Working on a small communications team may have limitations, but it can also make a big impact. In this session we will discuss organization and management strategies for small social media teams. Using examples and resources from CSU Northridge, attendees will gain tools and best practices to implement at their home institution.

University marketing and communications teams continuously face the dilemma of having too many social media accounts across campus. When there’s a social media account for every unit, team, faculty, and degree, it’s difficult to know who is sharing what, it’s challenging to manage strategy and branding, and it’s particularly difficult for students to know where to get the information they need to thrive on campus. When reflecting on the state of our social media channels within the students' portfolio at UBCO, it was clear that there were too many accounts without any oversight or strategy. We saw an opportunity to create a coordinated portfolio-wide strategy to ensure all student communications moving forward are shared in a timely, strategic, and professional way that provides student value. In the last year, we have consolidated our Instagram accounts to eight total profiles and developed a strategically aligned social media strategy implemented across the portfolio. This session will include a Case Study presentation followed by an interactive workshop to get you started with your own approach to this style of social media strategy. Takeaways from this session: 1. A blueprint for streamlining university social media communications in a current and valuable way for students. 2. A case study to support future proposals to consolidate accounts and align social media strategies at your institution 3. A list of best practices to get started on enhancing social media processes on your team 4. Lessons learned about building relationships and trust on campus to advance social media strategies