USU Department of Journalism and Communication

Social Media Business Plan

September 2017-December 2017

Megan McNulty
Table of Contents
Introduction
Social media audit
Concerns
Goals
Strategies
Audiences
Event calendar
Story assignments
Proposed social media campaigns and hashtags
Social media platforms to expand outreach
Conflict Resolution

Introduction
The Department of Journalism and Communication at Utah State University trains
students to be skillful, ethical, adaptable and persuasive communicators. The major
offers three emphases: print, broadcast and public relations available for students.

The JCOM Department is constantly growing, offering knowledgeable, experienced

professor and a variety of coursework. Students are encouraged to exercise their skills
in a variety of internships and real-world experiences JCOM students really do learn
by doing.

Print students have the opportunity to write for The Utah Statesman, USUs student
newspaper, or Utah State News Service. Broadcast students can join Aggie Radio or
Aggie TV. Public relations students can get involved with real clients in True Blue
Communication or become a member of PRSSA.

Social Media Audit

Facebook
USU JCOM has a decent presence on Facebook with 313 likes most from current
students, faculty, parents and alumni. On average, during the school year USU JCOM
posts on Facebook a couple times a week about upcoming events, internships,
spotlights, etc. The content published is most likely posts and photos ranging from 3-19
likes with less than 200 impressions.
Twitter
The USU JCOM Twitter account has the largest presence with 657 diverse followers.
Posts on this medium are not as consistent as the Facebook page, with the last post
being from July 11. The content published is most likely photos, text or retweets from
students or other USU institutions. On average, tweets get around 1-17 likes and 1-3
retweets.
Instagram
USU JCOMs Instagram account has the lowest following with 230 followers. There are
no recent posts with the last post being from April 9 about media scholar awards. The
content ranges from student and faculty spotlights, promotion of events, inspiration
posts and dog pictures. The average post gets around 23-40 likes.
New Section
USU JCOM does have a news section attached to the departments site. It is regularly
updated, with its last post promoting a new internship with the Huntsman School of
Business on Sept. 5. The content focuses on promotion of internships, alumni and
current student spotlights and updates on JCOM events.

Concerns
Although JCOM has done a decent job of reaching out to current students, alumni and
faculty, there are concerns regarding timeliness, consistency and quality of content.
These concerns include:
Starting to appeal to students from other majors like communication studies or
marketing.
Posting consistently (2-3 times per week) on JCOMs three primary social media
platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).
Consistently updating JCOMs news section (at least once every two weeks) with
relevant, appealing content.
Consistently linking JCOMs news section to social media platforms to drive
traffic to the departments website.
Getting more university students involved with JCOM.
Getting more university students to come out to JCOM events.

Goals
For the 2017 fall semester, the JCOM department has a few concrete goals directed
toward creating a stronger social media presence. These goals include:
Increase followership of JCOM social media platforms by JCOM students, other
USU students, alumni and friends by 5 percent.
Increase engagement (likes, shares, comments, retweets etc) by all audiences
on all platforms by 10 percent.
Increase awareness and understanding of JCOM activities among all audiences.
Increase awareness and understanding of journalism and PR career
opportunities among all audiences.
Strategies
Strongly promote followership of JCOM social media platforms to all key
audiences.
Use creative activities (contests, surveys etc) to increase engagement on all
platforms.
Increase social media content significantly. Enlist other JCOM resources
(faculty, staff, students, alumni) to help provide content.
Have a strong focus on journalism and public relations career opportunities.
Potential students are most interested in that; JCOM is just a way to get there.
Significantly increase alumni news and information.
Use social media to drive traffic to JCOM website. Highlight new web content.
Use photos, videos and infographics whenever possible in stories and posts.

Audiences
Current
Current JCOM majors and minors
Potential JCOM majors and minors (undecided and dissatisfied USU
students, transfer students, high school students)
JCOM alumni and friends (includes donors)
JCOM students parents
JCOM faculty and staff
CHaSS community and USU presidents office
Utah business and news media communities

Proposed
Journalism departments at other, major universities
Marketing and communication studies majors and minors

Event Calendar
All events should be promoted on social media leading up to the event, the day before
the event and during the event.

Event Date Time Place

JCOM Department Sept. 27 N/A AGRS Building -

Meeting JCOM Department

BYU Tailgate Sept. 29 TBD Maverick Stadium

 USU Parents Oct. 6-7 All day Oct. 6-7 USU campus
Weekend

USU Homecoming Oct. 8-14 Most of the day USU campus

Week Oct. 8-14

Aggie Career Oct. 11 1-3 pm AGRS Building

Interview

Morris Media & Oct. 13 11:00 am TBD

Society Lecture -
Sarah Gailey

JCOM Advisory Oct. 13 12:45 pm AGRS 412

Board Meeting

Alumni Event Oct. 14 11:00 am - 3:30ish AGRS building/

Maverick Stadium

JCOM Department Oct. 25 TBD AGRS building -

Meeting JCOM Department

BSU Tailgate Oct. 28 TBD Maverick Stadium

parking lot

Career Aggie Nov. 8 1:00-3:00 pm AGRS building

Interview

Hawaii Tailgate Nov. 18 TBD Maverick Stadium

parking lot

JCOM Department Nov. 29 TBD AGRS building

Meeting

JCOM Department Dec. 13 TBD AGRS building

Meeting/Pot Luck
Lunch

TBD Events:
Salt Lake PR Trip
Salt Lake Broadcast Trip
Salt Lake PRSA Lunches
Guest Speakers
PR Club Meetings
Story Assignments
Sarah Gailey spotlight
JCOM student, alumni and faculty successes
PR and journalism career opportunities
CHaSS and USU activities/news
Faculty and student videos
Prof. Jenson featured on Comic Con panels
Erin Cox undergrad research assistant profile

Proposed Social Media Campaigns

Weekly new section updates Create weekly news updates to highlight current
students, successful JCOM alumni, upcoming events, internships, faculty and
other people who are involved with JCOM.
Events JCOM is hosting a variety of events this semester, the biggest ones
being tailgates, Morris Media & Society Lecture Series, USU Parents Weekend
and the Alumni Event. All events are tailored toward students, parents and
alumni and should be promoted on all social media platforms in advance.
PR and journalism career opportunities These posts will include facts about
journalism (careers, salaries) that will appeal to current and potential JCOM
majors. Focus on dispelling the myth that journalism is dying and clarify what
exactly PR careers actually look like.
Internship opportunities Continue to post about current internship
opportunities (on and off campus) available for current JCOM students. Promote
the importance of learning by doing.
Inspirational quotes Include inspiration quotes pertaining to the media
primarily on Instagram to uplift and inspire students. These quotes must be
well-designed and easy to read.
Alumni, student and teacher spotlights Spotlight alumni, students and
teachers who have been successful in JCOM on all social media sites.
Videos (debates, intro to faculty and students, current events) Create videos
involving JCOM students and faculty sharing their opinion on current events
and/or to introduce JCOM faculty members and students.

Hashtags
#usujcom
#jcomstudents
#aggielife
#journalismmatters
#morrismedialectureseries
 #jcomtailgate
#jcomalum
#jcomstudents

Content Calendar

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesda Thursday Friday Saturday

y

Video (intro Alumni, Inspirational Promote Journalism Promote

to faculty student or quote upcoming and PR new info on
and faculty (Facebook, events career news
students, spotlight Instagram (Facebook, opportunitie section
current (Facebook, Twitter) Instagram, s (Facebook,
events) Instagram, Twitter) (Facebook, Twitter,
Twitter) Instagram, Instagram)
Twitter)

Social Media Platforms to Expand Outreach

Youtube
Videos that are published on JCOMs social media or website should also be published
on the departments Youtube page and conveniently link to other social media channels
to drive traffic.
SnapChat
Although it is difficult to gain a following on SnapChat, it could be beneficial to have to
SnapChat to remind students or show them what is going on at JCOM events.

Conflict Resolution
If there is a conflict regarding social media usage, a meeting will be set up with
representatives from the JCOM department. Conflicts may also be resolved via email.
Any content JCOM does not approve of will be changed or deleted immediately.

Jana Haws:
jana.haws@usu.edu

Stephen Reiher
stevereiher@hotmail.com

Debra Jenson
debra.jenson@usu.edu