Social Media

X gives users the opportunity to talk about what’s happening in real time. It’s important to stay current with trends, events and news, both on campus and in the community (Corvallis and beyond). 

What to post?

• Original content: Tweet what is happening in your college/department, research, events, student and alumni stories etc. 

• Cross-promotional: These tweets are good. You can retweet other accounts who are talking about your college/department or mention your account. Remember it is up to you what you retweet. Please make sure it follows the guidelines and does not promote something negative about Oregon State.

How many times to post?

• 2-3 times per week is a good starting point to build brand recognition

• 2-3 times per day is a good way to keep people in the loop. 

What content does best?

• Break up your timeline with pictures, videos or GIFs. These help engage the audience rather than having a random link to a news article. 

• If you are using someone else's photo, please ask them first and then make sure to attribute them correctly. 

  • Photo example: camera emoji [their name or handle]

• Timing matters! Do research to see when your audience is most active, then post at those times. 

Mistakes happen. Social media is public by default, and it's hard to please everyone. Sometimes, you’ll make a mistake, but it’s important to address and acknowledge the mistake, apologize, delete and/or repost. 

• X doesn’t allow you to make changes, unless you subscribe, after your content has been published. For this reason, it is a good idea to double and triple check that everything (including handles you are tagging) is spelled correctly and makes sense.

Be responsive. Don’t just post. Make sure you’re monitoring what people are saying. If someone reaches out to your account or adds a comment to a post, respond quickly and accurately, whether the feedback is positive or negative. 

Engage. Follow and reach out to pages or people. Comment, reply and be active on other social accounts.

• Create ways for your followers to participate. Ask them questions, polls, giveaways, etc. 

Use our hashtags! Oregon State has established hashtags already: #GoBeavs, #BeaverNation and #OregonState.

Don’t panic during a crisis. Yes, emergencies happen and Oregon State uses social media to reach audiences the quickest. Please refer followers to the official @OregonState university accounts, per policy.