Social Media Best Practices

Thinking of starting a new social media account? Start by reviewing these guidelines and reaching out to Communications + Marketing.

These best practice guidelines are for the management of institutional social media accounts.

These accounts can help you to connect with students and alumni, promote your events and activities and share your creative work with a wider audience.

Starting a new account

The very first thing to do before starting a new social media account is to determine if a similar ECU account or service exists. If no similar account exists, consider the following:

Purpose
Audience
Operation
Capacity

Choosing the right social media platform

Different platforms work for different audiences, and new ones pop up all the time. It is important to ensure that your purpose aligns with your selected social media platform.

Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing the right social media platform.

Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Promoting your account

If you decide to start a new account or are already managing one, email communications@ecuad.ca to be included in the social media account directory.

Account moderation

Official communications on behalf of the university are shared by our @emilycarru accounts, which are managed by the Communications + Marketing team. These include things like announcements from the President’s Office, official campus closures, updates to campus services, and more.

We ask that other departments refrain from posting content that contradicts these official @emilycarru channels, or that purports to speak on behalf of the university.

Branding
Conduct
Maintenance

Alt Text + Image Descriptions

Wherever possible, include alt text and image descriptions to your social media posts to make your content more accessible for visually impaired users. Here is a great guide that explains the different purposes of alt text and image descriptions and how to write them.

If you are using a graphic or image that includes an artist’s work in your social media post, ensure that you have the artist's consent, either by reaching out to them and asking for their permission or by getting them to sign our marketing consent form.

Once permissions has been obtained, ensure that you credit the artist in your social media post. A simple way to do so is by including the artist’s name in the image description.