Toolkit

Social Media

Social media inspires community engagement and idea sharing

We are in a continuous conversation with our students, faculty and staff, and we actively listen to our global community. At UBC, we use social media to amplify stories that celebrate new ideas and encourage people to maximize their potential.

Social media is a powerful resource and tool for capturing and sharing moments that exemplify UBC’s drive to develop opportunities for people who want to create a better world. Our social content is inclusive and should always inspire a feeling of belonging to the UBC community.

Key Considerations

Key Considerations for Social Media

1
What does an ‘on-brand’ social media channel look like?

UBC social channels are required to have an official social media avatar and a high-quality cover photo (please see our photography page for guidelines). UBC Brand and Marketing will create a brand-compliant social media avatar for you; please use this form to submit your request.

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2
What does ‘on-brand’ social media content look like?

The content you share on an official UBC social media channel should be representative of a leading university. Language and media should be inspiring, courageous and spark curiosity, without appearing too promotional. UBC social content offers an intelligent, highly informed point of view that shares discoveries, inspires conversation and supports the UBC community locally and around the world.

3
What can I do to make my content more accessible on mobile?

The majority of our social audience accesses our content primarily from mobile devices. Plan your content for a small screen: keep text to a minimum on graphic images and always keep in mind how your content will be consumed. Using images and graphics with large ‘safe zones’ around the edges, with clear and easily understood calls to action, will help enhance the mobile experience for your user. Imagine the entire user journey and create content that enhances the mobile experience.

4
What is the tone and style I should use in my writing?

When writing for UBC social channels, please adhere to our editorial guidelines at all times. Compress your message so that the first 80 characters are sharp, succinct and eye-catching. Resist sensationalism or spam-type language to engage your audience. Inspire a feeling of belonging, ignite discovery and share stories that help create new thinking in the world.

Before
At UBC’s Okanagan campus, Bachelor of Science students can now minor in data science. http://ow.ly/VG2Hp
After
Harvard Business Review called it ‘The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century’: #UBC Okanagan students can now minor in data science. http://ow.ly/VruCH

5
What hashtags should I use?

Hashtags are an opportunity for conversation. They represent online communities that gather around specific topics. Before you invent a new hashtag, research commonly used hashtags for the discipline or field you are talking about, and use #UBC to leverage your content. Brevity is key: keep your hashtags as short as possible and build in connections to other handles and hashtags right into your sentence.

Full Guidelines

Full Guidelines

Social Media Playbook

Download the complete social media playbook PDF for full details about social media at UBC.

Download Playbook

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Project Planning Tips

Project Planning Tips

Make the most out of your project. Here are some strategies that we think will help you.

Before
  1. Before starting a social media channel, ask yourself: Have I considered all the alternative communication channels to promote the content? Do I have the capacity to maintain the channel and can I do a consistently good job at creating and publishing the content?
  2. Learn about the social landscape and best practices. Join the Social Media Meetup Group.
  3. Create a long-term strategy that includes an editorial calendar, a management plan and benchmarks to guide your progress.
  4. While these guidelines are intended for official UBC channels, many faculty and staff also engage on social media via personal accounts. See our guidelines on personal use of social media by UBC faculty or staff.
During
  1. Listen to your community. Monitor hashtags and keywords relevant to your faculty, unit or department. Watch your Twitter lists. Don’t have lists? Here’s how to create them using Twitter.
  2. Monitor UBC’s main Facebook and Twitter channels and UBC News on Twitter to ensure that you’re keeping abreast of the larger, enterprise-wide stories and news.
  3. Be consistent. If you’re unable to post content on a regular basis, ensure that you’re scheduling content for when you’re away and that there is someone to manage the channel for you.
After
  1. Measure your efforts. Knowing how your content is performing will guide when, how, and what you post. Each social platform offers varying analytics and measurement data that you can use to report on performance. Establish a process to track your performance over time.
  2. Be proactive about your content. Plan for events, seasonal promotions and recurring themes in the academic calendar, and incorporate and promote your own unique events and stories that you know will happen each year. By planning ahead, you will capture better content and optimize real-time media.
  3. Continue to build your network. Follow key influencers at UBC and join the Social Media Meetup Group to learn more about creating and managing successful social media channels.

Downloads

Downloads

Order Avatars

Get your social channel on-brand by ordering your official UBC avatar.

Order Form

Content Submission Form

Do you have content you’d like shared on ubc.ca, Beyond UBC or UBC’s institutional social media channels? Review our playbook and use our submission form.

Submit Content

Social Media Playbook

This playbook will help you succeed at managing and creating exceptional content for your UBC social media channels.

Download Playbook

Social Media Response Framework and Moderation Guidelines

Use these guides to help you determine when to respond and how to moderate conversation on social media.

Download Documents

Photo Library

Our photo library is an invaluable resource with hundreds of on-brand photographs available for non-commercial use on our Flickr site.

Go to Site

Training

Training

Opportunities to gain new insights and communication skills, whether you are a new or seasoned communicator, are always available to you at UBC.

Upcoming Workshops

UBC Social Media Meetup Group

Posted on Oct 17, 2018

The Social Media Meetup Group is a community of practice for UBC staff who manage official social media channels. If you’d like to join the group and attend meetings, please complete the following form.