Our office is often asked for guidance and assistance with social media campaigns. Since we often receive questions on how best to begin a social media campaign, I thought it would be helpful to share a list of best practices.

Below you will find key points for achieving the goals of strengthening your web presence, leveraging your existing channels of communication, and connecting your campaign to real world events. While all of the practices below do not apply to everyone, there are many important factors to keep in mind if you are planning on running a social media campaign, and most of these issues apply to your general use of social media as well.

Strengthen your web presence

• Develop a precise brand (and never, ever stray away from it)
• Establish a title for your campaign that is used consistently in all materials
• Create consistent imagery and graphics
• Create a simple statement of your goals
• Focus on the benefits to your audience
• Encourage and reward participation
• Create a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.
• Include your branding imagery and a short informational description that also encourages fans to like/follow/etc. your social media presence
• Post all updates and news to your social media presence
• Include status updates, photos, videos, etc.
• Post at least twice a week at a minimum
• Share the burden of posting content with others in your area
• Schedule a series of unique posts and contests to help generate user-submitted content
• Schedule a monthly feature article that is more significant than a typical status update
• Create a Twibbon for fans to overlay on their profile picture on Facebook and Twitter
• Create a simple website that is used as a hub of information
• Include widgets, buttons, and links back to your social media presence(s)

Leverage existing channels of communication

• Work with others on campus to help promote your campaign
• Find other offices or departments who have a shared interest in the successful outcome of your campaign
• Request others include ads, widgets, links, etc. from their websites and social media presences pointing back to your campaign
• Request others to make periodical status updates on their social media presences to help promote your campaign
• Include advertisements and promotions for your campaign in offline media
• Include ads for your campaign in any publication materials like magazines, newsletters, etc. produced by you or others who have a vested interest
• Share major updates with anyone external to the University that has a significant social media presence to assist with content going viral

Connect campaign with real world events

• Use an event as a launching pad for the campaign
• Have promotional material on hand to distribute
• Collect contacts by having prize drawings with peoples’ names and email addresses written down on raffle tickets
• Add events to a Facebook Page to connect your social media presence with real world events

Share your recommendations

Did I forget something? If you have other recommendations, please share them in the comments below.