WE1S Social Media Guide

Created by Samantha Wallace, Augut 2, 2018.

Table of Contents


List of Social Media Profiles

  • Facebook
  • Page: WE1S Project
  • Instagram
  • Handle: @WE1Sproject
  • Twitter
  • Handle:@WE1Sproject
  • Youtube (Not Yet Created)
  • Channel name: WE1S Project

List of Brand Associated Hashtags

#WE1Sproject : This is the Project’s main hashtag. This was used to designate that a post, created by participants in the project, was about WE1S.


List of Campaign Associated Hashtags

#we1slive : This hashtag was used for the live tweeting of the Advisory Board Meeting

#advisoryboard : This hashtag was used for the Advisory Board Meeting, Summer 2018


Style Guide

Brand Personality and Voice

Use a tone that is formal, informative, and helpful when posting and commenting on all social media platforms. Post as if you are speaking for the whole project. Do not include your own initials, name, or position title.

Grammar

On all social media platforms, profile biographies, about pages, posts, comments, and replies will be written in Standard American English.

Profile Pictures

Use the WE1S Project’s Logo as the profile picture on all social media platforms.

Profile Headers and Banners

Use the WE1S Project’s Website Banner as the Profile Header or Banner on all social media platforms.

Format of Posts

Post Length

On all platforms, keep post length to at most 3-4 sentences, with the exception of Twitter which restricts the length of the post based on characters.

Sample Posts on Various Platforms

[Insert photos of posts on various platforms, once posts are being published.]

When/How to Guides

When/How to Link

Facebook:

We should definitely link to our own pages (e.g. we may want to post a link to a WE1S website blog post on Facebook). We should also link to articles and websites created by other corporations, foundations, and organizations. However, it is important that we limit the links to outside sources based on how relevant they are to the Project, the Project’s projected/desired outcomes, and the project’s field of study. Also, it is better to create content specifically for Facebook, like graphics and pictures, than to exclusively share links to articles that we’ve created on a different platform (such as the Project’s Blog).

To link on Facebook, copy and paste the URL in text section of the “Make Post” box or copy and paste the URL in the text section of the “Write a comment…” box.

Instagram:

Linking on Instagram is severely limited. Links on Instagram are only functional in the Profile Bio section. In other words, users can click on a link and be taken to the linked URL automatically only if the URL is linked in the Profile Bio section. If a URL is copied and pasted to the “caption” section of a created post or to the “comment” section, it will be written as text and users would need to copy and paste the URL into a web browser manually. Therefore, it is best to only create a link to the Project’s Website Homepage on the Profile’s Bio section. As with Facebook, it is best to create content specifically designed to be interacted with on the Instagram platform.

To create a link on Instagram, copy and paste a website’s URL in the Profile Bio section on Instagram. To write a URL on an Instagram post as text, copy and paste the URL in the caption section of a post.

Twitter:

As with Facebook, we should definitely link to our own pages (e.g. we may want to post a link to a WE1S website blog post on Twitter). We should also link to articles and websites created by other corporations, foundations, and organizations. However, it is important that we limit the links to outside sources based on how relevant they are to the Project, the Project’s projected/desired outcomes, and the project’s field of study. Also, it is better to create content specifically for Twitter, like graphics and pictures, than to exclusively share links to articles that we’ve created on a different platform (such as the Project’s Blog). Users might interact with posts more if they can see the entirety of the post at one time, rather than being directed to another website.

YouTube:

You can link to another website on YouTube. Only link to the WE1S Project’s website.

When/How to Hashtag

Facebook:

Do not use hashtags on Facebook. Using hashtags on Facebook does not help reach larger audiences.Furthermore, hashtags on Facebook are not intuitive. Users cannot easily access posts that share the same hashtag.

Instagram:

Generally, use hashtags at the end of posts. Use no more than 4-5 hashtags per post. Using hashtags on instagram can help posts reach a larger audience. Use hashtags in the text of the caption only if directly addressing a group or if it makes sense syntactically. For example, the post “Enjoy pizza? Then, #NationalPizzaDay is the holiday for you.” uses a hashtag in the middle of the text, not at the end, but it makes sense syntactically.

Twitter:

Generally, use hashtags at the end of posts. Use no more than 4-5 hashtags per post. Using hashtags on twitter can help posts reach a larger audience. Use hashtags in the text of the caption only if directly addressing a group or if it makes sense syntactically. For example, the post “Enjoy pizza? Then, #NationalPizzaDay is the holiday for you.” uses a hashtag in the middle of the text, not at the end, but it makes sense syntactically.

YouTube:

Hashtags are supported on YouTube. Use hashtags at the end of the video’s description unless directly addressing a person/group or it makes sense syntactically. For example, the post “Enjoy pizza? We do too, so we’re celebrating #NationalPizzaDay by eating all of this pizza.” uses a hashtag in the middle of the text, not at the end, but it makes sense syntactically.

Notes:

Keep hashtags short. It’s easier for readers to make sense of a short hashtag.

When/How to Like

Facebook:

Like posts that are appropriate and are about the project. Posts that also have information that is related to the project, such as topic modeling articles, can also be liked.

To like a post on Facebook, click on the “Like” button, which is located at the bottom left hand corner of the post.

Note: Anything that the page likes can be seen, so be sure that the posts that are liked by our page are appropriate for and relevant to the project.

Instagram:

Like posts that are appropriate and are about the project. Posts that also have information that is related to the project, such as topic modeling articles, can also be liked.

To like a post on Instagram, click on the heart emoji, located below the picture on the left hand corner.

Note: Followers can easily see what the profile likes, so be sure that the posts that are liked by our page are appropriate for and relevant to the project.

Twitter:

Be very discerning when it comes to liking any tweet. Like posts that are appropriate and are about the project. Posts that also have information that is related to the project, such as topic modeling articles, can also be liked.

To like a tweet, click on the heart emoji, located at the bottom of the post.

Note: Followers can easily see what the profile likes, so we need to be very careful about the tweets that we like.

YouTube:

Like posts that are appropriate and are about the project. Posts that also have information that is related to the project, such as topic modeling articles, can also be liked.

Note: Anything that the page likes can be seen, so be sure that the posts that are liked by our page are appropriate for and relevant to the project.

When/How to Share, Regram, or Retweet

Facebook:

Share on Facebook only when a post is directly related to the Project. Acceptable Facebook sharing may include a post about a WE1S Project Participant presenting information about the Project.

To share on Facebook, you need to find the original post that you want to share and click on “Share” button, which is at the bottom right corner of the post. However, some posts are not sharable.

Instagram:

You cannot share on Instagram. Only re-gramming is available for Instagram and it requires a re-gramming app, such as “Repost for Instagram”.

Avoid re-gramming an image that another user has posted unless it is directly related to the Project. An example of an acceptable regram may be a photo that one of the WE1S participates posts about the project, or if a participant/participants posts a photo showing him/her/them presenting at a conference about the Project. Give credit to the original poster. Credit can be given to the original poster using watermark that can be formatted on a regramming app.

Note: Because it requires so much effort to regram, re-gramming should be used very rarely. Also, it’s better to create original content of our own.

Twitter:

Retweet only when a post is directly related to the Project. Acceptable retweeting may include a post about a WE1S Project Participant presenting information about the Project.

To retweet, click on the retweet button (the button between the comment button and the heart emoji), which is located at the bottom of the post.

Note: If you retweet a post, the retweeted post will appear on our twitter feed and all followers of the Project’s Twitter will see that the Project retweeted the post in their newsfeed.

YouTube:

Sharing is not available or recommended on the YouTube platform.

When/How to Comment on Someone’s Replies to the Project’s Posts

Facebook:

Always reply to comments on the Project’s posts if the comment is a question or concern which directly addresses the Project. It is a good public relations management practice to reply to comments which directly concern the project. Further, it’s not a good idea to make the people who actually interact with the Project’s page feel like they are not being listened to. It is acceptable to thank people for their feedback when they provide it.

To comment on someone’s comment on Facebook, click on the “Reply” link underneath their comment.

Note: As with posts that we produce, be consistent with the brand personality and voice in all comments.

Instagram:

Always reply to comments on the Project’s posts if the comment is a question or concern which directly addresses the Project. It is a good public relations management practice to reply to comments which directly concern the project. Further, it’s not a good idea to make the people who actually interact with the Project’s page feel like they are not being listened to. It is acceptable to thank people for their feedback when they provide it.

To comment on someone’s comment on Instagram, click on the “Reply” link underneath their comment.

Note: As with posts that we produce, be consistent with the brand personality and voice in all comments.

Twitter:

Always reply to comments on the Project’s posts if the comment is a question or concern which directly addresses the Project. It is a good public relations management practice to reply to comments which directly concern the project. Further, it’s not a good idea to make the people who actually interact with the Project’s page feel like they are not being listened to. It is acceptable to thank people for their feedback when they provide it.

To comment on someone’s comment on Twitter, click on the speech bubble emoji underneath their comment.

Note: As with posts that we produce, be consistent with the brand personality and voice in all comments.

YouTube:

Always reply to comments on the Project’s posts if the comment is a question or concern which directly addresses the Project. It is a good public relations management practice to reply to comments which directly concern the Project. Further, it’s not a good idea to make the people who actually interact with the Project’s page feel like they are not being listened to. It is acceptable to thank people for their feedback when they provide it.

To comment on someone’s comment on YouTube, click on the “Reply” link underneath their comment.

Note: As with posts that we produce, be consistent with the brand personality and voice in all comments.

Branding

Brand Colors

The What Every1 Says Project’s colors are:

  • Red (color codes: HTML code: #ED484F; RGB code: R: 237 G: 72 B: 79; HSV: 357.45° 69.62% 92.94%)
  • Orange (color code: #D65050)
  • Black
  • White
  • Grey

Interaction with 4Humanities

4Humanities Blog

It is recommended that some blog posts, which were created for the WE1S Research Blog, are also posted on the 4Humanities Blog. However, because we want to generate traffic for the WE1S Research blog, not everything we post on the WE1S blog needs to or should be reposted on the 4Humanities Blog. We may want to post on the 4Humanities Blog when the project has important information, such as when the project has met a large goal, when the project has a large announcement, or when the project has findings/outputs to share.

When creating/editing a post for the 4Humanities blog:

  • End the blog post with a link to the original WE1S Research Blog post, to the WE1S Research Blog, or to the WE1S Website. The end of a blog post should end with either: “Read the original blog post.” [create a hyperlink that navigates to the original blog post when one clicks on “original blog post”], “Read more about the WhatEvery1Says Project’s research.” [create a hyperlink that navigates to the WE1S Research Blog homepage when one clicks on “research”], or “Learn more about the WhatEvery1Says Project.” [create a hyperlink that navigates to the WE1S About page when one clicks on “WhatEvery1Says Project”].
  • Mention that the WE1S Project is a 4Humanities project in the first paragraph of the blog post.
  • Give context to the blog post that is being posted on the 4Humanities Blog, if applicable. Let readers know where we are in the project or give readers information about what has been leading up to this research/event. We don’t want the 4Humanities Blog readers to be confused when they read the blog posts that we create.
  • If the original WE1S Blog Post is longer than 2 single spaced pages, shorten the blog post so that it is shorter than 2 pages.

4 Humanities Twitter

When to Use 4Humanities Hashtag/Handle

Since the WE1S Project is a 4Humanities project, it is appropriate to use the 4Humanities hashtag (#4hum) and 4Humanities Twitter handle (@4hum). However, the 4Humanities Twitter handle should be used instead of the hashtag since the hashtag has not been used since 2015. The Twitter handle should be used when the project posts important information, such photos or information about the Advisory Board Meeting, when the project has met a large goal, when the project has a large announcement, or when the project has findings/outputs to share. Further, the 4Humanities handle and hashtag need to make sense syntactically in the post when used. For notes on how to make handles and hashtags on Twitter make sense syntactically in a post, see the “When/How to Hashtag” section’s “Twitter” subsection.

Interaction with Mellon Foundation

Use of Mellon Foundation Brand

The Mellon Foundation does not like people using their brand excessively. Therefore, the use of the Mellon Foundation name, logo, or brand, is not recommended.

Photos and Graphics

Font

To be determined. This needs to be discussed with the person who is in charge of creating visuals once visuals are in the process being produced.

Color Schemes

To be determined. This needs to be discussed with the person who is in charge of creating visuals once visuals are in the process of being produced.

Graphics

To be determined. This needs to be discussed with the person who is in charge of creating visuals once visuals are in the process of being produced.

Videos

Length

For dissemination on Facebook, it is recommended that videos are no longer than three minutes; videos that are no longer than one minute are best. For dissemination on Twitter, it is recommended that videos are no longer than three minutes; videos that are no longer than one minute are best. For dissemination on Instagram, videos should be no longer than one minute; videos that are longer than a minute are not generally supported on the platform. For dissemination on YouTube, there is no recommended length for videos. Video length on YouTube is only limited based on the type of content that is created. For example, if a video is made to demonstrate a video game that the project created, the length of the video needs to be long enough to demonstrate the game, or a section of the game.

Legal Considerations

UC Guidelines

Here is a link to the UCSB guide for administrators and Social Networking : http://www.policy.ucsb.edu/files/docs/policies/social-networking-guide.pdf

Note: this is old information.

Reuse of images

Do not reuse images unless you have explicit permission from the author/creator to do so.

Marketing Strategy

Goals

Summer 2018

The main goal for this summer is to set up the Project’s social networking presence.

Secondary goals include:

  • Begin to share preliminary findings
  • Share the Project’s progress over the summer
  • Share events that occur during this summer, i.e. the advisory board meeting

Academic Year 2018/2019

The main goal for this academic year is to maintain the Project’s social media presence until the 2019 Summer Research Group.

Secondary goals include:

  • Share progress of Academic Year RAs
  • Share events that occur during the academic year, i.e. when people join the project
  • Share visualizations, with permission of PIs

Long Term

The main long term goal is to create and share content that is informative and repurposable and/or sharable in order to promote the humanities to a diverse audience.

Secondary goals include:

  • Create and share data visualizations as they are completed
  • Create and share interactive data visualizations as they are completed
  • Create and share videos about Project findings
  • Create and share videos about the Humanities
  • Create campaigns that invite people to interact with the Project and its objectives

Audience

Facebook

Older audience, generally 25-70

Instagram

Younger Audience: teens, young adults, students

Twitter

Mixed audience: teens, young adults, scholars, students, politicians, etc

Youtube

Mixed audience: teens, young adults, scholars, students, politicians, etc

When to Post

Post on each platform no more than once a day, during the most optimal time for the platform on which you are posting.

This website lists the best time for various different industries to post on social media platforms:

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

What to Post

Original Content

Original content always generates more audience engagement than content that is created by outside sources. Data visualizations, interactive visualizations, blog posts, videos, and pictures that are created by the Project are examples of original content. Content that is not original, such as articles written by other people, generally do not generate as much audience engagement as original content. Because the Project wants to reach a larger audience, in order to more effectively advocate for the humanities, the Project wants to focus on inviting audience engagement on a large scale. Thus, creating original content is of great importance.

Calls to Action

Calls to action are very beneficial for social media use. We want our audience to be engaged, and when audience members feel like they can, or want, to do something with the information we’ve provided, they will engage more. Calls to action specifically invite this kind of engagement since calls to action generally require that the audience engage with our content. Thus, calls to action, such as “Caption this Photo” posts on instagram, are posts that we will want to use frequently.

How to Create and Execute a Social Media Campaign

Creating a Campaign

Planning

In the “Social Media Campaigns” document, create a new campaign and fill out the following:

  • Title of the campaign:
  • This is just the title of the campaign
  • What:
  • Write what the main point of the campaign is. Keep it brief; a sentence is sufficient.
  • Who:
  • this is where the target audience goes. Write who you are trying to reach. You can’t have an effective social media campaign if you don’t know who you’re trying to reach.
  • Why:
  • This is where you write the main objectives of the campaign. What are you trying to accomplish? Why are you doing a campaign? Why is the campaign better than just posting a single post?
  • How:
  • This is where you would post a campaign hashtag. A hashtag will be important to reach a larger audience. Further, a hashtag would allow the project to comment on posts that followers are creating if they use the hashtag in their post.
  • This is where you write what kinds of posts are going to be included in the campaign. What types of posts will allow you to more effectively target your audience or reach your campaign objectives? For example: infographics may be better to use if you’re trying to mainly impart knowledge. Videos or demonstrations might be better if you’re trying to show how something works.
  • This is also where you would include information about partners. If we’re partnering with someone, for example the 4humanities twitter account, we need to list that.
  • This is where you would also include information about any non-online/non-social media aspects of the campaign. For example, if we’re promoting a DH game and want to partner with local libraries or schools, we’d need to list it.
  • When:
  • This is where we would include information about the length of the campaign and when it is scheduled for.
  • Where:
  • This is where we would list what social media platforms this campaign will be primarily focused on using.
  • This is where we would list if the campaign will also include non-online aspects. For example, if representatives of the project are going somewhere to promote the campaign, we need to note this.

Executing a Campaign

Guides from external sites on campaigns to look at:

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-marketing-strategy-guide/

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/facebook-campaign/

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/build-a-twitter-ad-campaign/