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Communications and Marketing

Bio

Your bio tells people what they need to know about you. A complete bio should provide information like your unit's purpose down to where they can find you on campus.

Beyond your avatar and account name, your account bio is your best chance to communicate who you are and what you stand for to those who visit your profile. Think carefully about the information you'd like to include in your bio about both your unit and the university. Don't dump everything including the kitchen sink in there. Curate your bio, and write it in a way that's easy for your viewer to digest. No one likes a wall of words.

Note: Hashtags are most accessible when the beginning of each word is capitalized. For example, #DigitalAccessibility is more accessible than #digitalaccessibility.

 

On Facebook

Your Facebook bio lives on the "About" page. During account setup, Facebook asks you to include specific information such as your location, contact information and phone number. The page can also include additional information such as your story, milestones, mission and awards.

  • The HRSM Facebook bio page with subheadings Hours, Business Info, Additional Contact Info, More Info, and Story. The Hours heading includes information Open Now and the times 8:30AM-5:00PM selected from a dropdown. The Business Info heading states they were founded on January 1, 1962 with the Mission to prepare leaders and scholars who drive the economic engines of South Carolina, the nation, and the world. Additional Contact Info lists the link to the HRSM twitter account. More Info includes an About section that says HRSM is the 3rd largest college at the University of South Carolina. That’s kind of a big deal. Another More Info subhead is Awards, and says Award winning programs that include: Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management with a See More link. The Story heading lists two paragraphs. The first states The College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport management [HRSM] is a world-class teaching and research institution producing management-level graduates for the hospitality, restaurant, tourism, retail, sport, entertainment and technology industries. The second paragraph states that HRSM is the third in number degrees awarded at the University of South Carolina with more than 2,400 students enrolled and Rome than 20,000 alumni situated across the country and around the world. A subheading under Story lists Milestones, starting with 2011, Now the 3rd largest college at UofSC. Other milestones include 2000, when the school became College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management and 1998 when the school became College of Applied Professions.
     

What's good here? This unit provides lots of detail in an easily digestible way. They make it easy for someone to get in touch with them but also provide context about what makes them different or outstanding when compared to peer schools.

 

On Twitter

You have to get the most out of every character in your Twitter bio. You'll need to be concise when describing yourself, but even with character limitations you can still make your bio descriptive and interesting. 

  • Three examples of Twitter bios. The first lists Russell House, @RussellHouseUU Follows You, and the paragraph The Russell House University Union is the heartbeat of @UofSC. Listen out for daily updates about events and free give-a-ways! The example also lists the location Columbia, SC, the link to the account, and Joined May 2010. A second example is for the Moore School, and says @MooreSchool Follows You. A paragraph states Official Twitter page of the @UofSC Darla Moore School of Business No.1 international MBA. No. 1 undergraduate international business, and a hashtag #MooreSchool. The example also lists the location as the University of South Carolina and the link to the website, along with Joined August 2011. A final example is for the UofSC StudentAffairs, @UofSCstudents follows you. A paragraph says @UofSC Division of Student Affairs & Academic Support. Tweeting important dates & deadlines, news & events for our students. The example also lists the location as Columbia, SC, the link to the website, and Joined October 2012.
     

What's good here? These bios all include a link to the university's official Twitter account to closely link the unit to the university. The descriptions also clue viewers in on what kind of content they can expect from the account and link to their website.

 

On Instagram

Your Instagram bio is a little Twitterish in that you'll have to be brief when describing yourself. Let viewers know what they can expect to see in your feed, and share any hashtags to spark usage of them by your followers.

  • An example of two Instagram bios. Both include logos for their accounts for the profile picture.
     

What's good here? Both of these profile descriptions set expectations about the type of content that will appear. Both units also include a unit-level hashtag and link to their website.


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