presents

SOCIAL MEDIA

NEWSLETTER

May 2024

INTRODUCTION

Happy May, Social Squad! Though I can’t believe that we’re almost halfway through 2024 and yet another semester is coming to an end, I’m so happy we’re moving into one of the best months of the year!

In May, not only is spring in full bloom with warmer and longer days (goodbye gloomy winter days and helloooo pollen 😆), we celebrate mothers and mother-figures and get to witness graduates at all ages and stages of life transition into a new era of possibility.

As HigherEd communicators, May is also a great time to reflect on the accomplishments and challenges you’ve experienced since the start of the new semester and think about ways to improve your content, workflows, and mindset to make your day-to-day more sustainable and enjoyable.

Each month, in our monthly content reflection meetings with our division’s senior leaders, we answer five key questions:

This allows us to ensure we celebrate ourselves and all the rewarding yet challenging work our team puts in each day, keep our goals in focus, and address any roadblocks we may have experienced to pivot where needed.

I hope you can carve out some time this month to use these questions to reflect on both your big and small wins this semester and beyond. You and your work are worth celebrating!

-Kenda Boone, Director of Social Media Storytelling

Enterprise Marketing & Communications, VCU

What are some ways that I can promote upcoming events or programs to students digitally?

There are various ways to promote events to students, some of our favorites include: the VCU Telegram and VCU RamsConnect.

You may also reach out to our social media team by submitting a Jira ticket and providing us with the following information:

• A concise caption recommendation, including any tags or hashtags.
• A working link to the event/program website or call to action.
• A social media sized square or story graphic to share, but please make sure it fits current brand standards.
• Your department/unit’s social media handles or tags we may use on various platforms.
  

• Which platforms you would like us to promote on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or LinkedIn.
• The date range during which you’d like our help promoting the event/program.
  

CONTENT TIPS & TRENDS

Commencement is the perfect opportunity to make a call for user-generated content, or UGC.

You can start by highlighting your department’s spring grads. Include a call-to-action, or CTA, like “Want to be highlighted next? DM us your grad photos and information so that we can celebrate your accomplishments together!”

As Commencement gets closer, let students know that they can tag you during Commencement to be shared in real-time.

LET’s TALK DESIGN

With May Commencement only a few days away, I wanted to take one last opportunity to share the promotional graphics I’ve put together that are available to download and share on your social platforms! You can find the graphics below via Canva Pro to download and share on your channels and get the word out! - Abby Giuseppe

CLICK THE IMAGES TO DOWNLOAD:

FOR STORY:

FOR FEED:

BOB’s BRANDING BUNKER

As we head towards full brand compliance in August, this may be a good time to go through your social media avatars and cover pages to get rid of any old unit brand marks that don’t follow the new Level hierarchy. Only 32 units have retained their lockup (see the list at brand.vcu.edu) so if you’re not one of those, it’s probably time to make the change.

As always, if you have questions about how to use the VCU brand or want feedback on a project, hit me up at identity@vcu.edu. - Bob Saydlowski

SPOTLIGHT: CAMDEN RIDLEY

As we say goodbye to the Class of 2024, we are also saying goodbye to our incredible social media intern, Camden Ridley. Camden is graduating with a B.S. in Marketing with a concentration in Product and Brand Management. We wanted to take a chance to highlight some of Camden’s favorite moments from his time as Mr. VCU!

What was your favorite behind the scenes process?

• Haunts at VCU! It was so much fun being able to explore the buildings and learning more about the history of VCU.
  

What post are you the most proud of?

• Cary Street Gym Tour! I came up with the idea for this reel, outlined it, directed it, and starred in it. It was so awesome to see it come to life and become a hit on the page!
  

What was your favorite moment being Rodney?

• When shooting Day in the Life of Rodney, I had a blast just goofin
  

goofing off in the suit around campus and interacting with the students. Getting to see their faces light up when they saw Rodney was just priceless.

What was your favorite overall post?

• International Happiness Day! This reel was just so heartwarming and I just had such a great time meeting students and laughing with them after calling their favorite people.
  

What was your favorite part of the entire internship experience?

• Getting to be a mini campus celebrity and getting to experience something new almost every day!
  

What will you miss most about VCU?

• I’ll miss the one-of-a-kind aura that this school has. There’s truly nothing like VCU and there’s just so much to see and experience here that I feel like I couldn’t get anywhere else. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without VCU.
  

What are your plans after graduation?

• In the next year, I plan on moving to a bigger city up north and working as a social media specialist!
  

Helpful links

Social Media Guidelines

Model release form & terms

Social Media Branding page

Social Media Acceptable Use Policy

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL HERE!

• 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?

• Check out our social admin Google Drive here or our monthly newsletters here.
  

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. For branding help, fill out the form here.
  

Join the VCU Social Media Admin group on Facebook!

Visit our website!

Official VCU Social Media:

President Rao’s Social Media: