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Ask the Owl

Create and Manage Social Media Accounts

Before you begin…

Ask “Who is your main audience?” and “Who do you want to see your content?”

Make sure the content of your posts is geared toward that audience. Common audiences for the Jindal School are the following:

  • Current Students
  • Alumni
  • Prospective Students
  • Employers/Companies
  • Other: ______________

Which business objectives will your social media presence support?

  • Communication with current students about events, classes and more.
  • Increased public interest in your classes, projects, faculty research and program culture, which will result in higher class enrollments and professional volunteers.
  • Feedback from current and past students.
  • Increased attendance at events.

Which platforms will you use?

  • Conduct initial research and discuss options with the Jindal School social media specialist. Sometimes less is more, and social media is always about quality over quantity.
  • It is best to focus on one platform and do it best, rather than try to initiate on all social media platforms.

What will you name your Facebook page or X account?

  • Keep it short. Your Facebook page name should include “UT Dallas.”
    • Example: UT Dallas MS Accounting or Project Management Club at UT Dallas
  • Create a matching hashtag.
    • Example: #hireJSOM
  • Have your name officially approved by the JSOM Social Media Team.

    • It is important to inform the social media specialist so we can add your account to our directory on our Jindal School social webpage.

Who will be managing your page?

  • Decide who will be managing your social accounts.
  • Schedule a meeting with the JSOM Social Media Specialist to understand University policies and best practices.

Getting Started

There are several decisions that you will need to make about the kind of content that you will create:

What news are you going to share with your audience?

  • Spotlights
    • Personal, Academic, Career and more
      • Student
      • Alumni
      • Faculty
      • Employer
  • Upcoming events
    • On campus and in the DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) community
  • Competition results
  • Educational material
    • industry, career, wellness and more
    • New classes
  • Call for volunteers or ambassadors
  • Internships and job openings (from the Career Management Center)
  • Community service
  • Student life, wellness and success topics
  • Expert opinion (faculty and staff) and current events
  • Travel
    • Class trips or student and alumni international experiences
  • DFW opportunities and events
  • Businesses to follow on social media
  • History of your program or UT Dallas
    • #ThrowbackThursday, #FlashbackFriday
  • Behind the scenes of events and alumni jobs

How will you increase engagement?

  • Ask for feedback.
  • Feature fill-in-the-blanks.
  • Q&A from faculty member about current industry news.
  • Trivia:
    • Guess who this is?…Old photos from staff and faculty (Throwback Thursday)
  • Giveaways for people who respond.
  • Use your established hashtag often. Share content of followers who also use that hashtag to reinforce its purpose.

Making the most of your time:

Content creation takes time. Here are some helpful tips to make the most of your time:

  • Schedule Facebook posts and tweets ahead of time.
  • Native Publishing tools within Facebook
  • XPro for X
  • Hootsuite for Facebook, X and LinkedIn with tracking

  • Have realistic posting goals and stick to them. Start with two posts a week and then increase, as you feel comfortable.
  • Ask for input and story submissions from the entire department, so that you are not the only person creating content.
    • Interesting articles
    • Student success stories
    • Quotes about industry, career or current events
    • Pictures (Throwback Thursdays/Flashback Fridays)
  • Share posts or retweet from other JSOM or UT Dallas pages.
  • Create an interest list of other colleges and companies for inspiration.

Increasing Your Following

Give students and alumni a reason to follow your program page or account. Explain the purpose of the page — why should they follow you? Why will this help them? If you have multiple accounts, what is the difference between them?

  • Email faculty, staff and students to like the page.
  • Encourage students to like the page on the first day in class.
  • Send an email to your student and alumni population to create awareness of your page.
  • Give extra credit for submitting stories or responding to your posts and tweets (virtual participation).
  • Talk about your social media activity in class as a soft reminder to follow.
  • Recommend professional social media usage — suggest experts to follow on X or company pages to like on Facebook.

Communication with JSOM Social Media

Always use talent-release approval for photos (See Talent Release pages in the chapter on Other Marketing and Media Needs):

  • Have a sign at your event stating that by attending they are agreeing to the terms of the UT Dallas Talent Release.
  • Email the subject with the form attached and have him or her agree by replying yes and returning the signed form.
  • Use a chart-form version of the Talent Release to collect names and signatures.
  • Subjects under 18 will need a parent or guardian to sign the Talent Release.

Connect with the JSOM Social Media Specialist

The JSOM social media specialist is here to discuss social media integration with your department objectives and coverage options. Find your current contact for social media on this page. For scheduling posts, please give advance notice (at least two weeks).

Send updates on:

  • Major events
  • Guest speakers
  • Competitions
  • Success stories and good news (students, alumni, faculty and staff)
  • New classes, special projects
  • Student organization activity

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