Social Media Content Creation

Finding content for social media can be tough, but if you want to have any success with your important social media posts (like information or event promotion), you need to be posting consistently. We recommend posting at least three times per week, with an ideal of one post per day (5-7 per week, depending on your available content).

To help facilitate this, we’ve put together this basic monthly template of a content calendar that you can use as a starting point. It’s meant to be a resource and not a restriction, so use whatever you like and tweak it as needed to empower you to share great content with your audiences!

Social Media Content Calendar Monthly Template

Glossary

Event Promotion

Use a simple graphic to share details about an upcoming event in your department or that would apply directly to your specific student population. In the caption, make sure you share all the relevant details (what, when, where), and it’s essential to include a link to the mySource calendar event. Note: Try to avoid too much text on images, as that can create accessibility issues and generally does not perform as well as high-quality images and videos.

#MotivationMonday

Use a campus beauty or student-centric photo from UA Photo Shelter, Student Life’s photo library or your own department’s collection along with positive vibes or inspiring quote.

News Center Post

Check the UA News Center for any stories that your audience may be interested in and share a 1-sentence summary or teaser and link to the post. You can use a photo from the story or find a generic UA photo from UA Photo Shelter!

#ThrowbackThursday / #FlashbackFriday

Find an old photo that showcases either a memory or unique personality of your department, campus, a UA icon, an event, or a staff member or student within your department. Use the caption to share the memory or a fun fact about the person. For example, a photo of your department's director from high school might be a fun way to let students and staff get to know them more. When we shared old photos of Tutwiler Hall from its original construction days, it was one of our most popular posts that month, so people like seeing how campus has changed, too!

#TipTuesday

Share a resource of your own department or consider pointing to another Student Life or UA resource or even more general helpful hack/tip for students. This tip could be directly related to your department and the support you provide and/or your specific population of students or it could be more generic to the UA/student experience.

Student or Staff Spotlight

Share a photo of one of your staff members, students or even alumni that were involved with your department when they were on campus. You can use the caption to share a brief bio of how they came to be involved with your department, what they’re doing now, or a quote about how your department and/or their time at UA had a positive influence on their life. Whenever your students or staff win an award or have an accomplishment to share, these are great opportunities to feature their success!

Content creation tips and tricks

Know your audience for each project.

• Whether it is students, faculty and staff or donors, each audience demands a different tone and style. One size does not fit all, so keep this in mind.
• Starting off with a list of ideas will always speed things along.

Plan ahead.

• From social media to print publications, a little bit of planning can go a long way toward making things happen smoothly.

Tell a story.

• Facts and figures can be impressive, but people connect to what you are saying even better when they are wrapped up in a specific program or person.

Focus on

• People (students, volunteers, donors, faculty and staff members)
• Programs
• Impact
• Special events

Stumped? Ask for help!

• If you don’t know what you need to tell your story, set up a meeting with a member of the communications team. A short conversation can often reveal a story – or five – that will help communicate your message effectively.

Point, Personal and Promote method

In order to develop engaging content that tells the whole story of your area, aim to have your content equally represent Point, Personal and Promote.