Don't feed the trolls; it only makes them hungrier
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New Year, New Trolls
As higher ed social media managers, we’ve all awoken to find our institutional account mentions blowing up, followed by a sinking feeling as you realize you’re going viral, but not in the way you dreamed.
The flood of mentions typically comes from social media users who have no connection to the institution, yet band together to overwhelm or even paralyze us. Watch out for some of these common scenarios:
Anti-vaxxers swarm social media after a student's death. Regardless of the cause of death, these trolls claim the student died due to a vaccine and demand that the institution be held responsible for its vaccine mandates even as students, families and the rest of the campus are grieving from a death in their community.
Attacks on scholars. We are seeing an uptick in attacks on faculty for their research findings or areas of study. These posts are professionally disruptive and personally difficult, requiring support for the professor and, in some cases, a statement of the institution’s commitment to academic freedom.
Bashing institutions’ diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This often comes in the form of social media attacks following the hiring of a diversity leader at an institution or an announcement about DEI-related changes to campus spaces or programs.
Outrage over student-organized events. A troll catches wind of an event through a student group’s social media posting or someone on the campus posts a picture of a poster on a billboard, and in what feels like an instant, the institution is receiving thousands of comments with satirical memes and demands for the event to be canceled. Good causes that align with the institution’s mission of inclusivity often see their events canceled out of concern for organizers’ and attendees’ well-being.
The best course of action is to usually stay on top of the situation, providing leadership with background information and regular updates. Depending on the nature of the posts, you may need to contact law enforcement and pause scheduled content. For more tips on how to handle the trolls, check out our recent blog poston this topic.
In my experience, social media teams are asked to revisit their strategies more frequently than other teams in higher ed marketing & communications offices. The quickest-evolving communications channel requires nimbleness, sure, but a social media strategy cannot be created or adjusted in a vacuum. There must be a strong content strategy to guide social media that is aligned with institutional priorities developed by leadership. Think of it as a set of pillars driving content that can be channel-agnostic for the news platform, website, social media, presidential statements and more. With clear direction from the top — an often-missing layer of a strategy — the day-to-day posting falls into place.
Digital accessibility and inclusivity have become top priorities for social media. It’s vital to improve user experience and create content for all. Although many brand accounts have figured out how to add alt text (a short description used to explain content) on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, it seems many accounts do not follow the practice on Instagram.
When posting on the platform, prepare your asset and before you publish, click advanced settings, tap write alt text and write your description.
RWJ Social helps higher ed institutions shape social strategy through a variety of services, including influencer engagement, benchmarking, monitoring and more.
