{"id":203,"date":"2016-07-27T11:08:45","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T11:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/?page_id=203"},"modified":"2019-06-20T16:51:02","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T16:51:02","slug":"getting-started","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting started"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Social media&#8217; describes an ever-increasing number of digital platforms, which are used in different ways by different people. Each platform has its own strengths and uses. It can be time-consuming to learn the ins and outs of a social media platform, and even more time-consuming to grow an engaged network of fans and followers on that network.<\/p>\n<p>Before you create a branded account on a social media\u00a0platform, it&#8217;s really important that you&#8217;ve done some planning. It&#8217;ll help you focus on what&#8217;s important.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What purpose will your social media account serve? What function does it provide for you? For your audience? The first thing to do is determine the account&#8217;s purpose.<\/p>\n<p>Is it going to be a <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/customer-service\/\">customer service account<\/a>, a <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/community-management\/\">discussion forum for a community of people<\/a>, or a platform for your own\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/thought-leadership\">thought leadership<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/promotional-posts\/\">profile-raising<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re planning to provide University services through social media, have a look at <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/sample-page\/\">what&#8217;s already out there<\/a>. Is there any overlap? Are there opportunities to collaborate?<\/p>\n<p>If there&#8217;s a clear gap, then it&#8217;s useful to identify it. Write down exactly what that gap is \u2013 an example might be &#8216;to provide University-wide support and advice to students on placements&#8217;. Writing this down will be really useful in shaping your strategy for the account.<\/p>\n<p>If your account is a platform for your own ideas and interactions, and represents you as an individual rather than a\u00a0University service, be really clear on what you&#8217;re setting out to achieve on social media. It&#8217;s probably something like <em>&#8216;share academic opinions on X, network with other experts, and keep up-to-date with developments in my field of expertise&#8217;<\/em>. Again, write it down.<\/p>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve done this, you might want to think about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/audience\/\">audience<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/goals\/\">goals<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/content-planning\/\">content planning<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/platforms\/\">platforms<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more advice on getting started with social media, speak to Sheffield Hallam&#8217;s Digital Team.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/audience\/\">Next: audience<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Social media&#8217; describes an ever-increasing number of digital platforms, which are used in different ways by different people. Each platform has its own strengths and uses. It can be time-consuming to learn the ins and outs of a social media platform, and even more time-consuming to grow an engaged network of fans and followers on that network. Before you create<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":0,"parent":42,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-203","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P7mXc8-3h","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":227,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/platforms\/","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":0},"title":"Platforms","author":"Joseph Field","date":"July 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Platforms There are loads of social media platforms to choose from. By now, you'll hopefully have a really clear idea of the one that's right for you and your audience. Whichever it is, familiarise yourself with it. Dig around, watch what other people are doing with it, look for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/files\/2019\/06\/New-social-300x288.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":191,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/thought-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":1},"title":"Thought leadership","author":"Joseph Field","date":"July 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Social media can be really effective in raising your profile, demonstrating your expertise and building a network of people and organisations who share your interests. From commenting on current events to lifting the lid on research, many scientists, political experts and business leaders use social tools for thought leadership. Blogging\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/community-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":2},"title":"Community management","author":"Joseph Field","date":"March 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Community management Social media is about communities: people who are there to communicate\u00a0with other people who share their interests. For a brand, those people are often customers or service-users. Community management is the practise of creating and managing online spaces that enable\u00a0dialogue with, and between, members of that community. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":218,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/audience\/","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":3},"title":"Audience","author":"Joseph Field","date":"July 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Audience Your social media account will aim to engage a relevant audience, and you will need to do some thinking about them in order to decide what you post. Most of the time, you will need to think about content that isn't just 'promotional' (although there is a time, place\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/accounts\/","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":4},"title":"Social media accounts","author":"Joseph Field","date":"March 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a list of Sheffield Hallam's main social media accounts: Facebook Page Twitter account Instagram account LinkedIn University Page LinkedIn Company Page YouTube channel Here are some business unit accounts that are really good: @SHU_Alumni on Twitter @SHUmediacentre on Twitter @HallamHelp on Twitter @hallamlibrary on Instagram @artanddesignshu on Instagram\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/social-media-guidelines\/crisis-communication\/","url_meta":{"origin":203,"position":5},"title":"Crisis communication","author":"Joseph Field","date":"March 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Crisis communication Closely linked to customer service, social media tools have emerged as a primary communication channel for individuals and organisations during crises. The timely use of social media should be a core element of any crisis communications plan. A good crisis communications plan outlines\u00a0who will do what,\u00a0when,\u00a0where\u00a0and\u00a0how. So, if\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":472,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203\/revisions\/472"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/socialmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}