Social media guidelines

Starting a social media

Starting a social media channel is about creating a focused and consistent presence for your unit. By selecting the right platform, establishing a distinct voice and tone, and sharing compelling content, social media can become a powerful tool for connecting with your audience.

Determine your goals

Determining your goals is a crucial first step in building an effective social media presence. Clear objectives help guide your content, platform choice, and engagement strategy.

Here are some examples of social media goals from Student Affairs:

• Brand Representation: Uphold a spirited and professional representation of the Student Affairs brand across all social media platforms. 
• Connection: Create and maintain strong connections with students, alumni, parents, and campus partners by demonstrating an understanding of campus life and challenges while providing relevant support and information. 
• Belonging: Ensure no student feels alone by consistently highlighting available programs and assistance, fostering inclusivity, and emphasizing the accessibility of help and support services. 

Establish your voice and tone

Defining your voice and tone helps shape how your brand is perceived on social media. A consistent personality and way of communicating builds recognition, trust, and a stronger connection with your audience.

Here are some examples of voice and tone from Student Affairs:

• Voice
  • Experience
    • We understand what life on campus is like and can connect to our . We relate to the challenges on campus and encourage our students to excel and achieve their goals.
  • Trust
    • We strive to be a constant source of truth and accuracy. We promote and elevate events and happenings on campus with a priority to our divisions and campus partners
  • Support
    • We seek to make students aware of the programs and assistance available on campus, thus ensuring they feel connected to help and support while knowing they are never alone.
  • Inclusive Engagement
    • We inform while still being approachable and relatable. To best relate with our student population, be playful with posts (when appropriate), participate in trends, and don’t be afraid to show our personality.
• Tone
  • Student Affairs’ tone is insightful and welcoming, with room for fun. For example, if a post relates to serious content or topics, the tone and visuals should likely be more direct and respectful. If the content is playful (e.g., an upcoming event or Bucky sighting on campus), feel free to develop a lighter, more jovial caption. If you are unsure of the appropriate tone for a post, consult with the communications team.

Start a content calendar

Starting a content calendar helps bring structure and consistency to your social media efforts. By planning content, you can stay organized, post regularly, and ensure your messaging aligns with your goals and brand voice.

Here are some ideas to start your content calendar:

• Events that happen every year
• Simple explanations of what your unit offers
• Engagement-focused posts (eg. polls, this or that, takeovers)

Resources:

Campus Voice & Tone 

Maintaining a social media

Style and Writing Tips

Campus branding and social media guidelines.

We follow University Marketing/University Communications guidelines, and message on behalf of UW–Madison. As such, it’s important that we adhere to the visual and written campus brand to identify a relationship between our account and larger, campus-wide efforts.

Be consistent and professional.

Follow Associated Press Stylebook guidelines for general rules, as well as the UW–Madison Editorial Style Guide for university-specific style choices. The UW Style Guide also ensures that UW–Madison titles, locations, departments, and the like appear consistently. For example: 

• Titles are capped ahead of a proper name, and lower after a name
  • Dean of Students Christina Olstad  
  • dean of students 

• • Christina Olstad, dean of students  

• en-dash (—) for UW–Madison (option + shift + dash) 

• Include serial comma: “Yes, no, and maybe” vs. “yes, no, and maybe.” 

• Times: 4 p.m. (a.m. and p.m.) vs “4:00” 

Inclusion 

At Student Affairs, one of our primary goals is to ensure that our materials/information is accessible to all audience members. With this as a priority, our language must reflect respect, understanding, and recognition of the diverse identities and experiences at UW–Madison. This includes: 

• Respect for Pronouns: Always use individuals’ preferred pronouns as a sign of respect for their gender identity and expression. When in doubt, use gender-neutral language (they/them) or inquire about pronoun preferences. 

• Cultural Sensitivity: Be mindful of cultural nuances and sensitivities when discussing topics related to race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other aspects of identity. Avoid stereotypes and assumptions. 

• Accessibility: Prioritize accessibility by using language that is clear, simple, and easy to understand for all audiences. 

• Representation: Strive for inclusive representation in our content by featuring diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences.  

• Inclusive Terminology: Use inclusive terminology that acknowledges and affirms the full range of identities and experiences within our community.

Examples:  

• Capital B in Black 

• lgbtq+ (include +) 

• People-first language– e.g., Students with disabilities (disability is part of the student, doesn’t define the student) vs. “disabled students.”  

By prioritizing inclusive language in our communication, we demonstrate our commitment to fostering a campus culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, where all members of the campus community feel seen, heard, and respected. Always ask if you’re not sure! 

Resources: 

• Inclusive Language Guide 

Alt Text 

Alternative (alt) text is a written description of an image that allows people using assistive technology, like screen readers, to understand the content and purpose of the image. Including alt text is essential for making your content accessible to all users. Writing effective alt text is both an art and a science. It should clearly and concisely convey the image’s message or function without being overly detailed. 

Use the guidance below to craft meaningful and accessible alt text for your images: 

• Be brief, one sentence. 

• Describe the image in relation to the story. 

More information about accessibility and best practices: https://accessible.wisc.edu/  

Hashtags  

We use a wide variety of relevant hashtags to promote content. The most prominent ones are:   

#BadgersVote 

#FutureBadgers 

• Used to market content to incoming students who may be considering applying or enrolling at UW-Madison. 

#OnWisconsin 

#StudyStrong/#FinishStrong  

• Used during finals and midterms to promote events surrounding studying, the libraries, and ways to de-stress (including those hosted by UHS). 

#UWFall 

• Used to promote events and photos during the fall. 

#UWGrad 

• Used to promote stories, events, and interesting information about and/or for seniors who will be graduating within the current school year. 

#UWMadison 

#UWSOAR 

• Used during the summer and the very beginning of the school year, mainly to promote orientation-related material from OSTFE. 

#UWSummer 

• Used to promote summer term classes as well as fun and interesting things Badgers are doing in the summer. 

#UWTransfers 

• Used to connect with UW transfer students and promote events. 

#UWWinter 

• Used during the winter to promote events, photos, and fun and interesting things Badgers are doing in the winter. 

#WiWelcome 

• Used to promote Wisconsin Welcome and Winter Welcome events at the beginning of each semester.

Heritage Month Hashtags  

• Latine Heritage Month – Sept 15-Oct 15
  • #UWLatineHM
• Native November – November 
  • #UWNativeNovember 

• Black History Month – February 
  • #UWBHM 

• MENA Heritage Month (Middle Eastern North African) – March (April nationally) 
  • #UWMENAHM  

• APIDA Heritage Month (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) – April (May nationally) 
  • #UWAPIDAHM 

If you are looking to create additional hashtags, keep in mind:  

• Keep your hashtag short, precise, and simple to spell 
• Do not overuse hashtags; two are advised on most social platforms (one popular hashtag and one custom hashtag). The exception is Instagram, where 2-8 hashtags may be useful based on content. 
• Try out the hashtag before you use it. Research to make sure there is no negativity around the hashtag or any large promotional use for a specific brand. 
• Make sure to capitalize each new word in the hashtag for accessibility and readability. 

Photos 

Use campus photos over stock photos whenever possible 

• UW Photo Library 

• Student Affairs Photo Library