Improve your communication and outreach skills

Succeeding in social media takes time and resources 

Social media are efficient channels to reach an audience, whether you wish to communicate an event, an opinion piece, or other types of messages. Building an audience takes time and effort, so using your own network or Facebook profile could be the best way to engage people.

On this page you will find advice for social media, whether you communicate on behalf of yourself, a research group, or an institute or faculty. 

Are you planning to advertise in social media? Please contact the Student Recruitment, Marketing and Graphical Services Section for tips and coordination.

UiT's accounts in social media

UiT has official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The Communication Section is responsible for the content there.

All our campuses and several faculties and institutes have official accounts on Facebook. Some also have Instagram accounts. The same applies to our student ambassadors with the @UiTstudent account.

The benefit of having a social media presence must be assessed by each faculty, institute, project, study programme or research group.

Establishing a social media account should be considered with care. It takes time to build an audience, and running an account is labour-intensive. Someone must be dedicated to working with the account over time. Inactive pages must be deleted.

If you have the time and resources, and are planning to create a social media account, feel free to contact the Communication Section for tips and to exchange ideas.

Here is some advice for social media accounts:

• Plan and think long-term: Determine goals, target group and language before you create the page/account. Set aside time to follow up the account, and feel free to appoint more administrators. Short and frequent messages are better than long and rare ones.
• Cultivate conversation and two-way communication: Do not use social media as a pure sales or advertising channel. Give your followers relevant content.
• Answer quickly: Answer preferably the same day as a question or post is posted. This reduces the risk of errors and misunderstandings spreading. Set up an autoreply that is sent outside working hours.
• Lead questions and inquiries towards formal channels: Social media users may have a low threshold for disseminating personal information. Remember that the university must not conduct case processing on social media. Inquiries that require case processing must be referred to the appropriate body at UiT. Feel free to answer professional questions and comments that are within your field of expertise.

Here are UiT's central, official accounts:

UiT on Facebook
UiT on Twitter
UiT on Instagram
UiT on LinkedIn

Advice for employees using social media

All UiT employees can express themselves freely and participate in the public debate, and therefore we encourage employees to use social media.

Here is some advice we recommend you follow:

• Get to know the media: Expressions on social media spread faster than via traditional media. They are often quickly interpreted and commented on by others. Remember that you have no regret button and be aware of what you are saying.
• Be clear about who you are: The distinction between your role as an employee and a private person is often more unclear in social media than in other contexts. Be open about working at UiT if you comment on cases online where this is relevant. Be aware of emphasizing what your opinion is in contexts where you may be perceived as a representative of UiT.
• The rules in working life also apply to social media: Think about whether posts may conflict with guidelines, loyalty considerations and other rules you are bound by as an employee.
• Follow good online practice: Follow the online etiquette in the channel you operate in and adapt your posts to the channel and the topic.

Do you need help and advice? Please contact the Communication section.