This document provides tips for using social media successfully for audience engagement. It emphasizes the importance of understanding your audience and their preferred social media channels. The goals of an organization's social media presence should be considered, such as engagement, awareness, and disseminating information. Content should be relevant, conversational, and focus on providing value to users. Both photos and collaborating with others can boost engagement. Regular posting and cross-posting across channels is recommended, while monitoring for spam. Tracking metrics can help evaluate success over time.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA
Tips and tricks for successful audience
engagement
University Communications
Tiffany Broadbent Beker

2. WHO ARE YOU
TALKING TO?
Before anything else, figure out:

3. WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?
ALUMNI
CURRENT STUDENTS
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
PARENTS
GENERAL PUBLIC
PEER ORGANIZATIONS

4. WHAT CHANNELS IS YOUR AUDIENCE USING?
SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE BY AGE
0
15
30
45
60
75
90
15-17 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn

5. GOALS
What are you using social media for?

6. YOUR ORGANIZATION’S GOALS
▸ Engage and connect with your audience
▸ Humanize and give personality to your organization
▸ Generate awareness
▸ Publicize events and promotions
▸ Answer questions (a.k.a. “customer service”)
▸ Disseminate important information quickly

7. FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS

8. WHAT DO YOU POST?
So you have a social media account…

9. WHAT INTERESTING, USEFUL
AND RELEVANT INFORMATION
DO I HAVE TO SHARE?
Ask yourself…

10. START BY LISTENING
LISTENING WILL HELP YOU...
▸ Understand your audience
(and what they’re saying
about you)
▸ Learn your audience’s likes
and interests
▸ Use social media as a
conversation not a
broadcast tool
▸ Open Your Ears, Ma’ayan
Plaut

11. ...AND COLLABORATING

12. CONTENT TIPS
▸ Provide some benefit in exchange for users’ attention (behind
the scenes, insider info, etc.)
▸ Ask meaningful questions
▸ Add a comment when you share a link (Why should folks click?)
▸ Stay on topic, relate each post back to your organization in
some way
▸ Use a conversational tone, social media is not a formal platform
▸ Keep it (relatively) short
▸ Ask yourself “Would I find this interesting?”

13. CONTENT TIPS
PHOTOS & VIDEOS
▸ Photos/video do not have to be
professionally done, just well-taken and well-
composed (in focus, well-lit etc.)
▸ Create your own graphics with text via
canva.com or similar sites
▸ Share posts by others, with attribution
(Regram or Repost apps for Instagram)
▸ Post natively to each channel (when possible)
▸ Caption all images to provide context,
attribution

14. CONTENT TIPS
FACEBOOK TIPS
▸ Don’t need to leave
link in post (paste, get
the link preview, then
delete)

15. CONTENT TIPS
FACEBOOK TIPS
▸ Don’t need to leave
link in post (paste, get
the link preview, then
delete)
▸ Can choose the best
thumbnail for your link

16. CONTENT TIPS
FACEBOOK TIPS
▸ Don’t need to leave
link in post (paste, get
the link preview, then
delete)
▸ Can choose the best
thumbnail for your link
▸ Upload a custom link
thumbnail image

17. CONTENT TIPS
FACEBOOK TIPS
▸ Can change your Page Name at any time (after 200 likes)
▸ Make sure to use “William & Mary” or “W&M”
▸ Can privately message a user who comments on your post
▸ Stock direct message replies

18. CREATE A CONTENT
CALENDAR
Campus
Event
Facebook
Twitter
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Announce a
contest
Twitter
Update
cover photo
Facebook
Twitter
Throwback
Facebook
Twitter
Follow
Friday #FF
Twitter

19. CONTENT TIPS
BEFORE HITTING “PUBLISH”
▸ Don’t post anything online you wouldn’t want
permanently recorded and associated with
your organization
▸ Always pause, reread, and check your facts,
links, grammar, and tone

20. DO NOT ENGAGE THE TROLLS
Refer to the W&M Comment Policy
www.wm.edu/social-media-comment-policy
Most times the
community will
self-correct and
self-police

21. BEWARE OF SPAM
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA SPAM?
▸ Off topic, with no attempt to mention or reference your
organization or field
▸ Selling or promoting products/ventures
(with no relation or reference to your organization or field)
▸ Inflammatory, derogatory, profane, duplicate content
▸ Can appear in many places on your page:
Comments Posts by Others Twitter Followers
Refer to the W&M Comment Policy
www.wm.edu/social-media-comment-policy

22. HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND YOU?
Via your website
Pre-existing social media accounts
W&M Social Media Directory
social.wm.edu/directory

23. HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND YOU?
Like/Follow
Similar/relevant accounts
Share/Retweet
Updates from others
Tag/Mention
@williamandmary
Tag Facebook Page by Display Name

24. HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND YOU?
Like/Follow
Similar/relevant accounts
Share/Retweet
Updates from others
Tag/Mention
@williamandmary
Tag Facebook Page by Username
Tag Twitter Page by Username

25. HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND YOU?
Like/Follow
Similar/relevant accounts
Share/Retweet
Updates from others
Tag/Mention
@williamandmary
Hashtags
#wmcharterday, #wmgrad, #wmconvocation
http://www.wm.edu/hashtags

26. CONTENT TIPS
WHEN CROSS-POSTING: CUSTOMIZE YOUR CONTENT

27. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
WHO IS YOUR “SOCIAL MEDIA PERSON”?
▸ Designate someone who is responsible for (and has time
for) updating, monitoring and maintaining the accounts
▸ Should have the permission/authority to speak on behalf
of your organization (or direct connection to someone
who can)
▸ Ensure there’s another person with access to the accounts
for backup
▸ Join the W&M Social Media User’s Group (SMUG)

28. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TIME
5 minutes
twice a day
to monitor page & answer
questions
30 minutes
once a week
to plan posts
Can schedule posts with Facebook, HootSuite, Buffer or
TweetDeck but be prepared for conversations daily
At minimum...

29. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU POST (AND WHEN)?
Capitalize on when
your audience is
most active online.
twice
per week
once
per week
At minimum...
once
per week
Outdated social media
pages are just as bad
as outdated websites.

30. ▸ Attract X new fans or followers
▸ Get Y comments, retweets or shares on your posts
▸ Increase website traffic from social media by Z%
HOW WILL YOU DETERMINE SUCCESS?
SET MEASURABLE AND REALISTIC GOALS
Success will not happen overnight, but if you don’t track
something, you’ll never know how you’re doing.
~8,500 students
~2,500 faculty & staff
94,000+ alumni

31. HOW WILL YOU DETERMINE SUCCESS?
IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS
Create interesting & engaging posts that people want
to share, and they will generate publicity for you
indifferent
followers
100 > 10,000
dedicated &
engaged users

32. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
tiffany@wm.edu
More info:
www.wm.edu/social-media-users-guide
www.wm.edu/smug