Appendix B
Social Media Strategy @ Carleton University
Proposal
In December 2012, the Social Media Audit Group completed a review of the social media presence at
Carleton University. The conclusions show there are many social media accounts at Carleton - some
successful while others outdated - and there is much potential for collaboration to foster better
engagement. The next step to help Carleton organize and continue to enhance its collective social media
presence is the creation of a university-wide social media strategy. The creation of a social media
strategy is important because it will align our use of social media for communications and provide
guidance for listening, participating, engaging and encouraging interaction.
This document outlines the process for the creation of a Social Media Strategy for Carleton University.
This strategy will be applicable to all audiences including prospective students, current students, staff,
faculty, alumni, and the broader community.
Oversight
The creation of a Social Media Strategy will be led by the Office of the Associate Vice-President
(Students and Enrolment) with support from the Office of Quality Initiatives, the Department of
University Communications and CCS. The core working group would report to and be advised by:
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Suzanne Blanchard, Associate Vice-President (Students and Enrolment)
Don Cumming, Director, University Communications
Denis Levesque, Chief Information Officer, CCS
Cindy Taylor, Director, Quality Initiatives
Working Group
Since social media is used by various departments and individuals at Carleton to engage with diverse
audiences, a representative working group is necessary to help us collaborate better and continue to
work towards more strategic use of social media. Proposed working group membership includes
representatives from the following Carleton departments and individual stakeholders:
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Jennifer Elliott, Office of the Associate Vice-President (Students and Enrolment)
Mike Reynolds, Office of the Associate Vice-President (Students and Enrolment)
Steven Reid, University Communications
Mary Kathryn Roberts, CCS
Andrew Barrett, Educational Development Centre
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Julie Carl, Office of the Vice-President (Research and International)
Greg Aulenback, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs
Terrence Odin, Human Resources
Ryan Davis, Advancement
Greg MacDonald, Creative Services
Mary Francoli, Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Advisory Role
Scott Gonsalves, Office of Quality Initiatives
The membership of the working group should be approximately 10 people to allow for work on the
social media strategy to proceed. However, it is proposed that this working group would present
findings and drafts to the Student Communications Committee to reach a wider university audience, to
solicit feedback and to achieve university-wide agreement and support. The working group should also
present a draft of the strategy to the University Communications Communicators group.
Objective
The primary objective of the Social Media Strategy Working Group is to create a university-wide social
media strategy for Carleton University.
Purpose of a social media strategy
The purpose of the social media strategy is to:
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Collectively define what social media means to Carleton (listen/participate/engage/encourage
interaction)
Create goals and objectives for our strategic use of social media and determine how to measure
them (including target markets and tactics)
Determine the “organization” of CU’s social media “teams” (operation plan)
Work collaboratively across the university to channel our efforts (social media works better
when we do!)
Share best practices
Encourage use of existing tools like the Social Media Guidelines and the Social Media Directory
Maintain active and engaging accounts for various audiences
The social media strategy will guide the best use of social media at Carleton for its main purpose:
engagement and participation.
Scope
The social media strategy would encompass communications to the following audiences:
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Prospective students
Current students (including Residence and Athletics)
Alumni
Faculty/Researchers
Staff
Broader community
The scope of this strategy would not cover student-to-student or student group-to-student social media
communications as part of its mandate.
Methodology & Schedule
A project plan will be developed by the working group and brought forward to the oversight committee
for feedback and approval. This plan may include such activities as a competitor analysis, researching
social media best practices, investigating strategies to leverage our existing tools, and engaging with
social media expertise on-campus.
Keywords and phrases used when describing or grappling with social media:
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Listen, participate, engage, encourage interaction
Communities
Word-of-mouth
Influencers
People communicate with “brands”
Participate in conversations (especially if started it)
Reach people where they are; connect (especially with people not nearby)
Leverage other communication tools/methods and other social media tools (spread your
presence)
Time!
Scalable social media programs
How to measure success? What do metrics mean?
What tools to use? Social media moves fast! How do we stay on trend?
Everyone must work together
Who runs it?
Determine objectives / goals
Proactive versus Reactive
Research
Be an enabler
Public reputation
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