Tweeting Tar Heels: UNC departments use social media

UNC is making the most of its 140 characters to communicate with the community. 

Many University departments use Twitter to engage with students as well as spread information. 

University archivist Nick Graham said the University Archives social media accounts are the most efficient way to interact with students and alumni and share pieces of UNC history.

“For us, it is a platform to share some of the fun and interesting things we find related to UNC history,” Graham said. “There are a lot of people interested in campus history … so it’s really fun to share these things and see people react to them.”

Graham said the University Archives includes documents going back 200 years, as well as tens of thousands of old photos. He said Twitter and Instagram are great ways to share old yearbook photos, past Daily Tar Heel stories and old campus records.

Back to class! This photo shows General Chemistry in old Venable Hall, 1957. #FDOC #UNCWOW16 pic.twitter.com/3Fk32BKktC

— UNC Archives (@uncarchives) August 23, 2016

Microblogging services such as Twitter use small messages to interact with people in a quick, informal way, said Deb Aikat, professor at the School of Media and Journalism.

“People use microblogging for three main reasons,” Aikat said. “First, you want to inform ... The second, you are not only sending information, you are engaging … and the third reason — branding."

Aikat emphasized the responsibility that UNC departments hold when they use social media. Because the messages are so small, there is sometimes an ambiguity that creeps in, he said. Aikat said things can be perceived as being offensive even if they were not intended to be. He said whoever operates University social media accounts is not only representing their department, but also UNC.

“There’s power of brevity,” he said. 

“Any department who wants to do this has to do it as a concentrated, planned public relations effort. Because otherwise, things could go wrong. Because if you have a tweet about something and that is perceived as negative, it’s difficult to take back.”

Graham said UNC Archives stays neutral with their tweets.

“We’re thoughtful about what we put out there … and we’re almost never posting on topics that would be controversial," he said. "We mostly do things related to anniversaries and University history… we really want students and alumni to really engage with UNC history and come to their own conclusions.”

Nicole Edwards, marketing manager for UNC Housing, said she delegates social media tasks to her interns, taking them through a formal process that teaches them what is appropriate to post. This includes a social media guidebook which has examples of posts from UNC and other institutions. Edwards said social media is especially useful for department promotion, specifically during the housing selection process.

“They know that there’s a lot of responsibility on their shoulders to represent Carolina housing to the best of their abilities but also engage with students … They work really hard to do their best in that balancing act," she said. 

Edwards said she and her interns have learned if they try to sound like a formal, institutional voice, they are heard less.

When the last squad member pulls up to move in #UNCMoveIn pic.twitter.com/OVHwB5CIy7

— UNC Housing (@unchousing) August 21, 2016

"If we try to make it more relatable to students and speak on their level and talk as if we were peers, we get a lot more interactions, a lot more likes, a lot more followers and the students pay attention to our messages more … So we try to let the social media be a student voice for the students and allow it to be more organic," she said. 

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