Social Media Process and Timelines

The Research Communications team manages the OVPR Twitter and LinkedIn channels and provides social media support for Bridging Barriers. The team uses social media to reinforce connections, showcase thought leadership and demonstrate how research at UT is changing the world.

Social Media Requests

Social media requests should be submitted via the ServiceNow ticket. Requests must include:

  • Submitter name
  • Submitter email address
  • Title of event or request
  • Description, including all relevant details, or draft language
  • Link for more information (i.e. a news post, event link, etc.)
  • Due date or estimate of date to be posted
  • Graphic or image to be included
    • Twitter: 1200 x 675 pixels
    • LinkedIn: 1200 x 627 pixels
  • UT Austin departments, schools or units to be tagged (Digital Content Coordinator will find the tags)
  • Optional – personal social media tags for speakers/researcher
  • Optional – hashtags

Please be aware of character limits within social media platforms:

  • Twitter posts are 280 characters long, including the link, tags and hashtag.
  • LinkedIn posts are 3,000 characters long, but only 210 before it shows “See more”

Timelines

If content is drafted and graphic is ready upon submission:

  • The Digital Content Coordinator will review, edit as needed, and submit changes to the requestor for approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for this process.
  • The original requestor is responsible for getting approval from the people who own the content before submission.
  • The Digital Content Coordinator will review the content calendar to find the most appropriate day for the content to be posted. The posting date will be within seven days of approval, unless specified otherwise.
  • The Digital Content Coordinator will then upload the language and assets into Sprout for optimized scheduling and a final proofread by another member of the Research Communications team.
  • Timelines between approval and posting are determined by the editorial calendar, and the urgency of the request. For maximum results, please submit requests as early as possible. The content calendar is finalized one week in advance.

If Research Communications must draft the language:

  • Please submit requests two weeks or more in advance of the desired posting date.
  • Responses will be sent to confirm receipt of the request within 24-48 hours and to review any further details needed to complete the request.
  • The comms team will strategize, draft language, research tags and gather all assets.
  • Once the draft is established with all tags and visual elements, the draft will be submitted to the original requestor for approval. The original requestor is responsible for getting approval from all necessary parties.
  • Once approved, the Digital Content Coordinator will review the content calendar to find the most appropriate day for the content to be posted. The posting date will be within seven days of approval, unless specified otherwise.
  • The Digital Content Coordinator will upload the language and assets into Sprout for scheduling and a final proofread by another member of the Comms team.

Event Promotion

Social media support for events falls into two main categories: registration assistance and thought leadership. Registration assistance helps drive awareness and attendance prior to events. Thought leadership shares key takeaways and positions UT researchers as leaders in their fields, rather than trying to drive event registration. Timelines and expectations for each are described below.

 

Registration Assistance

Social media promotion of events should be part of a wider communications strategy, as relying on social media alone for event promotion does not typically produce the desired results. For an event with this goal to be shared on social media, the following technical aspects must be met:

  • There is ample time to promote the event. (A number of considerations will determine the amount of time needed to promote an event. This includes things such as price to attend, registration deadlines, agenda details, virtual/in-person, etc.)
  • There is a website with more information and RSVP details.
  • There are high-quality visual assets, like headshots, images or graphics, that can be used to promote the event. If not, work with the Research Communications or Events teams to identify or develop an event image.
  • Event organizers have done due diligence in promoting the event in other ways besides social.
  • If working with the OVPR Events team to coordinate, please include the Research Communications team by the second meeting with Events.

 

Thought Leadership

For some events, the real value is the thought leadership or insights that come out of the session. It’s useful to promote key takeaways to build awareness for recurring events or to position the event and the participants as leaders in their field.

To get the most value out and engagement out of these types of posts, they should be shared one to three weeks after the event, so it is best to submit as soon as possible after the event is over.

For thought leadership after an event to be shared on OVPR social media channels, the following technical aspects must be met:

  • Provide high-quality visual assets (images from the event are highly encouraged). Cell phone photos are perfectly acceptable, provided that the image is clear, lighting is bright, and the composition of the photo clearly gets the point across.
  • Provide a draft statement on the intended message or takeaway. OVPR will edit as needed and submit to the original poster for approval. Please see above for timelines for revisions and approvals, and character limits.
  • Provide online media articles, posts or other links published as a result of the event; these are especially useful.

Support Request Form