Social Media
UNC Asheville Social Media Strategic Plan
Purpose & Strategic Objectives
The social media strategy for the University of North Carolina Asheville provides a coordinated approach to digital storytelling that supports the University’s mission and amplifies the voices of the campus community. Through the University’s primary social media channels, the Communication and Marketing Department partners with departments and units across campus to share engaging content that highlights the UNC Asheville experience. The strategy also offers guidance for campus units managing their own accounts to ensure consistency and alignment with the University’s brand and values.
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Alumni
- Faculty & Staff
- Parents & Families
- Community
- Media
- Local & State Lawmakers
- Instagram – Student life, campus visuals, culture, storytelling, trends
- LinkedIn – Alumni, storytelling, announcements
- Facebook – Events, community engagement, storytelling
- TikTok – Student engagement, student life, trends
- X – Storytelling, announcements
- YouTube – Long-form videos, storytelling
Social Media Policy
Social media accounts representing the University of North Carolina Asheville should support the University’s mission and reflect its values. Departments, programs, and organizations that manage University-affiliated accounts are responsible for ensuring their content is accurate, respectful, and appropriate for a public audience.
All official accounts should follow editorial standards and maintain a professional tone when interacting with the public. Account managers should monitor their pages regularly, respond to questions when appropriate, and ensure that posts respect privacy, copyright, and University policies.
Social media managers should also take care to protect confidential information and follow applicable regulations related to student privacy and institutional communications. Content shared on official channels should represent the University positively and contribute to a welcoming, inclusive online community.
The Office of Communication and Marketing provides guidance and support to campus units managing social media accounts and may assist with strategy, best practices, and questions related to University representation online.
Getting Started
If you’re interested in launching social media accounts for your department or club and don’t know where to start, use these steps as a guide.
Before starting a new social media account, take a moment to consider whether creating a separate page is the best option.
Ask yourself:
- Is there already an existing UNC Asheville account that could share this content?
- Do we have enough content to post regularly and keep the account active?
- Who will manage the account and monitor comments or messages?
- Do we have at least two account admins in case roles change?
If the answer to most of these questions is “yes", creating a new account may make sense. If you’re unsure, the Communication & Marketing team can help you decide the best approach.
Before creating any accounts or choosing a platform, define what you want your social media presence to accomplish. Are you trying to recruit prospective students, keep current students informed about events, showcase department research, or build community around your club? Having a clear goal will shape every decision that follows, from which platforms make sense to what kind of content you’ll post. Write down one or two specific objectives and refer back to them throughout the setup process. A focused, purposeful account will always be more effective than one that tries to do everything at once.
Not every platform will be the right fit for your department or club, and you don’t need to be everywhere at once. Think about who you’re trying to reach and where they spend their time online. Here’s a quick breakdown of what each platform tends to do well:
- Instagram: Visual content, campus life, and student-facing storytelling
- TikTok: Short-form video, student engagement, and campus culture
- LinkedIn: Professional audiences, alumni relations, and industry partnerships
- Facebook: Event promotion, families, faculty, and staff communities
- X (formerly Twitter): Quick updates and joining broader conversations in your field
Choose one or two platforms that align with your goal from Step 1 and your team’s capacity, and build from there rather than spreading yourself too thin across multiple channels.
- Please include “UNC Asheville,” “uncavl,” or “unca” when creating social media handles. For example, the Athletics Instagram handle is @uncavlbulldogs.
- Official university social media accounts and hashtags:
- Facebook: @UNCAsheville
- Instagram: @unc_asheville
- Twitter: @UncAvl
- General university hashtag: #UncAvl
- Admission hashtag: #AvlBound
Account Management
Each social media account affiliated with UNC Asheville should have a clear plan for day-to-day management. Departments should identify who is responsible for posting content, monitoring comments, and maintaining account access.
Managing Account Access and Transitions
- If someone who manages a social media account leaves their role, whether a student, faculty member, or staff member, account access should be updated as soon as possible to keep the account secure and active.
Departments should plan ahead for account transitions. We recommend reassessing who is managing, and has access to, the account(s) at the end of every semester.
To help keep accounts running smoothly, departments should:
- Confirm who is listed as the primary administrator and ensure they are registered with the Office of Communication and Marketing.
- Keep current login information stored securely and accessible to the appropriate team members.
- Make sure at least one faculty or staff member has administrative access to the account(s).
- Update administrative permissions whenever account managers change roles or responsibilities.
Before you start posting, take some time to map out a basic plan for how you’ll run your account. Ask yourself:
- Who is our audience? Are you speaking to current students, prospective students, alumni, or the general public?
- What will we post? Think about the mix of content you’ll share, such as events, announcements, or department highlights.
- How often will we post? Consistency matters more than frequency, so pick a schedule your team can realistically maintain.
- Who owns the account? Establish clear roles for who creates, approves, and publishes content.
- How will we measure success? Identify a few simple metrics that connect back to your goal from Step 1.
Having even a basic strategy in place before you launch will keep your content consistent and your team aligned.
Once you have a clear plan for managing your social media accounts, make sure to register your account(s) to be officially recognized by the University and included on the Social Media Directory.
Social Media Best Practices
| Be authentic | Plan your content ahead of time |
| Post consistently | Use high-quality visuals — PhotoShelter |
| Write clear, engaging captions | Use hashtags thoughtfully |
| Be responsive and respectful | Stay on brand |
Comments & Questions
When someone takes the time to comment or send a message, a timely and thoughtful response goes a long way. Aim to reply to questions and direct messages within one to two business days, and acknowledge positive comments when you can. If you receive a negative comment or complaint, respond calmly and professionally, and take the conversation to a private channel if the situation calls for it. Not every comment requires a response, but ignoring your audience consistently can damage trust. When in doubt, reach out to the Communication & Marketing team before responding to anything sensitive or controversial.
Register Your Account
Register Your Account
Please complete the registration form to begin the process of registering your UNC Asheville-affiliated social media account. Registering your account allows it to be officially recognized by the University and included in the campus Social Media Directory. After the form is submitted, a member of the Office of Communication and Marketing will follow up with next steps.
When creating a social media account, you need to be sure you can consistently upload content. If you only upload a handful of posts a year, your channel and videos are much less likely to appear when people search for them. A stale or abandoned social media account that represents a campus unit is detrimental to the University’s reputation, more so than not having that account at all.
If a department or program’s social media account at UNC Asheville has not been updated for six months, the Office of Communication and Marketing may reach out to the account manager for additional information. Accounts that remain inactive for more than eight months may be removed from the University’s Social Media Directory.