned accounts. Each approach has its pros and cons.
• If you adopt a more is more approach allowing many contributors to create their own social accounts, keep in mind that there will be many social accounts who are run by people who are not social media, branding, marketing experts. Set your expectations accordingly.
• If you adopt the less is more philosophy where you strictly limit the number of social accounts on campus, you’ll need to create a process for people to contribute content to the accounts you do have. Remember that people are asking to create social accounts because they have information or stories they’d like to share. We don’t want to discourage that.
• Once you have a clear philosophy, stick to it!

CREATE RESOURCES FOR SOCIAL CONTRIBUTORS ACROSS CAMPUS:

• Because many campus social media contributors aren’t designers or communications experts, it’s important to arm them with resources and tools to help them create and share information effectively.
• Develop templates, guidelines, and ready-to-use assets that contributors can use as a foundation.
• Host training sessions where contributors can learn more about certain topics
• Create office hours where contributors can have one-on-one sessions with a social media expert on your team.