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Communications Resources - Social Media

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OVERVIEW

The College of Arts and Science has a presence on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn which are managed by the Marketing and Communications Manager.   

If you’d like to submit a piece of good news or a story for A&S to share on social media, please submit it to us. 

Department Social Media Accounts

Some A&S departments chose to manage their own social media accounts. Before deciding whether to create (or continue) an account, we urge you to first consider a few strategic questions:

  • Why do you want to start a social media account? Will social media help you achieve your program's goals?
  • What types of content are you planning to share? Do you have enough content to make your account relevant?
  • What audiences are you trying to reach? Are they on the platforms that you plan to use?
  • Does your department have the capacity to consistently run a social media account, including creating content, posting, engaging audiences, responding, maintaining, finding images, etc.? A dormant/ignored social media platform is worse than not having one at all.

Launching and maintaining a social media presence is a time-intensive effort, and these are important questions when considering whether your department should start a social media account. The A&S Communications Team is happy to meet with you to help you determine the best approach.

Social Media Handbook

If you manage a social media account, it is important to review Vanderbilt's guidelines. Pay particular attention to the Account Security and Policies section. Protecting your social media accounts is important, and be sure to take appropriate action if the person managing the account leaves your department. It can be very difficult to regain access to a social account that has been abandoned.

Social Media Tips 
  • Remain professional. Your social media account represents your department, A&S, and Vanderbilt University as a whole. Make sure to always be professional when crafting content and engaging with users. Identify a full-time faculty or staff member to run your account. It can be tempting to hire a student worker to do it, and students can certainly be important members of your communications team, but ultimately the content, strategy, execution, and passwords for your social media channels are the responsibility of full-time Vanderbilt employees. We recommend that more than one full-time faculty or staff member have access to your accounts in the event that one person is unavailable.
  • Make content accessible. Use alt tags, or image descriptions, on your images to make your content accessible to screen readers. Not all platforms offer the option to include an alt tag, but when they do, please use them.
  • Remember, everything you do online can and will live forever. Think before you post, remembering that anything you share on social media, even within a closed network, is not private. It can and will be shared, stored, and spread globally—even something you've since deleted. Don’t post anything online you wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing on the front page of a news outlet.
  • Create rich content. When thinking about content, highlight stories and features that make your department/program stand out and come alive. Ask yourself why your department is unique compared to similar departments at other universities. People love profiles on social media, so include students, faculty, and staff from your department whenever possible.
  • Use rich photos. Social media relies heavily on visual elements, so make sure to always use photos and graphics with your posts to catch your audience’s eye. Be sure you have permission and/or rights to use the photos you’re sharing.
  • Be social! Social media is an excellent place to engage audiences, so use these platforms to share information about opportunities, events, etc. related to your program/department. Make sure to like comments, tag appropriate parties, and respond as needed when posting on your channels.
  • Don’t forget about the A&S channels. Tag A&S (@VUartsci) in your posts so we can reshare your content when appropriate.
  • Talk to us. Please reach out if you'd like guidance thinking through your social media strategy.

Best practices specifically for Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube

Faculty Resources

For faculty who would like more information about their personal digital presence, how to best use social media to your advantage, and how to more effectively communicate about your research, please review the below videos hosted by Vanderbilt's social media team.

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