Best Practices

Facebook

Facebook builds brand loyalty and reputation.

  • Facebook Pages
    • A Facebook page is accessible by the general public. Pages are intended for organizations, departments, and businesses.
    • Audience: The largest group of users are aged 20-29 (28%), while the second largest group of users are aged 30-39 (21%) according to a 2016 study.
      1. Current students, recent alumni, and parents use this platform most often
    • Posts: Ideal for sharing stories, detailed information, news releases and opportunities for open dialogue
      1. Strive to respond to comments and wall posts, even if they are negative.
    • Monitor your page frequently.
    • Hashtags don’t have much of an impact on engagement or metrics on Facebook. Keep them to a minimum or use them for visual emphasis only.
  • Facebook Groups
    • If your goal is to create a small community where people can chat about a specific topic, a Facebook group might be your best solution.
    • Groups can be set to public or private and share documents and files with members of the group.

Twitter

Twitter is like a news room.

  • Audience: all age ranges
  • Account:
    • Be thoughtful in selecting a username, user handle and a page bio to ensure people find the account in a quick search.
  • Posts: Ideal for breaking news, updates, responses to questions/comments from followers.
    1. To be successful on Twitter, make sure to post updates regularly
    2. This platform is best for acknowledging other campus groups like @CampbellAlumni or @GoCamels
    3. Images, GIFs, etc. no longer count towards the 140 maximum character length
  • Hashtags: the birthplace of the hashtag; can use to search topics or promote a branded hashtag (#LeadingWithPurpose)

Snapchat

Snapchat gives a behind-the-scenes look at things happening at the University.

  • Audience: Snapchat is aimed at audiences under 35, which works great for higher education.
  • How to use:
    • Consider using this as a recruitment tool.
      1. Engage with potential students by responding to snaps they may send you.
      2. Show off things that are happening on campus.
    • Consider hosting takeovers.
      1. Let a faculty member take over the account for a day. Or a student. Show off their perspective of campus and gain great content.
  • Filters:
    • Geofilters are a great way to share the Campbell brand beyond Buies Creek
    • Consider targeting specific locations with event-centered filters to increase student engagement and recruitment

Instagram

Instagram is for capturing beautiful images.

  • Audience: Instagram is the second most engaged social network following Facebook; 90% of users are 35 years old or younger.
    • U.S. teenagers view Instagram as the most important social network; prospective students
  • Posts:
    • Keep captions to 100-125 characters to avoid automatic cut offs
    • Keep graphics to a minimum
  • Hashtags:
    • Hashtags work great on Instagram. Keep branded hashtags in the main caption. If adding hashtags that aren’t Campbell branded, add those in a separate comment below

YouTube

YouTube is the second largest search engine with over 3 billion searches a month.

YouTube is a great resource for Campbell organizations or departments that want to share interesting video content. Access to recording equipment is at an all-time high, so a YouTube channel could be a great asset for your campus group to showcase your interests and campus involvement.

If you don’t have enough video content to sustain your own YouTube channel, you can submit a request to have your content uploaded on Campbell’s YouTube channel.

How to Use YouTube

  • Create an account using a name that references Campbell University
  • Review and comply with YouTube’s policies
  • Upload videos
    • Uploading a video is similar to uploading photos online.
    • YouTube allows for high definition videos, up to 2 GB in size and up to 15 minutes in length
    • Be descriptive when naming and summarizing your video

Tips and Best Practices

  • Poor video quality can distract from great content. When filming, make sure your subject is well-lit and clear of background noise, and minimize equipment shaking.
  • Keep your audience’s attention span in mind. YouTube allows up to 15 minutes of video, but audiences tend to lose interest unless the content is completely compelling.
  • Share, share, share. Share your videos from YouTube across other social media networks.