Setting up a new social media channel

Before starting

• Before creating a new social media account, consider the following:
• What are you trying to achieve by using social media? Do you have clearly defined aims and objectives?
• Who are you looking to reach?  Are they present on this platform and how will you reach them?
• Do you have sufficient resource to create content, build a following and manage engagement?
• Do you have enough content to share new posts with followers on a regular, ongoing basis?
• What is the expected lifetime of the account? If short-term (e.g. for a project or event) could an existing account be used?

Ultimately, do you need your own dedicated social media account? New channels should only be created if you have the capacity and content to build a following and maintain active and engaging channels. If you aren’t sure about any of these questions, you might want to explore other ways to share your information.

Social media content guidelines

Below are some simple guidelines to follow when creating content for your social media channels. Cochrane’s full brand guidelines can be found here.

Copy

• Keep the copy simple and clear
• Avoid use of symbols or emojis to replace words, for example, do not use “=” instead of the word “equals”
• Use hashtags and mentions after the main body of text so as not to disrupt the flow of screen readers
• Use full links and avoid bit.ly or other shortened links, this instils trust for many users knowing they are going to a trusted source
• Capitalize the start of every word in a hashtag, for example, #CochraneLibrary

Graphics and video

• If a graphic includes lots of text, consider whether this should this be in the body of the post instead
• Be thoughtful about representation in stock images
• Check out our comprehensive guide on Choosing Images for Sharing Evidence.