Departmental Social Media
Best Practices
Quick Tips to Help You Improve Your
Departmental Social Media
Engagement.
By Josse Alex Garrido, UTRGV Social Media Manager.
July 2016
Outline
The Paradox of Digital Engagement
Humanizing your Social Media Profiles
Be Helpful & Memorable
Putting out Fires
When to Ban or Block Someone?
The Paradox of Digital Engagement
“People do not like to engage with
brands, they like to engage with people”
“Facebook helps you
connect and share with
the people in your life.”
Facebook 2008 Mission Statement
My friends at ….
The paradox of digital engagement
is that in order for people to feel
connected with a brand, they must
perceive the brand as “their
friend.”
Humanizing your Social Media Profiles
The very first step to humanizing
your organizational social media
presence is developing a clear
brand voice.
Talk with your team & think
outside the box.
Types of Voice
•FUNNY: Quirky and not afraid to push the envelope.
•CLEVER: This type of voice is particularly useful for niche audiences.
•PLAYFUL: Actively asking questions and giving shout-outs. Posts that
inspire curiosity fall into this category.
•INSPIRATIONAL: Posts that motivate us to go above and beyond.
Anything that inspires people to take action.
•HELPFUL: Anything educational or that provides solutions to common
problems. This is the voice behind “life-hacks” and “quick tutorials.”
Making your audience feel like you “get them” is essential for this type
of voice.
Although funny posts tend to go viral faster,
helpful posts build the ost loyalty.
How to be Helpful and Memorable?
•Provide resources: Develop your own graphics and posts and share
them with your audience. Share the most pressing updates or news
about your area in a timely manner. Provide feedback and insight.
•Talk to them directly: Ask questions and use an approachable tone on
your updates. Do not be afraid to ask for feedback.
•Respond in a timely manner: Provide a response to as many relevant
comments as possible. Think ahead about the kinds of questions your
audience might have about an update, and reply to questions in a
reasonable amount of time.
Not all complaints are the same
Publicly Shared
•Do not necessarily seek help
•Seeking an audience
•Seeking empathy
Privately Shared
•Want a response fast
•Willing to work with you
Venting and complaining about issues is common on social media. There are two types of complaints:
Dealing with negativity on social media is
very similar to dealing with fire
How to Put Out a Fire?
•You cannot put out a fire with more fire.
•You do not have to put your hand into the fire.
•People like to take screenshots of the fire.
•You need to contain the fire.
•If you leave the fire unattended, it will most likely grow.
•Flooding the fire with kindness may help.
You cannot
put out a
fire with
more fire
If you reply with a tone that
underscores anger or
resentment, you will only
make things worse. If you
come across as defensive or
evasive, you are only adding
fuel to the fire.
You do not
have to put
your hand
into the fire
You do not have to respond
to pure rudeness or
disrespect. Report any post
that is belligerent,
extremely offensive, or
could cause harm.
People like
to take
screenshots
of the fire
Expect people to take
screenshots of your post.
Often, people do this to
further their rallying cries or
to instigate more negative
responses. Be mindful of the
fact that your response will
most likely elicit a
screenshot and do not say
anything that might
compromise your
department or the
university.
Contain the
fire
The best approach is to
instruct the person to email
your department directly, so
that you can further assist.
If you leave
the fire
unattended, it
will most
likely grow
It all depends on how much
fuel the fire has, of course
Flooding the
fire with
kindness
may help
As much as possible, try to
maintain a calm and helpful
tone. Your number one goal
when dealing with a
negative situation should
be, “What should I do to
help this individual with
his/her situation?”. If the
person perceives that you
are genuinely trying to assist
him/her, he/she will calm
down.
When to Ban or Block someone?
Reasons to ban/block
•Excessive unrelated messaging/posting
•Clear phishing attacks
•Persistent abusive language
•Obvious attempts to spread misinformation

UTRGV Departmental Social Media Best Practices

  • 1.
    Departmental Social Media BestPractices Quick Tips to Help You Improve Your Departmental Social Media Engagement. By Josse Alex Garrido, UTRGV Social Media Manager. July 2016
  • 2.
    Outline The Paradox ofDigital Engagement Humanizing your Social Media Profiles Be Helpful & Memorable Putting out Fires When to Ban or Block Someone?
  • 3.
    The Paradox ofDigital Engagement “People do not like to engage with brands, they like to engage with people”
  • 4.
    “Facebook helps you connectand share with the people in your life.” Facebook 2008 Mission Statement
  • 5.
    My friends at…. The paradox of digital engagement is that in order for people to feel connected with a brand, they must perceive the brand as “their friend.”
  • 6.
    Humanizing your SocialMedia Profiles The very first step to humanizing your organizational social media presence is developing a clear brand voice. Talk with your team & think outside the box.
  • 8.
    Types of Voice •FUNNY:Quirky and not afraid to push the envelope. •CLEVER: This type of voice is particularly useful for niche audiences. •PLAYFUL: Actively asking questions and giving shout-outs. Posts that inspire curiosity fall into this category. •INSPIRATIONAL: Posts that motivate us to go above and beyond. Anything that inspires people to take action. •HELPFUL: Anything educational or that provides solutions to common problems. This is the voice behind “life-hacks” and “quick tutorials.” Making your audience feel like you “get them” is essential for this type of voice.
  • 9.
    Although funny poststend to go viral faster, helpful posts build the ost loyalty.
  • 10.
    How to beHelpful and Memorable? •Provide resources: Develop your own graphics and posts and share them with your audience. Share the most pressing updates or news about your area in a timely manner. Provide feedback and insight. •Talk to them directly: Ask questions and use an approachable tone on your updates. Do not be afraid to ask for feedback. •Respond in a timely manner: Provide a response to as many relevant comments as possible. Think ahead about the kinds of questions your audience might have about an update, and reply to questions in a reasonable amount of time.
  • 12.
    Not all complaintsare the same Publicly Shared •Do not necessarily seek help •Seeking an audience •Seeking empathy Privately Shared •Want a response fast •Willing to work with you Venting and complaining about issues is common on social media. There are two types of complaints:
  • 13.
    Dealing with negativityon social media is very similar to dealing with fire
  • 14.
    How to PutOut a Fire? •You cannot put out a fire with more fire. •You do not have to put your hand into the fire. •People like to take screenshots of the fire. •You need to contain the fire. •If you leave the fire unattended, it will most likely grow. •Flooding the fire with kindness may help.
  • 15.
    You cannot put outa fire with more fire If you reply with a tone that underscores anger or resentment, you will only make things worse. If you come across as defensive or evasive, you are only adding fuel to the fire.
  • 16.
    You do not haveto put your hand into the fire You do not have to respond to pure rudeness or disrespect. Report any post that is belligerent, extremely offensive, or could cause harm.
  • 17.
    People like to take screenshots ofthe fire Expect people to take screenshots of your post. Often, people do this to further their rallying cries or to instigate more negative responses. Be mindful of the fact that your response will most likely elicit a screenshot and do not say anything that might compromise your department or the university.
  • 18.
    Contain the fire The bestapproach is to instruct the person to email your department directly, so that you can further assist.
  • 19.
    If you leave thefire unattended, it will most likely grow It all depends on how much fuel the fire has, of course
  • 20.
    Flooding the fire with kindness mayhelp As much as possible, try to maintain a calm and helpful tone. Your number one goal when dealing with a negative situation should be, “What should I do to help this individual with his/her situation?”. If the person perceives that you are genuinely trying to assist him/her, he/she will calm down.
  • 23.
    When to Banor Block someone?
  • 24.
    Reasons to ban/block •Excessiveunrelated messaging/posting •Clear phishing attacks •Persistent abusive language •Obvious attempts to spread misinformation