Social media accounts must be approved before they're created
Social media platforms are typically free to set up and easy to use. That often gives a false impression of the "cost" associated with a department social media account.
The bar for success as part of large organization/brand is high. Success depends on strategic goals and may require not only an investment of time but also an investment of dollars for paid advertising and outreach.
It is not "build it, they will come."
A successful social media strategy always requires resources -- research, clearly outlined goals and objectives, smart tactics and dedicated effort.
Often, your best strategy will be to take advantage of existing channels and conversations rather than trying to create a new one. Vanderbilt Health's social media team, based in Marketing and Engagement, has built a robust program and following.
We will only consider a new account if your audience is unique and if your business goals can't be addressed through the brand accounts.
Any use of social media on behalf of VUMC departments must be clearly resourced as a specified part of someone's job, with the direct manager's and department leaders' support. Starting small, assessing, adjusting and only then expanding is the best approach.
What would you like to accomplish?
Your strategy should always start with why: Why do you want to engage social media users? Why would they want to engage with you?
Any activity in social media on behalf of Vanderbilth Health should directly and measurably align with our strategic mission and priorities. You must have clearly defined business objectives to get approval for an account.
Here are few use cases that we've seen over the past decade of our social media program:
- If you're a clinician/faculty member and your goal is being a thought leader or raising visibility and developing reputation among peers, referring providers and potential trainees, Twitter or LinkedIn are likely your best bets. Participation in #medtwitter can be an effective strategy to meet these goals. Consider also that people follow people; you likely can do more as an individual (or collection of individual faculty members) than you could as a faceless department account. (You don't need marketing approval to start an individual Twitter account that doesn't use Vanderbilt's marks -- including a letter "V" that clearly refers to Vanderbilt -- in the account name or handle. But you should be familiar with VUMC's social media policy.)
- If you want to promote a single or intermittent event or news from your department, submit content for Vanderbilt Health's existing social media sites. Social media channels require daily work to grow and cultivate an audience. They aren't useful for one-time events and are not a short-term approach.
- If you're an academic department wanting to connect with prospective trainees, consider an Instagram and/or Twitter account managed by residents/fellows that showcases what it's like to be in the program: curriculum, experience, social/cultural considerations, living in Nashville.
- If you wish to market clinical services to patients, we'll connect you to the marketing representative who works with your area. Social media is most effective for marketing if it is a component of a well-designed and integrated marketing plan. We rarely consider separate accounts for marketing or PR purposes.
- If you want to use social media ads to recruit participants for a clinical study, we can advise, including budget recommendations. Learn more here. We centrally manage paid social media ads on behalf of Vanderbilt Health entities not only to provide expert counsel but to make sure we're not competing with ourselves for keywords and audiences, which drives up costs for all of us.
- Any recruitment on social media must be included in the recruitment plan approved by the IRB. Content must be approved by the IRB. If you're posting IRB-approved content to an approved social media account (not paid ads), the copy doesn't need to be approved by the social media team.
What is your message?
Keep in mind that social media is an audience-driven channel. It's not a place to brag about yourself (Vanderbilt). To be successful, you must add meaningfully to the conversation. If your goal is to "get out the word about us," social media is not the right venue.
Who will manage and moderate the account?
Success at social media takes several things.
You (and your supervisor/department chair) must understand that using social media takes time to be successful. And if you're successful, it will only take more time, not less.
We have a minimum threshold of 1 new post per week for most platforms and a minimum of 3 per week on Twitter. These should be original posts most weeks, although an occasional week when you use retweets to fill that minimum requirement is acceptable.
Everyone's "mileage may vary," but here are some benchmarks to be successful:
- Twitter: Several times a day (original tweets and retweets).
- Instagram: Daily, across multiple features including grid posts, "stories," "reels." Doing only one kind of post will not be successful over time.
- Facebook: At least 3-5 times per week. (Note that because it is virtually impossible in 2023 to grow an audience for a Facebook page without a budget for paid media, it is rare that we approve new Facebook pages.)
- LinkedIn and YouTube: We currently do not approve individual accounts on LinkedIn. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is currently the companty page. We're happy to talk with you about your interests and needs for these channels.
- TikTok: We do not currently approve Vanderbilt branded TikTok accounts.
In addition to content publishing time, you must be prepared to invest time to monitor accounts, moderate comments, manage any PR risk that occurs and keep up with frequent changes in how the platform functions.
- You should plan to check an account at least once every 24 hours, 365 days a year.
- A back-up moderator should be checking accounts when you are on PTO.
- In the rare but not unimaginable instance that your account were attacked in some way (PR attack, cyber attack or other), our social team would do everything we could to support you, but account moderators must be actively engaged in any mitigation.
Bottomline: managing an account can't be "other duties as assigned." If you (and your supervisor/department leader) can't commit a dedicated portion of your time every week, a new account won't be approved. What's enough? The more you invest, the more you get out of your effort. But in most cases, you need to commit at least 2 to 4 hours per week.
Your supervisor/department is making a long-term commitment by moving forward with an account. This includes a commitment to identify new resources and timely transition to a new moderator if you leave VUMC.
What makes a good social media manager?
Successful social media managers:
- Are outgoing by nature. Social media is conversational. You should enjoy talking to others, helping solve problems and patiently listen.
- Have sound judgment. A Vanderbilt Health branded account represents the medical center in a public way. You need to be able to address issues in public in a way that is diplomatic, kind, patient and doesn't violate any policies, laws or regulations. Equally important, you need to know when you're out of your depth and ask for help.
- Are excited about this part of your job, no matter how small it might be. Your enthusiasm, or lack of it, will show.
- Are eager learners. Social media platforms are constantly changing. Managers of official social media accounts are obligated to stay up to date on social media trends. The social media team helps with resources as they can, but this self learning is on your own.
How do I get started?
According to the social media policy, any social media accounts representing Vanderbilt Health or any of its components must be developed in consultation with and approved by the Marketing and Engagement.
Important note: Use of the Vanderbilt name and its variations and marks is subject to trademark rules so no account should be created using Vanderbilt, VU, VUMC, variations of those, the "oak-leaf V" graphic mark, or a V when it is clear that the V refers to Vanderbilt without prior approval.
You may begin the process by requesting a consultation.
What happens next:
- We'll contact you to review your application and learn more about your business objectives, measurable goals and monitoring plan. This may be by email or a direct call. (Note that this work is only a portion of the social media team's responsibility's and turnaround time may vary. If you don't have a response within 14 business days, please send an email to socialmedia@vumc.org to check on the status of your application. Thank you for your patience).
- The social media governance committee will review your application. We may approve it as is, with changes, or decline it with additional suggestions.
- The pending approval will be reviewed by the VU trademarks office. Once final approval is given, our team will work with you on account avatars and other details.
- You'll be asked to sign a moderator agreement that acknowledges your commitment and collects details about primary, secondary moderators and sign-on details.
- We review and renew accounts annually. We reserve the right to delete accounts deemed to be inactive, without back-up moderators, or not meeting the policy or goals established for the account.