Social Media Best Practices

Follow these social media best practices to make your accounts shine!

DO:

  • Post to your social media accounts daily or, at the least, weekly. 

  • Answer people’s questions promptly and adequately. It is the responsibility of the account holder to monitor social media accounts for such questions.

  • Vary your posts to keep followers interested.

  • Post newsy updates, share links to other web-based resources, include photos or videos, ask questions, or request input or feedback.

  • Post information that ties to issues current in other media, such as news or weather reports.

  • If anyone posts something profane or inappropriate to your page, delete it without comment.

  • Write content specifically for the forum where you’ll be posting it.

  • When you share a web link, write a brief description of it in your post, along with the link. This way, you are telling your followers why you’ve chosen it for them and why you believe it’s relevant to them.

  • As a user of social media, pay attention to messages that generate good responses and lively discussions on the pages and accounts you like to visit. Use those posts as models for constructing your own.

  • Use official UL Lafayette-issued profile photos, etc., for your professional social media accounts. Follow the established guidelines for their use.

  • Posts should include information that is as complete and accurate as possible and that is valuable to followers/readers.

  • Keep your posts friendly and engaging, just like your face-to-face interactions. This is your opportunity to put a human face on our university in the social media space.

  • If a member of the news media contacts you because of something you posted, respond promptly and courteously. Many media professionals are monitoring social media for leads on stories, and this could be a great way for you to build relationships and visibility in the mass media, too. If you need guidance on handling a media request, contact the UL Lafayette Office of Communications and Marketing.

  • Whenever possible, link back to the UL Lafayette website. Ideally, posts should be very brief; redirecting a visitor to content that resides within Louisiana.edu. When linking to a news article about the university, check first to see whether you can link to a release on Louisiana.edu instead of to an external publication or other media outlet.

  • Posts on social media sites should protect UL Lafayette’s institutional voice by remaining professional in tone and in good taste.

DON’T:

  • Don’t re-post or retweet negative/inappropriate comments, even to point out its errors! Doing so just spreads the negativity further, and may even make it seem to have originated with you.

  • Do not engage in arguments or vent frustrations when you are using social media professionally. Communicate respectfully and positively with your contacts. 

  • Don’t use overly technical or bureaucratic sounding language.

  • If someone repeatedly posts inappropriate content, block that person using the features available on that platform. (See our social media guidelines for a clear definition of "innapropriate.")

  • Do not block someone simply because they have differing opinions. As a public university, our social media is considered a public form where the First Amendment is vigorously protected. See our guidelines for more information.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss social media in more depth, contact the UL Lafayette social media strategist Amy Windsor at social@louisiana.edu or via Microsoft Teams. You can also stop by during office hours in Stephens Hall, room 109, every Monday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. to talk in person.