The Univ

Univer
ersit
sityyo
off Oklahoma

Departmen
Departmentt o
off English

Project proposal: Social Media Brief

Client: OU English
Delivered on: 4.18.2017
Submitted by: Jacob Coleman
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE VISION OF OU ENGLISH.....

ENGLISH.....22

OBJECTIVES.....
OBJECTIVES.....33

QUICK REVIEW
REVIEW.....
.....55

COMPETITIVE ANAL
ANALY
YSIS.....
SIS.....7
7

PR
PROFILE
OFILE BA
BASICS.....
SICS.....99

CONTENT PLAN.....
PLAN.....10
10

PR
PROSPECTIVE
OSPECTIVE C
CAMP
AMPAIGN
AIGN #1.....
#1.....12
12

PR
PROSPECTIVE
OSPECTIVE C
CAMP
AMPAIGN
AIGN #2.....
#2.....15
15

Page 1
 THE VISION OF OU ENGLISH
The University of Oklahoma Department of English prides itself on being a program comprised of
many different areas of study, from Shakespeare to Native American Studies to hip hop to
environmental writing. The department values its two main tracks: literary and cultural studies, and
writing. These options within the Leld of English are what make OU English attractive to many
different kinds of students. Yet it is the questions that the faculty seeks to ask, question of
indigeneity, race, gender, religion, economics, and of expression, that becomes the powerful
foundation for this department. OU English realizes that employers want students with critical
writing and research skills, and this is precisely what the program seeks to instill in its students.
Whether English majors at OU work toward law school, medical school, or any other graduate
programs, OU English gives its students the essential skills they will need in the future. Social media
can be used in such a way that is a direct expression of this vision.

Page 2
 OBJECTIVES
In this age of social awareness and connectivity, social media is pertinent to every kind of
organizations. Universities and individual departments are not exempt. It is a valuable thing to be
able to share with students, faculty, and others what goes on in your department. This can range
from events to recognizing students to notiLcations of important book releases. Social media can
also provide a way of communicating with students directly or a way of communicating with other
departments and universities. In short, social media isn't going anywhere, and if you want to stay
relevant and signiLcant, you have got to sign up.

The Department of English at the University of Oklahoma, just like any other department, needs
students to survive. However, recent trends have showed that English departments must work
harder at not only obtaining students, but also retaining them. Social media is the key to this problem.
As an English degree is a concentration of rhetoric and writing, using words to argue a point should
be no problem for this department, even if the medium is the world wide web.

To recruit soon-to-be or newly college freshmen, the English Department at OU must connect with
those students and it must be on their level. But the connectivity does not end with a simple "follow."
The department will need enticing social media campaigns to engage followers and it will need to
post relevantly and often. To keep those who have already chosen the English major enrolled in
English courses, OU English will need to draw a connection between students and alumni. This will
provide real, concrete evidence of success as an English major and it will create a strong, lasting
community that is necessary for the survival of the English degree. To use the tool of social media as
it should be used, broad goals must be set and speciLc objectives must be created.

Page 3
 OBJECTIVES

BR
BROOAD GO
GOALS:
ALS:

Make the English major relevant

Connect with students (future and current)
Connect with alumni
Create community

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

Create a Twitter campaign

Create an Instagram campaign
Tweet at least 5 times a week
Aim for at least 3 favorites each

Post on Instagram at least twice a week

Aim for at least 5 likes each

Retweet other departments and community events at least 2 times a week

Examples: Gaylord College; Full Circle Bookstore

Respond to relevant tweets from students, faculty, and other departments

when relevant, in order to create conversations

Page 4
 QUICK REVIEW
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
FA
FACEBOOK
CEBOOK
345 people like and 338 people follow the "University of Oklahoma English Department" Facebook
page. The account usually posts about upcoming events, such as a poetry reading by Frank X Walker
in relation to Dr. James Zeigler's class. The account also posts about internship and volunteer
opportunities, such as an opportunity with AmeriCorps related to the Oklahoma Regional Food
Bank. Rarely is there any kind of interaction with these posts. The latest 4 posts have 1, 0, 2, and 1
likes, respectively.

It seems as if most (if not all) of the people who "like" this page are students and alumni. This suggests
that information about events is important, but there needs to be more personal, interesting stories
in these posts, in order to captivate audiences of all kinds. People love stories, so the page needs to
include posts about what an alumnus or a student or faculty member has recently achieved. These do
not have to be links to outside sources. These can be written by the good writers which comprise the
English Department, in the form of Facebook Notes. Facebook users come in all shapes and sizes, so
the department must cater to a wide audience. The best way to do this is to post captivating accounts
of what people in the realm of English at OU are doing.

Page 5
 QUICK REVIEW
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
TWITTER
17 people follow OU English on Twitter, while OU English follows 106. The account has tweeted 17
times so far. The account usually retweets other OU related accounts, such as an advertisement for a
"Macbeth" play, tweeted by OU Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and a reminder for a workshop
tweeted by OU Career Services. The tweets of OU English are usually announcements of some kind,
such as a tweet about an upcoming poetry reading by Frank X Walker in relation to Dr. Zeigler's class.
The number of retweets from the latest 4 tweets are, respectively, 5, 2, 0, and 0.

The account is fairly new, so there are not many followers. However, the followers that do exist seem
to be a healthy mix of students and organizations/companies. This is good, especially if this ratio
stays consistent as more people follow the account. OU English does a Lne job of retweeting relevant
tweets, but there must be more tweets that either explain interesting things going on within the
department, or tweets that highlight student and faculty achievements, such as awards or
publications. In order to be an interesting account that people will want to follow, the account must
tweet frequently and tweet about community happenings. The use of humor is also a tool that this
account should be using. There are endless book references and jokes about authors that could be
utilized. This will be explained in depth later in this brief.

Page 6
 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Baylor has a great social media campaign for their English Department: #SpotlightSunday. The
hashtag highlights all kinds of authors, old and new, from Stephen King to Maya Angelou. This is a
fantastic way of both remembering those who have made literature great, and a way of inspiring
English students at Baylor to become great in their own ways. The Facebook page also posts about
current students, such as a post about Sam Cedar, who wrote a lead column on the opinion page of
the Baylor Lariat. This kind of student representation in social media creates a vibrant community
within the department, as is shown in the comments and likes on the posts. It seems as if Baylor
students are sincerely engaged in their department

#SpotlightSunday

Highlights inspiring writers

Educates students and the public of canonical authors

Keeps literature interesting and relevant

Student Features

Involves students in community outside the classroom

Gives students a chance to publicize their work

Gives the public a chance to gain insight into the English world

Page 7
 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
The Texas English Twitter Account has 1,701 followers, while they only follow 289. This is a strong
ratio, in that it shows people are interested in this account without Texas having to go out of their
way to follow many others. The page does a good job of following the 1/3 rule, in that it successfully
retweets relevant pages, such as Undergrad Research UT and UT Libraries, it tweets its own
information, and it responds to posts from other pages. When they notify followers of upcoming
events, they usually include well-put together posters that captivate a scrolling user. They also
capitalize on humor in their posts, like when they posted a picture of a Texas English graduate who
holds a humorous sign depicting his stereotype of a starving English graduate. This kind of
light-hearted, constant Mow of information is exactly how an English Department should use Twitter.
Users want quick, interesting tweets that give them information on what happens at their
department.

Retweeting Relevant Pages

Visually-pleasing poster

Informative, easy to read, highlights subject matter

Interests English students

Humor in Tweets

Relatable material to English students

Humorous material, fun to look at

Room for engagement (comments, retweet, etc.)

Page 8
 PROFILE BASICS
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
The Bio or Basic Info sections of the social media page should be succinct and to the point. However,
it should be sure to contain important, basic information that is essential to a kind of professional
identity that OU English needs. SpeciLcally, this can include, year founded, a short proLle statement,
a short biography that explains what kind of education this department offers, basic contact info, and
a proLle picture that is consistent throughout each social media platform. Any more than a few basic
description can make the page cluttered and can cause users to bypass reading about the
department. Each proLle picture must remain the same in each social media platform in order to
create a sense of uniformity. This uniformity allows users to Lnd our proLle easily across platforms,
skipping the hassle of difLcult searches.

ProLle Statement: OU English believes in the power of reading, writing, story. From Shakespeare, to
rhetoric, to hip hop, we wed the theoretical & creative to reshape the world.

What We Do (Short Bio): The OU English Department's undergraduate and graduate programs offer
opportunities to study literature, culture, and varieties of writing in English. It is home to the
Chaucer Variorum and the journals Genre, World Literature Today, and Chinese Literature Today.

Social media is design for quick absorption of information, so the account must reMect that.
Expectations must be set for users to skim pages, not to spend time reading long paragraphs.
Biographies and statements and posts must reMect this idea.

Page 9
 CONTENT PLAN
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
With bad content, even the most seemingly-professional social media accounts can amount to
nothing. Users want to scroll and see posts that make them want to click and click again. For each
platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), content should vary slightly, but should include the
overarching theme of sustaining an informed, interested viewer base.

FA
FACEBOOK
CEBOOK
As explained earlier in this brief, Facebook caters to a wide audience, therefore it has less creative
ability. Posts must be aimed toward all ages, all genders, and all people. This kind of content can be
upcoming events, interviews with faculty or students, happenings in the literature and writing world
of the Oklahoma community, etc. These posts should be more informational than not, with posting
approximately 3 times a week.

TWITTER
Twitter audiences tend to be younger, therefore content must reMect that. Tweets must contain
hashtags, relevant to the literature/writing world and the world of OU and English. Twitter is very
community-based, so involvement in larger university campaigns is necessary. Posts from the OU
English page should be similar to those of the Facebook page, but also to be included should be
exciting social media campaigns (an example to be given later), responses to students to faculty, and
discourse among other OU departments and groups. OU English should aim to tweet around 5 times
a week.

INS
INST
TAGRAM
Instagram posts should be more speciLc than that of Twitter and Facebook. It is a visually-based
platform, so the photos must be enticing almost immediately. Instagram posts should be
campaign-based, where students or faculty are featured as they participate in the campaign. Posts
should be less informative, event-based posts and be more oriented around building community.
SpeciLcally, this means social media campaigns, depicting students at work in the classroom or in the
community, faculty holding interesting events, etc. Lastly, Instagram posts should be taken with
professional cameras, and not with phones. There needs to be an element of professionalism in these
posts, which will attest to the indispensable reputation of the Department of English. The account
should aim to post about twice a week, unless posts involve a campaign, in which case posts can
reach any number suitable to that campaign.

Page 10
 CONTENT PLAN
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
CONCERNING MANAGEMENT OF CONTENT
The role of Content Manager can be fulLlled by a willing faculty member, but better yet, it should be
taken on by an organized, motivated student. This will provide such a student with hands on
experience in running social media for an organization, which will Lt nicely on a resume. It will also
create a stronger sense of community, in that the communication of the English Department at OU
will be run by students, read by students, and ultimately will impact students. Prospective and
current students will be more receptive to social media that is run by a peer, rather than a daunting
professor. However, there must be a faculty member or two who will approve content in order to
ensure the values of the university and department are held. In that, no slanderous, offensive
material against any race, color, nationality, sexuality, religion, or gender will be posted.

Page 11
 PROSPECTIVE CAMPAIGN #1
INSTAGRAM: #bestbookOU
The hashtag #bestbookOU is an Instagram campaign that seeks to get people involved in the world
of literature. The campaign is a community building exercise that attempts to expose the literary
lives and preferences of people involved in the University of Oklahoma. This is a campaign enacted
by the English Department, therefore the Lrst posts will concern current students of English and
English faculty. The participants will be photographed holding a copy of their favorite books. The
caption will explain the name of the participant, their relation to OU English (or OU), and a favorite
line from the book.

Posting pictures of both students and faculty creates a small movement that is easy to participate in
and exciting to be a part of. People like to share what is important to them and they like to discover
what other people hold dear. After using the hashtag a number of times with students and faculty,
inclusion of big names around OU and Oklahoma will be beneLcial additions to this community
building. A photo of President Boren or Bob Stoops would exemplify the grand scale that this
exercise seeks to achieve. If big names at OU participated, a photo with Governor Fallin or with OKC
Thunder player Russell Westbrook may be able to be reached as well. The overarching idea of this
campaign is to generate the sense that literature is welcomed and celebrated everywhere, and that
the English Department at OU reaches beyond its own students.

Warnings to watch for:

Respond only to complaints that are valid, or that do not contain profanity or derogatory
language

Steer clear of political language

Do research on who you repost. Stay away from intolerant organizations/people

Keep in mind the interests of the OU Department of English: an inclusive atmosphere

committed to the success of its students

Prospective Mission Statement: We use Instagram to hear and tell engaging stories about our students, our
alumni, our faculty, and the world in which we live.

Page 12
 PROSPECTIVE CAMPAIGN #1
INSTAGRAM: #bestbookOU
Example Instagram Campaign: #livethere

Airbnb's "#livethere" campaign exempliLes the idea of posting pictures to Instagram as a part of a
larger movement. Participants post a picture of their Airbnb stay, and then use the aforementioned
hashtag to show the world that Airbnb offers rooms that give renters a "real" experience. Rather
than stay in an ordinary hotel that caters to the persona of tourist, Airbnb seeks to show visitors
what living in a particular place is really like. This campaign reMects our #bestbookOU campaign in
that it inspires people to post photographs that they think are interesting, in turn inspiring more
people to get involved so that they might also Lnd interesting photographs. Modeling our campaign
after this idea, we can hope to inspire both lovers of literature and those who are unfamiliar with
reading to participate and Lnd the want to give their two cents, when they ordinarily might not.

This user found the view provided by Airbnb's room to be worthy of sharing. The user uses the #livethere
hashtag in order to connect with other Airbnb users, as well as to engage in a community of travelers.

Page 13
 a

This is an example of Airbnb's Instagram posts that include #livethere. It attempts to show the "local" side of
Venice, rather than what a typical tourist might 6nd.

Another user here found their stay to be post-worthy, as it is set in an incredible scene. Their use of the
hashtag seeks to once again engage in this growing community.

Page 14
 PROSPECTIVE CAMPAIGN #2
TWITTER: #witworksOU
The hashtag #witworksOU is a Twitter campaign designed to create a healthy competition in writing
between the English Department and the Gaylord College of Journalism. The campaign is a
competition that requires participants to come up with the wittiest tweet concerning why either
English or Journalism is better. Participants will include students enrolled in the Department of
English and students enrolled in the College of Journalism. 3 winners will be chosen by selected
judges (willing faculty from both departments), with the department which has 2 winners being the
victor.

This Twitter campaign encompasses many necessary aspects of the writing world and it creates an
inter-department community of writes on the OU campus. It encourages students to write in quick,
captivating way and it sparks interest in these writing departments from prospective students. This
lighthearted competition will make looking at the OU English Twitter page enjoyable and eventually
will bring more followers and build a community. The winners of the campaign will receive
recognition on all social media platforms, as well as a free drink at a place like Starbucks or other
shops like that. This is an inexpensive reward that can be paid for by both the English Department
and Gaylord College. This campaign can be held at either the beginning of each academic year, or at
the beginning of each semester if it is successful.

Warnings to watch for:

Respond only to complaints that are valid, or that do not contain profanity or derogatory
language

Steer clear of political language

Do research on who you repost. Stay away from intolerant organizations/people

Keep in mind the interests of the OU Department of English: an inclusive atmosphere

committed to the success of its students

Prospective Mission Statement: We use Twitter to keep our followers engaged with the Department, to keep
them updated as often as possible on what goes on at OU English and how we 6t into the world of reading
and writing.

Page 15
 PROSPECTIVE CAMPAIGN #2
TWITTER: #witworksOU
Example Twitter Campaign: #draintheswamp

Whether politically appealing or not, the Donald Trump campaign's use of "#draintheswamp" was
and still is incredibly effective in creating a discourse among twitter users. What began as a political
slogan that intended to criticize current politicians in Washington, the hashtag has grown to become
a signiLer of mistrust of a subject. #draintheswamp is an extremely successful social media
campaign, as it more or less propelled a man to the presidency, but the fact that it is still used well
after the election attests to its stamina and ability. Like our #witworksOU campaign, this hashtag
creates a conversation (pleasant or not) between politically like-minded and not like-minded users.
Our hashtag attempts to do just this, except on the smaller scale of writers at OU.

This example shows Donald Trump himself using the hashtag. Here, he uses it to attack his then opponent
Hillary Clinton.

Page 16
 Here is an example of a user mimicking Trump's usage of #draintheswamp, where he uses it to show his
distrust of Washington politicians. With it, he expresses an opinion and consequently creates a conversation.

This user takes the hashtag another step, using it to express her distrust of airlines, rather than the usual
suspects of politicians. This shows the lasting effect of #draintheswamp and how its success as a social
media campaign has extended its life well beyond its intended use.

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