Do You Need Social?

Questions to consider:

What does my college, school, department, program or organization hope to accomplish through social media?

• Outline your goals to track your return on progress; do you want to increase followers? Promote an event? Engage with students or others? etc.
• Think strategically about creating new accounts; Is this the right platform to meet your audience? For your type of content? Don’t jump into social media without a plan, goals and measures of success

Who is my target audience and what channels are they using?

• Depending on your audience and goals, not all channels may be necessary.
• Concentrate your efforts on building your audience before starting a new channel.

Do I have the resources available to regularly update and maintain this social media channel?

• Running an account goes beyond posting. Do you have the time to engage and inform your audience? If not, consider a collaborative promotion with established accounts.
• Some channels require more frequent updates.
• Do you have the ability to create engaging graphics or photographs to feature on your accounts?

If you are able to answer these questions and outline a clear social strategy, then starting the appropriate social media accounts may be the right answer for you. Before starting an official Texas Woman’s social media account, you will need to obtain the appropriate approval. This should come from TWU’s social media manager, as well as your dean, department chair and/or program director, depending on the circumstances. This approval will need to be included when you submit your social media account to be officially registered with the university (See: How to Register Your Accounts).