Social Media

Your audience is the foundation of your social media strategy. You must ask yourself who are you trying to reach and why. Once you know your audience then you can choose the appropriate platform to reach them.

• Parents- Facebook
• Undergrads – Instagram
• Prospects – Instagram, Tik Tok
• Alums – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
• Community – Facebook
• International – WeChat, Youtube
• Non-Trad – Facebook, Instagram

This isn't a comprehensive list but does give you an idea of where your audience might be. For further recommendations, please contact our department.

Social media is most effective when it fosters conversation, not just broadcast messaging. Strong engagement comes from encouraging followers to interact with your content and with one another. This interaction builds community and improves placement in platform algorithms, resulting in greater reach and follower growth. 

Strategies to Increase Engagement: 

• Share content that is relevant to both the platform and your audience. 
• Create reasons for interaction — ask questions, highlight memories, or connect content to shared experiences. 
• Respond promptly to comments and direct messages to demonstrate attentiveness. 
• Maintain a timely presence; effective engagement often requires real-time management. 

The objective is to encourage authentic interaction while maintaining the professionalism expected of university accounts.

Not all feedback on social media will be positive. When complaints arise, determine whether they should be addressed publicly or moved to direct messaging for further review. Provide respectful, professional responses when appropriate, or guide the individual to a private channel if more information is needed. 

Do not respond to hateful or trolling comments. Report any content that violates a platform’s terms directly to that platform. 

Deleting comments should be rare. As a state institution, Southern Illinois University must comply with laws protecting free speech. Comments may only be removed if they fall within the categories outlined in the university’s social media policy. Removing comments solely because they are unfavorable or critical may expose the university to legal risk.  

Understanding the difference between your desired audience and the audience you currently have – is good for strategic plans that will encourage new followers from your desired audiences while still appealing to your current audiences.

By Social Media Platform:

• Instagram: 60%+ of users are between 18-34 & 73% of teens say Instagram is the best way to reach them. 68% of 18-29 year olds use Instagram*
• Facebook: Largest demographic between 25 and 35 (30%)*
• Youtube: 95% of 18-29 use YouTube and 81% of the US adult population*
• X (formerly Twitter): 39% of users are 25-34 with 63% identifying as male*
• LinkedIn: 60% of users are between 25-34 and 50% of internet users with a college degree use LinkedIn *
• TikTok: 36.2% of users are 18-24, 62% of 18 to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok New research from Pew shows that two out of every three US teens use TikTok daily, with 16% saying they use it almost constantly. *
• Snapchat: 65% of US 18-29 population say they use Snapchat*
• Twitch: 75% of viewers are below the age of 35 and 65% of users are male *
• Reddit: the largest US demographic to use Reddit is between 25-29, followed closely by 18-24 *

*2023 data

At a minimum, monitor reach, impressions, engagement, and engagement rate on a regular basis. These metrics provide the foundation for evaluating content performance and making informed decisions about what to share. Establish clear goals, test different content types, and identify what resonates most with your audience. 

Use analytics strategically to guide content but avoid overanalyzing data that doesn’t drive actionable insights.  

Posts and Stories

• Mix up artwork so it isn't the same on every channel
• Use a minimal amount of text on graphics. Use the photo/graphic for attention and then add the details in the post.
• Use brand colors and art to ensure people know shared posts are coming from SIU
• Create content specifically for social rather than forcing a printed flyer to work on a social post.
• Choose fonts that are easily read at a glance on a phone
• Size pictures and graphics appropriately to avoid grainy and cut-off posts

Visual content should be short and concise. A "story" video post should stick to under 15 seconds to keep from losing the messaging when it is shared.

Before creating a new social media account, contact University Communications & Marketing to schedule a meeting with a team member. This meeting will review your goals, target audiences, and long-term plan for managing the account. 

Consider the following in preparation: 

• Platform selection: Which channel(s) do you intend to use, and why? 
• Purpose: What is the goal of the new account? Define what you hope to achieve beyond simply fulfilling a request to “have an account.” 
• Audience: Who are you trying to reach? Identify specific audiences rather than “everyone.” 
• Management: Who will be responsible for maintaining the account? The university’s social media policy requires at least two full-time employees to have access. Students may assist but cannot serve as the responsible party. 
• Sustainability: Can you provide a six-month content calendar that outlines the type of content you plan to share on each channel?

To be verified by the university and appear in the social media directory, you must do the following:

• Fill out the memo of understanding
• Add the official university social media “bug” to your accounts

Verified accounts will be audited regularly to ensure the content is current and best practices are followed.

Make your content accessible for all, and create inclusive content.

• #CamelCase your hashtags so that assistive technology can interpret each word – when using acronyms (such as SIU) capitalize each letter.
• Always add alternative (alt) text and captions, and never rely on the auto-generated options. THEY ALWAYS NEED EDITS!
  • All primary social platforms except for Instagram Stories allow for alt text.
  • All primary social platforms except for Instagram Stories allow for alt text.
  • If adding or editing alt text is impossible, include descriptive words in the post copy.
  • If the image has text that is central to its meaning, include it in the alt text description.
• Shorten URLs and remove “www.,” “https://,” etc.
• Consider how assistive technology interprets emojis – avoid overuse and don’t replace words with emojis.
• When designing social graphics, check color contrast and combinations, keep text minimal, and consider typeface legibility and readability – left-aligned is best.

The university encourages fans to leave comments, photos, videos, and links here. However, we will review all comments and will remove any that are inappropriate or offensive. We will leave what you share that relates to the subjects covered on this page. Please understand that comments posted to this page do not represent the opinions of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Terms of Use: This SIU Facebook page is intended to provide a place for those with an affinity for SIU to discuss the university. All comments, visuals, videos, and other types of material posted by fans on this site ("User Content") do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideals of SIU, its employees, or affiliates. SIU (a) does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any statement made here, (b) is not responsible for any User Content on this site, and (c) does not endorse any opinions expressed on this fan page.

SIU abides by Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and asks its Facebook fans to do the same. In particular, please do not "post unauthorized commercial solicitations (such as spam)"; "bully, intimidate, or harass any user"; "post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence"; or "do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory" on SIU’s Facebook Page.

SIU reserves the right, but is not obligated, to remove comments that contain commercial solicitations; are factually erroneous/libelous; are wildly off-topic; that cannot be translated into English by Google Translate or other free online translation software; or that otherwise violate Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Facebook encourages all users to utilize the "Report" links when they find abusive content.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale thanks you in advance for your contributions to the university’s Facebook Page, and for your help in creating a safe and vibrant online community.