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UC Master Gardener Coordinators

Social Media

© University of California

Social media is a natural extension of  traditional media, it can no longer be ignored! Social media or digital is a term used for web-based media that encourage social interactivity among its participants.

Social media allows individuals and organizations to provide information to others in their social networks and lets participants instantly respond and engage with an organization or brand. The most commonly used social media platforms for the UC Master Gardener Program are Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and YouTube.

Questions? Contact: 
Barbra Braatan 
Statewide Communications Specialist
bbraaten@ucanr.edu
(530) 203-8590

 

Social Media Plan 

Develop a social media marketing plan and strategy that outlines the specific goals and objectives of their social media efforts.

Who is the audience they would like to reach? What objectives would you like to reach? More website or blog traffic? More attendees at event? Recruiting new volunteers? Download the presentation on developing a social media plan in the resources section below. 

Resources: 

Content 

UC Master Gardener Program social media channels must be used for educational, informational and or communication purposes in support of the UC Master Gardener Program mission statement and initiatives. 

Creating and finding content for social media channels can be challenging. Think about using your blog as the hub for your social media marketing plan. Develop an editorial calendar that outlines your publishing schedule for your blog, videos and social media. Having an editorial calendar creates a map for developing interesting content in a timely manner. It is also possible to cross-promote or repurpose materials across multiple platforms. For example, and blog post can also be shared in your newsletter, as well as on your Facebook and Twitter channels. 

Content creators should be trusted members of the UC Master Gardener Program, who have been trained on how to respond to questions from the public. Experienced hotline volunteers, bloggers or communicators are examples of excellent candidates for content creators on social media channels. 

Examples of appropriate content:
  • Research-based gardening information or tips
  • Seasonal home horticulture information
  • Pest management
  • National extension updates
  • Highlight of successful training
  • Educational
Examples of inappropriate content:
  • Advertisements
  • Spam
  • Insensitive or offensive content
  • Copyrighted material without crediting source
  • Political posts

Accessibility

Beginning April 24, 2026, updated ADA regulations will require all public entities — including the University of California — to ensure digital content meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards.

This includes social media.

To prepare, all new content posted on UC Master Gardener social media accounts must meet accessibility standards beginning March 15.

We recognize accessible content takes additional time. It’s OK to post less. Moving forward, our focus is quality over quantity.

Start With the Checklist

Before publishing, confirm:

  • Does every image include alt text?
  • Is all text from graphics repeated in the caption?
  • Are videos captioned and reviewed for accuracy?
  • Are hashtags written in CamelCase?
  • Is the graphic high contrast and easy to read?
  • Are links placed in the caption or bio instead of inside images?

For a practical checklist, refer to the UC Davis social media accessibility checklist.

What This Looks Like in Practice:

Accessibility Is Now Standard Practice

Accessibility is now part of our publishing workflow. When we create accessible content, we expand our reach, reduce barriers to research-based information, and ensure we are truly serving all Californians.

If you have questions or would like help reviewing your content, join our office hours every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon on Zoom.

Community Netiquette

Establishing community netiquette tells your audience what to expect when they visit your digital channels. Netiquette defines what content is appropriate and why content may be removed from a page. 

Sample Netiquette Language:

Disclaimer: All content, information, and views expressed through this account belong to the individuals posting the content, and do not necessarily reflect the University of California’s official policies or positions. The university is not responsible for unanswered posts or inaccurate information posted by others.

Community Guidelines:

  • Be respectful of the rights and opinions of others. Be willing to agree to disagree and move on
  • Stay on topic
  • Be transparent and honest
  • Add value: Be part of the conversation, but don’t take it over
  • Avoid hateful speech, personal attacks, flaming, profanity, vulgarity, pornography, nudity and abusive language
  • Keep private contact information (e.g. home phone number, address) out of your posts.

If you are not abiding by these guidelines, then your comments may be hidden, deleted, banned or otherwise removed.

Guidance on Volunteer Social Media Use and Co-Hosting

UC Master Gardener volunteers play an important role in creating engaging digital content. When developing content on behalf of the program, that content is considered UC Master Gardener Program content and must be published solely on official UC Master Gardener accounts. Volunteers should not co-host or post program content through their personal social media accounts.

Co-hosting content or posting simultaneously to a personal account can imply endorsement of that account by the UC Master Gardener Program. We are not able to endorse individual accounts without a full review to ensure all content aligns with UC ANR standards, including accessibility and brand compliance.

Working with external influencers or partners is different from individual volunteer activity. Counties may collaborate with outside accounts to expand reach, but these partnerships must be planned, coordinated, and reviewed in advance to ensure they meet UC ANR guidelines. Individual volunteers should not position their personal accounts as collaborators or partners with the program.

To be clear:

  • Sharing or reposting content from official UC Master Gardener accounts to personal accounts is encouraged.

  • Tagging the UC Master Gardener Program in personal posts is appropriate.

  • Creating original gardening content for personal accounts is welcome when it is clearly separate from UC Master Gardener Program content.

  • Co-hosting posts or publishing program content directly to personal accounts is not permitted.

If you’re unsure, contact your county coordinator before posting. Posts that do not follow these guidelines may be asked to be removed.

This approach helps protect the integrity of the UC Master Gardener brand, ensures accessibility standards are met, and maintains public trust in our program.

Social Media Policies and Guidelines

These guidelines are specific to the UC Master Gardener Program; rules and guidelines from individual social media channels should always be observed (ie, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and blogs).

  1. Administration: A program coordinator and/or UC ANR staff member must be added as a full access administrator on all social media channels. 
  2. Roles and Responsibilities: All UC Master Gardener Program guidelines and UC policies must be followed.
    1. It is recommended that the program coordinator or UCCE staff regularly monitor content and maintenance of all sites.
    2. Create a general account for your social media channels, versus attaching program social accounts to one individual's personal email account.
    3. Upon request from county or statewide office, content should be removed immediately.
    4. Please notify the statewide office if your program would like to establish a new account on a new social media site or channel. 
  3. Guidelines:
    1. Photographs should not contain the names of members unless previously approved. Do not post photographs that could be upsetting or has suggestive behavior.
    2. Do not post copyrighted material; this includes videos with copyrighted music.
    3. Represent the program with the correct name and proper UC Master Gardener logo. 

UC ANR Resources:

Evaluation and Analysis

It is important to evaluate your social media content and reach. It is recommended that an analysis of your social channels be done quarterly, at a minimum.  Examine the analytic tools available from the social media channels, for example, Facebook Insights. Tracking which posts are popular with your audience will help with creating future successful content or help redefine your objective, audience, and/or resources if necessary.

Social Media Analytics Resources: 

Additional Resources: