The Challenge 

A common challenge for universities is the proliferation of social media accounts in existence, particularly when many have been set up without the involvement of the social media team. Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) approached us to undertake an audit of social media accounts using their brand name, be that in full or one of the many shortened versions including GCU.

 

GCU presented an additional challenge for the University’s audit as it is an acronym used by other institutions and businesses across the globe. The acronym generates thousands of results, but not all are associated with the University.

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Our Approach

For the audit we were seeking to identify all social media accounts using one of eight brand name variations linked to the University. Our search spanned Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

We conducted research utilising a range of social media tools combined with manual searching across each platform. We then allocated all of the discovered accounts into distinct user groups.

 

In addition to the user groups, accounts were scored against other metrics including last posted, subscribers/folllowers, and total posts. This ranking will support the University with phase two of the project which will involve internal discussions about accounts may no longer be required.

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Outcome

We identified 538 social media accounts in the audit, all with an active relationship to the University in some form or another.

 

An important user group for the University was accounts classed as representing a department or service (e.g. student services or the library). Our audit discovered a 220% growth in this type of account across the various platforms. As a result, the University has a clear picture of brand related social media accounts across the institution.

 

We have published a new social media naming conventions policy for the University. It will be used by the central social media team to inform discussions with existing and new account holders, and how the brand should be referenced.

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In the client's words

Rob’s experience and insight were invaluable as we started what seemed like a mammoth task. He helped us to understand where there were issues with our many social media accounts by reviewing them by platform. He also suggested where we might make changes in those - or support staff to do that - beyond the core corporate channels to improve the quality of their output. A worthwhile exercise all in all – and highly recommended as a regular spring clean too.