As a student at Millersville University, Alexandra Blessing worked at the McNairy Library front desk for three years. In her final year, Alexandra was tasked to create and compose a social media plan for the library's annual Made in Millersville conference, which is a celebration of the work Millersville students completed in their courses throughout the year. With her background in pubic relations and social media management, Alexandra Blessing built a social media plan from scratch, and outlined her processes in this guidebook.

1. 1
Made in Millersville:
A Celebration of Student
Scholarship and Creativity
Social Media Marketing Campaign Conducted
from February 29 – April 29, 2016

2. 2
Author Note
Please direct and questions, comments or
concerns to Alexandra N. Blessing
Email: ablessing517@gmail.com
Phone: (215) 779-3597

3. 3
Table of Contents
Goals··············································································· 4
Tactics············································································· 5
Content············································································ 7
Tagging ··········································································· 8
Visuals············································································· 9
Social Media Statistics·················································· 12
Hashtag Tally ································································ 13
Lessons Learned ·························································· 14
Future Recommendations············································· 15

4. 4
Goals
These were the goals determined by the Made in Millersville committee.
• Goal 1: Increase attendance at Made in Millersville
o Tactic: Chalking on sidewalks the day before and day of event
o Tactic: Get more professor and class involvement
• Goal 2: Increase engagement on social media
o Tactic: Post photos of students who were going to present at the conference
o Tactic: Post often on social media and create a social media calendar (See
Appendix A)
• Goal 3: Create a sustainable internship program (See Appendix B)

5. 5
Tactics
General tactics for social media use.
• Set a goal
o It helps to have a social media goal when you want to expand the online presence. I tend to
round up to the nearest hundred and start from there. (See Appendix C)
• You’re managing a social media page. That means you’re expected to create the posts,
get visuals and be able to read analytics.
• Keep a social media calendar to get organized. And color code.
o It’s easy to lose yourself. Keep everything written down in one place. (See Appendix A)
• Timing is everything. Play to your audience and post when you know they will see
your content.
o No one will see a post that goes up at 2 a.m. Unless you’re managing an account that will
have the audience awake at that hour—such as a bar.
o Use analytics to figure out when is the best time to post for each page
§ Made in Millersville is directed to the college student audience. So when are they
likely to browse social media? Think when they wake up in the morning, around
lunchtime, after classes are most likely over at 3 p.m. and late at night around 9 p.m.
• Scatter your posts.
o Don’t post at 3 p.m. then again at 4 p.m. Too many posts at once from an organization could
lead to un-following. Most likely, viewers won’t even notice the 3 p.m. post because the 4
p.m. post is what would be the most recent
o Scatter posts among all pages as well.
§ Don’t schedule the same post on both accounts at the same time. Some people may
like both pages on Facebook and Instagram and they will get bombarded with the
same message twice--and at the same time too.
• Write for SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The process of maximizing visitors of a
website by making sure the website appears high on the results page of a search
engine.
• How to use links
o Don’t just use the words “Click here” or “See more here.” Those words are meaningless. Pair
it will something more descriptive such as… “<name here> and <name here> are just two of
the students who will be at #madeinmu16. See who else will be there here!”
• Use action words to gain attention and increase engagement.
o Try “Like this if…” “Share if…” or “Comment below!”

6. 6
Tactics
General tactics for social media use.
• To save your characters, shorten a URL if you’re including a link in a post.
o There are free websites that will shorten your links (https://bitly.com and
http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url). Just copy the original link, paste it into the prompt box, and
it will generate a shorter link for you. This link will still take you to the same page.
• Keep all posts to just 140 characters.
o I know Facebook can be longer, but oftentimes I use the 140-character limit so I can use the
same post on both platforms.

7. 7
Content
General content tips for social media use.
• Make the content relatable to the target audience.
o Think like the reader and ask yourself “Why should I care?”
• Visuals are always important
o Whether it’s a photo or video, it’s more appealing than just text.
• Pop culture resonates with everyone.
o Just make sure it relates to education and the mission of Made in Millersville.
• Have a ratio
o For every Made in Millersville event-related promotional post, you should create one or two
completely unrelated, fun posts. This keeps the audience engaged. They don’t want to just
constantly see posts about who will be presenting at the conference. That’s annoying and
will lead to un-following. We don’t want that! Examples below.
§ Monday: #MotivationalMonday
§ Tuesday: no post
§ Wednesday: Made in Millersville event post
§ Thursday: no post
§ Friday: #FlashbackFriday
• Not every post needs an alliteration.
o Don’t have a schedule chock full of #MotivationalMondays, #TipTuesdays,
#ThrowbackThursdays, etc. The page will become predictable. We don’t want that.
• Parse social media for trending hashtags of the day
o Then try to tweak them into a post that is relevant to our audience. It’s even better if you can
somehow work in a presenter and the topic they are presenting
• Turn content from MiM website into social media content
o The article “Top 5 Reasons to be a Part of MiM” (http://bit.ly/1rawglW) was turned into five
social media posts
§ Each reason was its own post with a corresponding graphic
§ Since there were five reasons, I created a serious of countdown posts until the event.
Reason five was posted five weeks out, reason four was posted four weeks out, etc.
• Ask Facebook fans to follow us on Instagram, and vice versa
• If any time you are running out of ideas, ask members of MiM planning committee to
send you information they would like to be pushed on the social media outlets

8. 8
Tagging
General tagging tips for social media use.
• Hash(tag) it out. Try to include at least one hashtag or tag in each social media post.
o Tags and hashtags make your post more searchable. More searchable = more eyes.
• Use tags that make sense.
o DO NOT DO… 3 weeks to go! Even if you’re not #presenting, #attending #madeinmu16 can
help you get #comfortable with a #professional #conference setting before you put yourself
in the #spotlight.
o DO… 3 weeks to go! Even if you’re not presenting, attending #madeinmu16 can help you get
comfortable with a #professional conference setting before you put yourself in the spotlight.
• Don’t overuse tags. The actual message of the post will get way too muddled.
o See DO NOT DO above for an example.
• How to tag other organizations on Facebook
o This is a tedious process. Make sure you look up the organization name and match the listed
description in the bio to the best of your ability
o When you have the name of the page and you’re trying to tag them in a post, start with the at
symbol (@) and type in the name of the organization. The organization should pop up below
the writing to be tagged.
§ Another way to do this is to copy and paste the Facebook name into the post. Then
using the keyboard arrows, press the keys either to the left or the right until you see
the company name appear.
• Always double check organization's names to tag them.
o Sometimes the Facebook/Twitter/Instagram version aren’t always the same. Fact check!
• See here for a small listing of the social media accounts associated with Millersville
University
o http://www.millersville.edu/ucm/communications/socialmedia/socialmedia-directory.php
• If you’re going to make a post about a student, ask if they have an Instagram account
and get their handle (the words that come after @) to tag them in a post (See
Appendix D for an example of an email)

9. 9
Visuals
General tips for graphical social media use.
• Photo rules
o Don’t use photos with copyrights
§ Be careful with other logos and big brands like Disney. If you’re second guessing
yourself, run it by Krista Higham (krista.higham@millersville.edu), who knows about
copyright issues.
o Nothing too vulgar, gory, no curse words, nothing about alcohol
o You can find “safe” images to use in a Google image search.
§ Click “search tools” at the top
§ Then “usage rights.”
§ Select “labeled for noncommercial reuse” and the resulting images should be ok to
use.
• Taking photos at the event
o Use the high-resolution setting on your camera/phone when taking photos. These versions
of photos are the best kind to use for digital media.
• Using Canva
o Canva is free graphic design website that lets users generate great looking graphic content
o New layouts are added weekly to correspond with holidays, the time of the year, etc.
o Basic layouts and images are free, some you have to pay $1 for. We use the free version.
o Already pairs colors and fonts that go well together if you struggle with design work
o Once you create an image, you can download a JPG to post on social media
o (See Appendix E for log in information)

10. 10
Visuals
General tips for graphical social media use.
• Basics of InDesign:
o Create layers
§ Have one layer for each design element in the graphic to keep things organized
§ Window>Layers>Grey Box will appear>Bottom right corner there will be an image
that looks like a peeled sticky note, click this button>new layer will appear, rename to
text, graphics, etc.
o Typing
§ Text boxes can be created using the T tool located on the left panel
o Colors
§ Colors can be changed using the tools located in the top middle bar, located just to
the left of the language setting
§ They look like the letter T when the text setting is selected, and squares when the
shape setting is selected
o Stroke
§ This is the outline of the text or shape
o Fill
§ This is the inside color of the text or shape
o Downloading photos from the internet
§ Make sure they’re of good quality and change the resolution to 300 pixels/inch in
Photoshop
§ Image>Image Size>Document Size in grey box
o To shrink or enlarge an image…
§ Object>Transform>Scale
§ Change to under 100% to shrink the image
§ Change to over 100% to enlarge the image
o After you’re done designing images, save a copy of the file in the InDesign version and a JPG
version
o Save the JPG version with a resolution of 300 pixels/inch to prevent blurriness

11. 11
Visuals
General tips for graphical social media use.
• Basics of Photoshop
o Use Photoshop to crop or change the resolution of photos. 300 pixels/inch is the best to use
§ Image>Image Size>Document Size in grey box
o Get rid of pesky backgrounds
§ Did you find a photo you wanted to use but you don’t want the white background
color that comes with it? You can get rid of it.
• Open photo in Photoshop
• On the right-hand side, go to Layers, and right click on Background>Duplicate
layer>grey box will appear, click OK
• On the original layer, click on the eyeball to make it disappear. This is a locked
layer and nothing about the image can be manipulated, so we are using the
duplicate layer.
• Click on the magic wand tool from the left-hand side toolbar.
• Click on the white background in the photo. There should be lines that appear
that look like moving ants.
• Press delete.
• The background should now be a grey and white checkerboard.
• Get rid of any other white spaces
• When you’re finished, save the image as a PNG.
• Now when you place this image anywhere, the areas that were once white will
take on any color that is put behind the photo

12. 12
Social Media Statistics
• Facebook
o Likes as of this writing: 181
o Most successful posts
§ Facebook live video (See Appendix F)
§ Posts featuring students about what they are going to present at the conference (See
Appendix G)
o Least successful post
§ Posts without photos (See Appendix H)
• Instagram (logged into iconosquare.com, a third-party website, for Instagram
analytics since Instagram doesn’t have analytics on its own site)
o Followers as of this writing: 97
o Most successful post
§ Photos the day of the event (See Appendix I)
o Least successful post
§ Anything that wasn’t colorful (See Appendix J)

13. 13
Hashtag Tally
The Made in Millersville Marketing and Promotion Sub-Committee came across
an issue. Our audience didn’t know what our hashtag was. Our proper hashtag
was #madeinmu16, but some people used #madeinmillersville. I determined it
would be best that after the 2016 Made in Millersville event, I would tally which
hashtag our audience preferred to use by conducting looking across all social
media platforms of #madeinmu16, #madeinmillersville and #madeinmu. The
last hashtag did not have any results.
*I did not include our use of #madeinmu16 or else that would skew results.*
• Facebook
o #madeinmu16 (4 uses)
o #madeinmillersville (3 uses)
• Twitter
o #madeinmu16 (22 total uses)
§ 18 uses from Dr. Theresa Russel-Loretz’s class Twitter chat. I am not including these
18 uses in the tally because I was in the class and made sure everyone was using the
proper hashtag.
§ 4 other uses
o #madeinmillersville (3 uses)
• Instagram
o #madeinmu16 (4 uses)
o #madeinmillersville (10 uses)
TOTAL: #madeinmu16 (12 uses)
TOTAL: #madeinmillersville (16 uses)

14. 14
General lessons learned from this experience.
• Instagram was not as successful as I thought it would be
o Very few used the #madeinmu16 hashtag on Instagram
• I should have started a Twitter
o Had I known a professor was planning a Twitter chat for the event, I would have created a
Twitter account
§ Dr. Theresa Russell-Loretz’s Social Media Campaigns class participated in a Twitter
chat using #madeinmu16. I wanted to reply to them, but didn’t have an account. I
logged into the McNairy library account and replied to the tweets via the McNairy
library account instead
• Carry a phone charger with you everywhere
o After taking lots of photos and videos and making posts, it wears down the battery FAST
• Have your laptop and its charger on hand
o Sometimes things are just easier with a key board
• Determine a “hidey-hole” (at least that’s I called it) for yourself in advance so you
have a central location of where your electronics, chargers and materials are
o Since I work at the library, I set up shop at the round table in the back office. However, if
there’s someone doing the social media who doesn’t work at the library, create a space for
them where they can keep their stuff throughout the event
• Remember to eat lunch
o Covering events can keep you busy and stressful. Make sure you eat.
• Being spontaneous can really help boost social media statistics. (See Appendix F)
Lessons Learned

15. 15
Future Recommendations
Recommendations for this position for next years’ event.
• The hours for this position should be around 8-10 hours/week
o There was so much more I could do with this campaign, but I would have exceeded my
allotted 5 hours/week had I continued
o You would think that typing a social media post doesn’t take a whole lot of time, but it does!
A lot of careful research goes into what kind of hashtags to use, what’s trending, identifying
the correct company/organization profile to tag, and making sure the post isn’t too long
o (See Appendix B for sample job description)
• Hashtag should be changed to #madeinmillersville
o This hashtag appeared more often across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
o Although the hashtag count of #MadeinMU16 was higher than the hashtag count of
#madeinmillersville, it was only higher because I told my social media campaigns class the
proper hashtag for the Twitter chat
• Use more video on Facebook
o A video post generated the most feedback ever on the page
o Collaborate with broadcasting students if you need someone to be the interviewer or if you
need someone to create a video
• Arrange a way to get the president, Dr. Anderson, on social media at the event
o I didn’t really have a chance, but it will boost our traffic
• Collaborate with communication students
o It’s in our nature to share a lot of posts on social media. I think that’s why some posts were
more successful than others—because it featured a student from the communication
department
• The person who holds this position next should attend as many Made in Millersville
meetings as possible
o The information learned in the meetings can be helpful for creating content

16. 16
Appendices

17. 17
Appendices Table of Contents
Appendix A····································································18
Social Media Calendar
Appendix B····································································19
Internship Job Description
Appendix C····································································20
Social Media Goals
Appendix D····································································21
Letter to Participants
Appendix E····································································22
Passwords
Appendix F····································································23
Facebook Live Video
Appendix G ···································································24
Posts About Students
Appendix H····································································25
Post Without Photo
Appendix I ·····································································26
Day-of Post on Instagram
Appendix J ····································································27
Colorless Photo on Instagram
Appendix K····································································28
Lightbulb How-To Paper

18. 18
Appendix A: Social Media Calendar

19. 19
Appendix B: Internship Job Description
Contact Stacy Scott in the ELCM office to add an internship for the McNairy
library. This should be a semester-long internship for the spring semester.
• Job Title: Social Media Marketing Coordinator
o Job Description
§ The Social Media Marketing Coordinator’s responsibilities are to maintain all social
media accounts (Facebook and Instagram). This includes making sure they are all up
to date and posting about all upcoming events being held. This position will require
8-10 hours of work per week.
o Duties Include
§ Develop and create content that highlights the creativity and innovation of Made in
Millersville
§ Create graphical material to post on social media outlets
§ Get all social media content approved by the immediate supervisor before posting or
scheduling on social media
§ Create and maintain a social media calendar
§ Interact with other Millersville University organizations online
§ Keep track of social media trends
§ Attend all Made in Millersville committee and sub-committee meetings as deemed
necessary by the supervisor
§ Knowledge of Adobe Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) is a plus
o Compensation? Paid? Unpaid? For credit?
o Majors applicable
§ Communication
§ Marketing

20. 20
Appendix C: Social Media Goals
• Facebook
o Get to 100 likes - GOAL MET
o Get to 150 likes - GOAL MET
o Get to 200 likes -
• Instagram
o Get to 50 followers - GOAL MET
o Get to 100 followers – Close… 98 followers!

21. 21
Appendix D: Letter to Participants
Good afternoon,
I hope you’re well-rested after the break and ready to tackle the rest of the semester! I know you’re
probably getting a slew of emails at the moment, but please take the time to read this one!
You are being contacted because you will be presenting at Made in Millersville on Thursday, April 21. To
advertise for the event, I am in charge of conducting a social media marketing campaign to encourage
more students and faculty to attend. In order to do so, I need your help.
At this very moment, please find and like us on social media. We are currently on Facebook
(facebook.com/madeinmu) and Instagram (@madeinmillersville). Our goal is to reach 150 likes on
Facebook and 100 followers on Instagram. You can help us reach that goal!
Wouldn’t it be cool to see yourself on our social media channels? Next, I am asking you if you would like
to be featured on social media. If so, please send me a photo of yourself (preferably doing something
related to your presentation), your name, major, and a one or two sentence summary about your
presentation. If you have an Instagram, please provide your handle as well so I can tag you.
Photos will be uploaded on a first-come, first serve basis. I can’t guarantee that your photo will be
uploaded due to time constraints. But if your photo is posted, I CAN guarantee that it will get a lot of
exposure!
The deadline to submit photos will be two weeks from today, on Monday, March 28. If your photo is
posted, please like/share/comment, as it will increase the reach and engagement on our social media
channels.
Thanks for your cooperation!

22. 22
Appendix E: Passwords
PRIVATE INFORMATION

23. 23
Appendix F: Facebook Live Video
This was completely spontaneous. I discovered the Facebook Live function
and asked one of my friends to try it out with me. He and another friend, both
communication majors, helped me out and acted as the hosts. The video
reached about 2,000 people… which is about a quarter of MU’s population.

24. 24
Appendix G: Posts About Students

25. 25
Appendix H: Post Without Photo

26. 26
Appendix I: Day-of Post on Instagram

27. 27
Appendix J: Colorless Photo on Instagram

28. 28
Appendix K: Lightbulb How-To Paper
Win a stress relief light bulb!
Visit three presenters throughout the event. After each presentation, you will recieve a
sticker to place in the boxes below. Don’t forget to snap a photo and post to either
Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #madeinmu16! When you’re
finished, return to the registration table with this sheet. The first 50 people will win a
Made in Millersville stress relief ball--just in time to relieve stress for your
upcoming finals!
Presenter 1
Presenter 2
Presenter 3
www.facebook.com/madeinmu
MadeinMillersville
Visit www. blogs.millersville.edu/madeinmu for more information about MiM.