S
CIAL
SQUAD
presents
SOCIAL MEDIA
NEWSLETTER
February 2024
VOL. 2
ISSUE 2
A
R
T
I
E
Authentic
Relevant
Timely
Innovative
Educational
INTRODUCTION
Happy February, admins! From telling platonic and romantic love stories around VCU for Valentine's Day to celebrating the vibrant history and culture of our Black student body – our team has a lot of great content launching this month on the main VCU channels!
Because I love a good acronym, I even turned Artie’s name into one to remind us how to approach content creation:
To get into content creation mode this year after much-needed rest and relaxation after winter break, the team and I had a conversation about how we were going to take the success of 2023 and make a bigger impact in 2024. To infuse a bit of motivation through storytelling, I shared a personal story about how my family's amazing dog walker, Artie, inspired me to stay flexible and agile simply by showing up as their unique, unapologetic and fluid self.
As communicators, our unique life experiences and perspectives shape how we make content so whether you’re a team of one or have a team of one or more individuals, use the acronym above as a reminder to infuse VCU’s diverse and uncommon spirit into your content planning and creation every day. The team and I will be talking more about our process and approach during the 2024 Social Media Summit happening next month on March 8. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to learn more and reserve your spot, it’s going to be a great time!
-Kenda Boone, Director of Social Media Storytelling
Enterprise Marketing & Communications, VCU
Ask Miss VCU
What do I do about those “your page will be deleted” messages on Facebook?
Create an automation in the Meta Business Suite to send all those messages straight to
the spam folder. Feel free to adjust the automation (like this) to fit your needs and keep you inbox clear of those annoying messages. - Saher
Have questions to ask our resident VCU Social Media expert? Submit to our feedback form!
CONTENT TIPS & TRENDS
It's always great to mix in evergreen content, but seasonal content keeps your posts relevant and timely in your audience's feeds. When it comes to seasonal storytelling, we have to stay flexible to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
What does flexibility look like in practice? Before the start of winter break, our team began filming for our “Welcome Back, Rams” reel, capturing scenes of enthusiastic staff and faculty under the bright sunshine, welcoming our Rams back to campus. However, on the actual first day of classes, rain unexpectedly poured down, casting a gloomy shadow over our plans.
Realizing that our sunny footage no longer reflected the students’ rainy day experience, we swiftly adapted, embracing the unexpected weather and weaving it into our narrative. Through quick thinking and creative reworking, we were able to ensure our video remained an authentic reflection of the VCU experience. Check the reel out for yourself!
- Jaleelah Harris and Loan Nguyen
LET’s TALK DESIGN
Starting in August of this year, any content that does not meet brand standards will not be shared or reposted to the main VCU accounts. This month I wanted to share a quick refresher of our basic brand standards, including fonts, colors and links to useful resources on the VCU branding site. As always, you can find the full branding guide here. - Abby
FONTS:
The VCU typography suite consists of three typefaces for use across the enterprise. The detailed breakdown of guildelines and usage and VCU’s brand fonts can be found here.
Aa
Aa
Thunderhouse Pro
Univers LT Std
Thunderhouse Pro should only be used for title treatments, short headlines, and data points, but never for body copy.
COLORS:
HEX:
#FFB300
HEX:
#000000
VCU ACADEMIC
Univers LT Std has the widest range of applications including headlines, subheadings, and body copy. Univers Extra Black and Ultra Condensed also have limited usage.
Garamond Premier has a variety of weights that can be adjusted for readability and should be used only for posts with more official and traditional messaging.
HEX:
#FFFFFF
VCU Gold is the identifying swatch for the enterprise, followed by black, cool gray 10 and white. The full details on colors and usage can be found here.
HEX:
#63656A
VCU HEALTH
OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:
“UN” WORDS:
INK ROLLS:
LOGOS:
TEMPLATES:
Editable social media templates for Canva can be found HERE, including general news feed and story templates and spotlight templates.
A list of the approved “UN” words as well as guidelines for typesetting and color usage can be found HERE.
OTHER LINKS:
A downloadable version of the rolled ink texture graphics can be found HERE.
Have questions about VCU branding? Submit them HERE.
Downloadable logos for each department and with various color ways can be downloaded HERE.
FAQs & REMINDERS
Can my student intern be an admin for our accounts?
When are the social media admin meetings?
- No, your student intern should not be an admin, aka a manager of your social media accounts. However, they may help you create and post content. Only full-time employees should be registered admins. Update admins here.
How do I make sure my social media posts are accessible?
- Take the VCU social media accessibility training via Talent@VCU to learn tips for each platform.
What are the first things I should do when a social media admin leaves or changes?
- Change the passwords to your accounts and put in a ticket to Jira to update admin contacts for your social media channels.
Missed a monthly meeting or newsletter?
UNcommon branding update:
- Reminder that starting in August 2024, any content that does not meet brand standards will not be shared or reposted to the main VCU accounts. Check out the brand website to log in and download logos, letterheads, templates, social frames and more.
Reach out to us for questions, concerns or recommendations:
SAVE THE DATE!
Save the date for the 2024 Virtual Social Media Summit on Friday, March 8 from
12-4 p.m. via Zoom!
Register today via the link below, all are welcome to attend:
Also join us for an optional Post Summit Networking get together at the VMFA Best Cafe from 5:30-7:30 p.m., meet your fellow communicators and creators!
VIRTUAL SUMMIT AGENDA:
2:30-2:50 p.m.
Social Media Trends with Saher Randhawa
12-1:00 p.m.
2:50-3:10 p.m.
Keynote Speaker: Kasandrea Sereno from #HigherEdSocial
Canva Tips & Tutorials with Abby Giuseppe
1-1:20 p.m.
FOIA with Michele Howell
1:20-1:40 p.m.
VCU Branding with Bob Saydlowski
1:40-2:00 p.m.
Compliance with Donna Crawford and Saher Randhawa
2-2:10 p.m.
BREAK
2:10-2:30 p.m.
VCU Health Social with Aleixka Block Macfie
3:10-3:30 p.m.
Mining for Content & Amplifying Student Voices with Jaleelah Harris & Loan Nguyen
3:30-3:50 p.m.
Building Your UNcommon Strategy with Kenda Boone
Post Summit (Optional) Networking:
5:30-7:30 p.m.
VMFA Best Cafe
RSVP for the Networking event HERE
Join us on social media!
Join the VCU Social Media Admin group on Facebook!
Visit our website!
Official VCU Social Media:
President Rao’s Social Media:
Do you have photos or videos of Dr. Rao and/or student/faculty life around VCU? Tag us on Instagram @vcu or @VCUPresident or email socialmedia@vcu.edu for a chance to have your content reposted!