The following is meant as a general guide to using social media as a college employee promoting/representing MCLA. Contact Social Media and Marketing Manager Jasmine Gancarz for additional details, guidelines, general advice and more at Jasmine.Gancarz@mcla.edu or 413.662.5191.
The MCLA Office of Communications and Marketing uses social media to show the many facets of MCLA’s culture, values, and current events. We are mission-driven, keeping in mind that MCLA is a place where students come for an excellent, affordable education, and a place where they leave as global citizens with the skills necessary to be responsible leaders in their new fields of work.
We work to show the heart and soul of MCLA—stories of professional outcomes for our alumni, our alumni working together with students on community and work projects, the close relationship the College maintains with the City of North Adams, the unique and valuable contributions of our faculty members, and more. We want to share stories that resonate with our community and show the value of a degree from the Commonwealth’s liberal arts college.
Social media is social, and we want to actively engage with followers and fans, from tweeting back at an excited incoming freshman to answering questions about admission and academics to liking and reposting great tweets and Instagram photos. We want to be as accessible online as we are on campus.
We keep our audience in mind and follow the general rules of writing: Be clear and concise. Use active language. Social media users like to scroll quickly through their feeds, so we start with the main point and offer compelling content and images to grab their attention.
MCLA has active social media stakeholders that work together to show a complete picture of the College. Our goal is to meet regularly so we’re all on the same page and so we can exchange ideas and respond to the needs of our audiences.
Our students are an invaluable resource—they’re fluent social media users, they’re active on campus and many of them are honing their skills as marketers, journalists, writers and photographers. We want to give them real-world experience in content generation and social media management, so we rely on our student workers to cover events, pitch ideas, write stories and schedule posts and tweets.
We take guesswork out of social media by testing, reviewing, fine-tuning and testing again. We use data about reach and engagement to inform our future plans and strategies in social media in order to use time wisely and create content that will resonate.
MCLA conducts regular social listening across all social media platforms typically used by our undergraduates. MCLA’s EO plan should be considered a guide to these matters generally.
In the event of a Title IX issue on social media, screenshots will be sent directly to Dean for Title IX, Equal Opportunity, and Student Wellness, Patrick Connelly, or in the event Patrick is not present, a Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
Actions taken after an instance is reported will be evaluated on a case by case basis as all Title IX matters are under our EO plan.
Under no circumstances should College social media accounts (institutional, departmental, administrative, or student-run) respond publicly to individuals with Title IX-related concerns. However, in the case of a widespread community concern or reaction, it is appropriate to publicize links and resources regarding relevant College policies and/or statements. Under no circumstance should any official college social media account comment on individual Title IX-related matters publicly or privately.
