Assess the goals of your channel 

• Ensure that all posts are helping to generate support, drive engagement, or create awareness for the club or affiliate, U-M, or the Alumni Association. Think big picture and be sure what you’re posting matches your club’s overarching plan. 
Follow brand guidelines 

• Be sure any content posted aligns with our brand messaging and imagery. 

• The official hashtag of both the University of Michigan and the Alumni Association is #GoBlue. The Association may occasionally use other hashtags for specific programs or events as well. 

• Need tips on what image size to use or best practices on how many characters to include in a post? See this cheat sheet. 

Create a content calendar 

• Planning ahead each month by creating and maintaining a content calendar will help maintain a consistent schedule throughout the year and serve to better engage alumni. 

Share content from the Alumni Association and U-M accounts 

• Not all posts have to be original. Be sure to share content from @michiganlumni and @umich as well as any other official schools or campus accounts. 

• Encourage club and affiliate members to like, follow, and share your posts Here are a few additional sources: 

• Alumni Association social media channels: – Facebook – Twitter – LinkedIn – Instagram – YouTube 

• Michigan Alum magazine and newsletter 

• Education Gateway 

• University Record 

• Michigan News 

Evaluate content before you share or promote it 

• Each club and affiliate represents both U-M and the Alumni Association, and thus must thoughtfully consider what type of content is acceptable to post on social media. Posts should not condone violence, nor should they use derogatory language or post highly controversial topics. They should also avoid promoting any outside fundraising or equally unrelated content. 

• Be mindful of what accounts your channels follow and what posts your channels like or share. The simple act of following another account can often be viewed as an endorsement of that page and its content, just as liking or sharing a post is often viewed as an endorsement as well. • If you pin a post about a specific event or a timely update, make sure you don’t forget to eventually unpin it to keep your page current. 

• If you have content that you want to potentially be amplified by the main Association channels, just tag @michiganalumni in the post (either as an @ mention for Twitter and Instagram or to tag the Association page on Facebook and LinkedIn).