Last updated: August 2021

Launching Your New Page

So you want to make a new social media page or profile for UADA, but you don't know where to start? Here are some things you can do to help kick off your page:

Before Creating Your Page

Before launching your page, be sure to review the material here on the employee site to get a better understanding of how you can use social media for UADA purposes. If you want to make a new UADA Social Media account, email socialmedia@uada.edu. You will also want to be sure to:

1. Research your audience. Your audience will help determine which platform you will want to be on, what type of content you want to post, and much more.
2. Choose a platform. After understanding more about your target audience, you will want to determine which platform will fit your needs the best. 
3. Set goals and target audience. Set realistic goals for how many followers you want to have, explore strategies for how to reach your goals, and what outcomes you want to come from having a social media presence. Be sure to write these goals and outcomes down somewhere so you can go back later and revisit them as needed.

Creating Your Page

1. Request an account. Using the UADA Social Media Request email, request a new account to set up an appointment with your social media manager.
2. Set page to private. If possible, depending on the platform, you can set your page to private until you are ready to launch. This will give you some privacy while you continue to set up your page. This step is not necessary, but sometimes changing the privacy setting can help you feel more comfortable while you are establishing your page basics.
3. Fill out information. Add a profile picture, cover photo, basic information, bio, About section, etc. The platform will likely walk you through this process.
4. Perform "market research." Market research is researching what other brands, teams, etc. are doing to communicate with the public, in our case, on social media. Take note of what types of posts are doing well, what kinds of content people seem to be engaging with, etc. to help determine the types of content you will want to share on your page. Remember, however, to keep your content ideas relevant to our goals as an organization.
5. Draft a list of content ideas for your page. Brainstorm what kind of content you will want to post. Visit our Social Media Calendar to get some ideas, and explore Google, Facebook, Pinterest, and other sites to really flesh some ideas for the kinds of content you are interested in making.
6. Establish a list of sources your page can share from. We recommend creating a folder or notebook for the important social media information you use and find during your time as social media administrator. In this notebook or folder, keep a list of reputable sources and accounts your page can share from. If their web address ends in .gov or .edu, it is certainly reputable and can be added to this list.
7. Determine posting frequency. Decide how often you want to post to your social media page. This will help with the next step.
8. Plan out one month's worth of content. After creating a list of ideas and deciding how frequently you want to post, plan out one month's worth of posts. Be sure to include links, ideas for copy, and ideas for photos, videos, or graphics.
9. Choose a date to launch your page. This will be your official launch date. 
10. Change your privacy setting to public. If you initially changed your account to private, you will need to make it public again for the next step. 
11. Follow key players and engage with their content. While you are waiting for your launch date and creating your content, be sure to follow important pages, engage with your community, mingle on social media in the groups and crowds where your potential followers might be. Comment on posts made by accounts who might be followed by your potential audience, etc.
12. Schedule first round of content, if possible. You can use a built-in scheduler, depending on the platform—for example, Facebook Business Suite, Creator Studio, etc.—to schedule your first round of content. If available, you can also use a third party social media management tool to schedule your content as well.

Launching Your Page

• Formally announce your presence on social media. On the day of your official launch, formally announce that you are on social media. This can be done in a number of ways, so be creative and have fun!
• Share your page. Once your page is officially live, invite your friends to follow the page, ask your friends to share it, share your page to communities where your audience may be, etc. You will want to continue doing this periodically to gain more followers. Ask other pages to share your page on their account. If you have other pages or accounts on other platforms, you can share your page on those other pages as well.
• Continue creating content and posting according to your schedule. If you need to change your schedule, feel free to do so as you see fit.
• Share content and engage with your network. When you find relevant posts created or shared by other pages, feel free to share those on your page, and continue engaging with other pages' content, groups, and communities. Be sure to share your own posts in relevant groups and communities as well.

 

Congratulations! You have officially launched your new page!

 

Questions? Email socialmedia@uada.edu.