Communication & Engagement

Create all communications using the building blocks of TU’s visual identity. Following the design rules and recommendations for each element is how we build a strong, cohesive visual identity and brand.

• Brand Marks are the university’s most important brand assets. There’s a place and purpose for each of the university’s marks.

• Color can help communicate message and tone. Shades of passion and personality are found in TU’s brand palette of six core colors.

• Fonts establish emotion and bring character to words. TU’s typefaces help tell our stories with style.

• Graphic elements help push TU’s designs into the forefront and extend the university’s visual identity.

• Photography is a critical component to every visual communication.  Explore the photo basics of TU’s brand and what to look for when selecting a photograph for your next project.

• Email is a chance to communicate more effectively and dynamically. Bringing TU’s brand to inboxes everywhere starts with design templates and visual consistency.

Explore the TU Brand Toolkit for templates and additional information about how to incorporate the university's identity in your communication mechanisms and projects.

Effective communication--no matter the mechanism--involves intentional planning. That said, social media is a powerful tool that helps to build brand awareness, raise visibility, and encourage conversation. Recognize that starting an account is a commitment for you, your team, and your department. A successful online presence requires loyalty, time, focus, nurturing, and feedback.

• A quick checklist for the starting essentials:
  • Confirm leadership support.
  • Establish an objective.
  • Identify your audience and goals.
  • Consider the social media platforms that best align with your goals, objective, and target audience.
  • Understand the resources available to you.
  • Define a workflow process for getting input and approval on social posts.
  • Prepare a succession plan in the case of staff turnover.
• Benchmark with similar accounts at other universities or institutional peers. You'll often come away with excellent content ideas for creating engaging posts.
• Consider using a social media content calendar to help run and maintain your social account(s).
  • A social media content calendar is a document that visualizes your content strategy by tracking all posts for the week/month/year. This gives control over publishing and allows you to focus on the big picture rather than day-to-day posting. It’s also a great way to invite collaborators and organizational partners into the process.
• Operate your social accounts efficiently by scheduling posts ahead of time, as appropriate. In addition to Twitter’s Media Studio, Facebook offers a native scheduler called Creator Studio — robust with various scheduling options and the ability to target audiences. 
  • Publishing platforms are also a great resource for executing your social media strategy. Choose one that best fits your needs, stays within budget, and aligns with your goals.
• Finding the best times to post can be challenging because there is no universal time that applies to all social media accounts. A good place to begin is to do some research on the “optimal times” for posting across each platform. Afterward, begin making adjustments to your posting schedule and checking platform insights to see if there are positive/negative changes.
  • Even after you’ve settled on a rough timeline for posting content, continue to test new times and try new things. The digital world is constantly changing, and being flexible and adaptable will help you succeed.
• Aim to strike a balance between sharing and listening in your social media management. Social listening presents an opportunity to track, analyze, and respond to conversations about your organization. Monitoring this information helps you gain new insights on your audience and to act on them in the future.
• Details matter. A successful social media presence is reflected by content that is visual, succinct, and consistent. When posting, always tailor the information to platform-specific content. Being specific allows you to craft messages that resonate and speak directly to your audience. If you plan to share the same link or image across multiple platforms, be sure to customize your messaging.

Creating online conversations with an audience has big benefits, but also takes a big investment of time and effort. Build TU’s brand while you build engagement with social media brand assets. Learn how to properly connect pages to the university’s larger social presence.

Social Media Policy

The Towson University social media policy provides guidance for employees using social media to communicate with audiences on matters concerning or impacting TU.

accessibility

To make social media accessible, try to use plain language and avoid acronyms whenever possible. As a best practice, have your department’s contact information current and easily available.

avatars

All official TU accounts must use a social media avatar. Consistency across platforms will allow your followers to easily identify your account and its connection to Towson University. This leverages the power of the university brand and keeps their focus on the content of your post.

The avatars provided are optimized for the highest resolution allowable within each social platform for best clarity. Avoid resizing or cropping the provided image, as this will alter the resolution and image quality of the avatar. Periodically, a platform will tweak its specifications. If this occurs, updated avatars will be provided. To obtain your official social media avatar, please contact the university’s social strategy team via email.

cover photos

Your cover photo is an excellent place to share the unique identity of your college, division, department or group. Cover photos can be changed often to reflect seasonal priorities or events. Prior to uploading your cover photo, ensure it is formatted correctly so it does not appear pixelated, blurry or cut off. Images should typically be saved as PNG files and not jpegs for optimal clarity. Review TU photography guidelines to ensure you are selecting an image which both represents TU and your group or department’s unique personality.

Hashtags

When possible, hashtags should be used within the narrative of your sentence as opposed to at the end of your post copy and CamelCase hashtags so that screen readers can decipher them properly. More than two or three hashtags is usually unnecessary. Frequently used TU hashtags include:

• #TUproud

• #TUBigGive (Advancement)

• #TUcampusLife (Students)

• #GohTigers, #UnitedWeRoar (Athletics)

Social Media Directory

To have your account considered for inclusion in the TU Social Media Directory contact our social media strategy team, besocial AT_TOWSON.

The following resources are key tools for ensuring that your unit's materials follow the university's brand standards.

• Download basic document templates for word, powerpoint and more. Digital letterhead, presentation backgrounds and form starters are a few of the ready-to-use files you’ll find.
• Make and create more complex communications the easy way with customizable templates. In Marq, a powerful online application, you can access pre-approved TU designs and modify them for your needs. Build brochures, flyers, posters and more with consistency and convenience.
• Distinct brand mark signatures are available for TU’s diverse divisions and departments. Find pre-built files for all versions of unit signatures.