S
CIAL
SQUAD
presents
SOCIAL MEDIA
NEWSLETTER
January 2024
VOL. 2
ISSUE 1
In this Issue: Meet the Team!
INTRODUCTION
Happy New Year, admins! Can you believe it is 2024?
This month we're kicking off the spring semester with a fresh look for our monthly newsletter designed by our social media designer, Abby, who you’ll meet later, along with all of the brilliant minds who make up VCU’s core social media team.
As social media professionals at various stages in our careers, we know firsthand how tricky your job can be. As this article in the Chronicle of Education shares, managing social media in Higher Ed can often come with high stress and little guidance. With this collaborative newsletter, monthly meetings and other resources available to you – we aim to change this shared experience here at VCU from the inside out.
In 2024, we're getting more intentional about creating connection and community with the people who bring VCU's stories to life on social. In this issue, our team has crafted some great ideas and tools to help you flow into this new semester and beyond with confidence.
We’re so excited for all the possibilities of 2024 and thrilled to connect and support you on a deeper level this year!
-Kenda Boone, Director of Social Media Storytelling
Enterprise Marketing & Communications, VCU
MEET THE TEAM
Hi again, social media admins! After almost a decade in the private sector crafting founder stories for startups, small businesses and organizations; I’m thrilled to be a part of the vibrant community here at VCU! I’m a first-generation social media user (anyone else join Facebook with an .edu address in the early 00s?) with a passion for online community building in an empathetic way that resonates and connects.
In my role here at VCU, I conduct research, analyze data and develop strategies that focus on helping my team find fresh, inspiring, yet relatable stories at VCU and telling them in a way that uplifts the uncommon spirit of the VCU community. My overall goal when I do my job each day is to find new ways to foster an inclusive and engaging online presence that aligns seamlessly with the new UNCommon brand and reflects the richness and diversity of VCU.
Since implementing a refreshed strategy in 2023 and expanding our team I believe we’ve achieved that BUT we’re just getting started! Join me and the core VCU social team (whom I affectionately call Rockstars) on this journey as we explore innovative ways to connect, communicate and celebrate the extraordinary stories that make VCU a place unlike any other. Together, let's elevate our online presence and continue to build content that stands out in the digital landscape. I’m looking forward to meeting, collaborating and making waves together to propel VCU on the national stage!
Hello Social Admins! My name is Saher Randhawa and I am the senior social media & communications manager for VCU’s main social media channels and also President Rao’s socials. I manage, plan and create content for the main VCU social media platforms, partner with departments on their universitywide social media goals and initiatives, and offer guidance and training for the numerous social media administrators across VCU. I keep our team organized and on track by managing our content calendar and short/long-term goals. I also hire and manage our social media interns and work with them to expand their professional skills. Last but not least, I am the lead on crisis communications for VCU social media and help to ensure that important information, resources and support are available to the entire VCU community in a timely manner.
As a two-time VCU alum and a staff member of VCU for the past eight years, I have been lucky to experience all aspects of VCU: from student, to staff, to previous staff senate president and to now even a faculty member, and I definitely have a plethora of institutional knowledge I am always happy to share! When I’m not running VCU’s socials, I am teaching social media, communications and public relations as an adjunct professor for the VCU Robertson School of Media and Culture.
As we start off this semester, I am looking forward to seeing how our team can support your teams and goals further and connect with you all on more collaborations and content!
Hello, fellow social media admins! My name is Jaleelah Harris and I am currently the social media coordinator of VCU’s main social media channels. 👩🏽💻🤳🏼
The main focus of my role is content creation and video content production management. In addition, I assist with highlighting and promoting university events, news and updates to VCU social channels. When I’m not scheduling, publishing posts and planning video production, I'm often out in the field taking adventures across VCU with the team, filming and editing video content of students, faculty, and staff, and collaborating with various departments! Every day, I’m learning new and amazing things about what VCU has to offer and I love having the opportunity to contribute to showing it off across social platforms! ✨
Looking forward to supporting and sharing through this labor of love. I am so excited to learn more about one another and to work more closely in 2024! Happy New Year! 🎉
Hi, social media managers! My name’s Loan Nguyen and I’m the presidential social media coordinator and an alumni of VCU.
I primarily manage President Rao’s accounts, which involves a lot of attending events, collaborating with departments across the university and working closely with his executive speechwriters. I do my best to spotlight all of the wonderful people and programs across the enterprise and share VCU’s many accomplishments with the wider community. I also support content production for many of VCU’s short-form vertical videos. Behind the scenes, I assist with filming, filling out model releases, interviewing students and staff, and editing videos. My favorite thing about this job is that every day is different, and I feel very lucky to be part of such a supportive team!
I’m so excited for the opportunity to help foster community between VCU’s social media managers. If there are any topics you’d like us to address in the next newsletter, please submit it to our social media survey. Share something about yourself while you’re at it, too! I’d love to meet and work more closely with you all in 2024.
Hello there social media admins! My name is Abby Giuseppe and I’m the graphic designer for VCU’s main social media channels as well as an alumni of VCU Arts.
As designer, my job is to translate information that may be complex into simple and clear visual solutions that grab the attention of students, alumni, faculty and our community at large. That often means that much of my time is spent testing; how can we best utilize our photography? What fonts should go where? How do we choose graphic assets that amplify our message? My goal is to take the information and content our team gathers and lay it out in a way that clearly conveys what our audience needs to know while upholding and uplifting our Uncommon brand and speaking to the tastes, trends and sensibilities of our Gen Z audience.
I’m so excited to start sharing tips and tricks for how to approach your social media design this year and to build community with all of you. If you ever have questions, need a hand with your design or want to know more, please reach out to me or submit your feedback to our social media survey. I can’t wait to see what 2024 brings! :)
CONTENT TIPS & TRENDS
Do you have social media plans for VCU’s MLK Celebration?
This year’s theme is “Thriving Communities: The Legacy of MLK’s Beloved Community.” The theme is based on Dr. King’s quote, “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” A beloved community is one “in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, and hate.“
Even if your department or office isn’t hosting an MLK Week event, you can still engage in the spirit of fostering a beloved community! Between Jan. 15-20, consider sharing ways that your office fosters community here at VCU, in Richmond or beyond.
Maybe your team offers services that support our students’ physical and spiritual well-being, or maybe your events create a home away from home for our Rams. Whatever it may be, we know that many of you spend all year caring for our community in your own unique ways. Let’s use MLK Week as a chance to celebrate and reflect on the work you do to uplift others.
LET’S TALK DESIGN:
This month, I wanted to design a template that can be used to highlight our incredible students, faculty and alumni and amplify their achievements on social. You can use the link below to access the template through Canva and create your own Ram spotlights! - Abby
Examples:
Access the Template HERE
Want to learn more about how to use Canva?
Canva has access to a wonderful resource called Design School with thousands of tutorials for beginners and pros alike! You can access their full course catalog HERE.
Ask Miss VCU
How can I make sure to include accessibility in IG stories?
Make sure to add captions whenever people are talking and for graphics, make sure to link
to an article with more information. In that way the article will be accessible for a screen reader, even if the graphic posted in stories is not. For non-story graphics, always make sure to include ALT-text. - Saher
Have questions to ask our resident VCU Social Media expert? Submit to our feedback form!
FAQs & REMINDERS
Can my student intern be an admin for our accounts?
When are the social media admin meetings?
- Monthly social admin meetings take place every 3rd Tuesday of the month at noon via Zoom! The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at noon!
- 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, Mar. 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!
Join us on social media!
Join the VCU Social Media Admin group on Facebook!
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!