Definitions

Accessibility - refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities.

Branded accounts – social media accounts operated by UC ANR personnel or volunteers that are branded with the name of the division or its programs (4-H, UC Master Gardener, UCCE, etc.).

Consistency - refers to having an organized, well-thought out plan for regularly disseminating social media content. The recommendation for most social media platforms is daily posting and/or sharing of others’ content.

Content - refers to communications materials created for social media and can include written copy, photographs, videos, lists, guides, infographics, etc.

Metrics - data, and the patterns found in that data, often used to make marketing or advertising decisions. A website or application gathers data using a cookie or other tracking tag that monitors users’ behavior. The tag activates when users begin their visits then stores data about what pages they visited, what actions they completed, and how they interacted with different elements such as clicking on buttons or performing a search. Common social media metrics include:

  • Follower count
  • Engagement count – number of likes, comments, reposts, etc. from your audience
  • Engagement rate - percentage of users who saw your social media post and took some action (clicked the link, replied, shared, reposted, etc.).
  • Impressions - number of times a piece of content is displayed
  • Reach - maximum potential audience for any given message
  • Click through rate - number of clicks that a post receives divided by the number of times the post is shown. For example, if you had 5 clicks and 100 impressions, then your CTR would be 5%.

Personal accounts – social media accounts that are set up and managed by individual users and are not officially associated with the University of California name, programs or resources.

Social media – social media refers to websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time. These sites and applications facilitate the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. Examples include Facebook, X,  Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube and blogs, among many others. 

Social media strategy - a blueprint that answers the what, when, how, and why for all the content you post on your social pages. Plans should identify what you are trying to achieve, who you are trying to reach, and your strategy for reaching them.

Troll - a social media user who makes a deliberately offensive or annoying postings with the sole aim of provoking other users.