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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Facebook Page Unpublished?

Read this before you build a new page.

If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of having your Facebook group page unpublished, then you know getting it re-published can sometimes be a near impossible feat. The automated appeal process does not always offer the remedy you are looking for or the reason behind the original suspension of the page.

Do not despair! There is an alternative process that may help you get your page republished. Here is a step-by-step process that has been successful as recently as February of 2023.

Step-By-Step Process

Step 1: Do not panic and do not build a new page out of frustration until you have attempted to recover your page through this process.

Step 2: Navigate to this link: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/support

Step 3: In the “Select Issue” section, select the “Other Issues” option.

Step 4: In the “Select Asset” section, select the page that is affected. If you don’t see the page, you may not have Administrator access to the page. Contact an administrator and have them move through this process.

Step 5: In the “Select Issue” section, select the “My Page was unpublished V2” option. If you don’t see that in the options, click on the “Load More” selection at the bottom of the section until you see this option or one that references a page being unpublished.

Step 6: A “Get Help” form will pop up and will prompt you to input your contact information as well as provide a brief description of the problem. It is recommended to use phrases such as “my page does not appear to violate any standards” and “I’d like to request a review” in your comments.

Step 7: Click the “Start Chat” button in the bottom right of the screen. The “Average Wait Time” noted on next to the button is not usually a reliable number so do not be discouraged when a 3 minute wait time is really 45 minutes:

Step 8: Once the chat is initiated, you will be asked to confirm elements of your comments from Step 6 above by the support technician. Make sure that you note your Case ID number for future reference.

Step 9: When you are chatting with the support technician, ensure that you request that your review is escalated and that you do not understand what terms your page violated in order to be unpublished.

Step 10: At some point, the technician will inform you that they have requested an internal review. They will ask if you want a transcript of the chat for your records – make sure you say “Yes” so you have a paper trail. This will also include your Case ID in case you forgot to write it down earlier.

Step 11: An internal review can take from 1 to 3 days, so do not be alarmed if you do not receive an update quickly. You can check the status of your case by again clicking on the original support link from Step 2 (
https://www.facebook.com/business/help/support). You should see a “Follow up on a recent case” with your recently submitted issue below it. When you click on that you will see this “Case Details” screen;

If you do not see an update you can request an update at the bottom of the screen. This should bump the request back up in the support queue.

What to do if this process fails?

You can resubmit requests or request updates as long as the case remains open. Once Facebook Support has closed it, you will have to create another request and go through the process again.

In most cases, this should result in your page being republished. If it does not, then there is something about your page (either how it was built, accessed or used by others) that violates Facebook community standards, advertising policies, or other terms of service. Should this be the case, you will, unfortunately, need to rebuild the page from scratch.

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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Best practices: Graphics for promoting events on social

Let’s talk about the best ways to do event promotion on social media. Yes, this means how to create eye-catchy graphics. As we dive deeper into this topic, I’ll break down ideas by each platform.

Facebook

Here are image specs that you need to keep in mind when promoting your event on Facebook.

  • Facebook Event image specs: 1200 x 628
  • Native feed image specs: 1080 x 1080 (1:1 ratio)

Facebook Events:

Let’s start with creating a Facebook Event. When designing a graphic to be used in the event, you should keep in mind that you don’t have much space to cram every detail into the graphic. The event page itself can do that for you.

The best graphic you create is an eye-catchy image. Try a headshot of your speaker, a research photo, or a campus beauty picture. Add the title of the lecture or event to the graphic and that’s it. Images that are flooded with info and text will not help draw attention to the event.

Now when you go through the rest of the Facebook event setup, you can add more details including date, time, description of the event and how to register (if needed).

For example, this Facebook event cover isn’t too text-heavy but still has the title of the event.

Facebook timeline:

Just like Facebook Events, the best way to grab the attention of your audience is with a simple graphic. You can use the same image as you did in your event graphic. In this case, it is okay to add the date and time for your event. This graphic can also be used again if you wish to promote it on Twitter.

This example below is of how you can change up your Facebook event cover to be catered towards Facebook or Twitter.

Twitter

Twitter is just like Facebook. You shouldn’t overpower your image with text. You have 280 characters that can help.

Here are image specs that you need to keep in mind.

  • Native feed image specs: 16×9 or 1080 x 1080 (1:1 ratio)

Instagram

Event promotion on Instagram is good for engaging students. It’s better to use Instagram Stories rather than your native feed because Instagram is a photo and video sharing platform. People will not engage with text-heavy posts.

Here are image specs for Instagram:

  • Instagram Stories: 9×16
  • Native Feed: 4×5 (preferred since it takes up more of the screen) or 1080x 1080

Instagram Stories:

Using Instagram Stories to do event promotion is great. You are able to tweak your graphics to be the right specs and either use the “swipe up” feature if you have that or “Link in Bio” for any registration or more info you wish to provide.

Another way to use Instagram Stories is to have multiple cards/slides to deliver information about the event. Have a slide with the title and date and then another with time and location. This helps get all the info across without overcrowding one simple slide.

In the example below, the original image was tweaked to fit IG Stories and still has the most important info.

Instagram Feed:

The feed is not best for text graphics because Instagram is a photo and video sharing platform. People are less likely to engage with something too text-heavy. Try using Instagram Stories instead to help reach your audience. If you do want to post to your feed we suggest using a really high-quality photo– a headshot or campus beauty. In the copy, you can add all the details to the event and you can send people to “Link in Bio” if you need more space. If you have a link in your bio make sure it stays up for the duration of your event promotion.

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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Social Media Video Specs

A helpful guide of video specs for each social media platform to help everyone create great content.

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

TikTok

YouTube

  • Aspect ratio: 16:9 
  • File size: 128GB or 12 hours (whichever is less)
  • Length: 
    • Technical: 12 hours
    • Preferred: 1-10 min
  • Captions: CC on all videos unless they are integrated into the video already
  • Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iky7Rq8DJ0c
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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Holidays we cover

There are many opportunities to celebrate holidays. We have broken it down to the ones we will cover on the institutional Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Awareness and Appreciation Months

This list incorporates existing traditions and activities that are hosted by other units and programs.

  • Black History Month
  • Women’s History Month
  • Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
  • Mental Health Awareness Month
  • Pride Month
  • LatinX Heritage Month
  • Native American cultural event
  • ECC Festival

Non Denominational U.S. Holidays

There are a small number of national holidays that we participate in. Our activity will be driven by the quality of content that is developed. These are subject to change.

  • Veterans Day
  • Memorial Day
  • MLK Day
  • Halloween

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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Diving into Instagram Stories and Going Live

Let’s talk Instagram Stories:

When Instagram rolled out this feature, no one really knew how to use it. But they are getting popular with lots of fun features. They’re a great way boost your Instagram game. We’ve been using it more frequently and have seen great progress.

Stories are a great way to grab followers’ attention for a short period of time. Want to get more likes on one of your posts? Want to share a post you like? Post quick updates? Share a cool video? This is where you can do that.

Highlights are a great opportunity to archive your stories. When we post to our Story, we think about which highlight bucket the content will ultimately be saved under. That way we aren’t just posting a story that doesn’t connect with our followers. At the institutional level, our goal is to showcase the Oregon State experience, and Stories do that.

We have found success in using Stories for event or gameday coverage. These truly capture what it’s like to be part of #BeaverNation. We have also seen people engage with our fall, winter and spring highlights. By simply grabbing boomerangs, photos and videos you can produce a great Story.

Additionally, the perfect length is about 4-8 slides because people will just skip past you if the story is too long. You want to make sure to have a good hook at the beginning and your followers will love it! Check out Sprout Social’s Instagram Best Practices if you still want to learn more.

Next up, going Live:

The key is to have a goal in mind. Are you going to answer follower questions? Or are you going to showcase an event or are you going to go live with someone? Once you have that figured out, you can execute a plan of how your live will go.

The feature is pretty easy to use and here are some tips we’ve learned:

  • Post an Instagram story a couple days and hours before you go live —this way your followers know it’s happening.
  • Save your live after it’s done. It will stay on your profile for 24 hours and people can revisit it.
  • Instagram live will cut you off after one hour. So make sure you keep track of the time.
  • Make sure you have a tripod or a secure place to put your phone when you go live. You don’t want to move your phone too much or it doesn’t make for a fun live.
  • Better lighting always helps.
  • Make sure the phone is charged.
  • If you want to do a Q&A, check out these helpful tips. This feature is engaging and allows you to connect with your audience. You’re able to pick questions you want to answer and won’t have to read the comments as they roll in.
  • Check out how to go live with another Instagram user here. If you have a student or researcher, this might be a fun way to interact.

Both these Instagram features are a great way to connect with your followers. These are becoming more popular among brands and helps up your Instagram game. Go have some fun!

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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Tips for a great Instagram

Instagram is the most popular with students and prospective students. This is where Oregon State can share campus beauty/ life photos and videos.

The first thing to think of is a goal. Ours was more followers and engagement, so this is how we started to up our game in the Instagram world.

We learned that you need to be consistent in posting. Basically, look at your metrics to see when followers are online and post then. Make sure you have diversity in your posts (this doesn’t just go for people). Don’t just post buildings or event info. Show your students or professors in their environment or go to an event and share photos from it. Put yourself in the shoes of your followers to know what they want to see.

Break up your feeds! Pictures are great, but Instagram is also a video sharing platform. Post videos spotlighting professors, students and your department or a fun lighthearted video (time-lapse of campus). This helps your feed look more pleasing. It’s important to make sure videos are formatted correctly and don’t cut anything off — that leads to less engagement.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8SLJY1DDXH/

IGTV is becoming more popular to use within the Instagram app. It’s a great place to post videos longer than 1:00, and you can share those as posts as well to boost viewership and reach. This is something the institutional account has started to do with event coverage.

Be active. Don’t just leave a post after it’s been posted. Look at comments, give them a like or answer any questions. Look at your feed and engage with other posts from accounts you follow. Also keep up with those DMs. All these are ways for followers to form a connection your account.

Since adapting to these best practices, Oregon State’s account hit 50K in December 2019 and continues to grow. It’s important to be able to adapt to the changes Instagram makes as you continue to grow your own accounts. The only way is up!

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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

We joined TikTok. Here’s what we’ve learned

TikTok is becoming more popular among 16-24 year olds. During fall term 2019, Oregon State launched its TikTok account with the goal to connect with prospective and current students by producing timely, authentic and relevant content that showcases the university and its community.

The most important part of this social media platform is to stay on top of trends (including music) and hashtags by spending time on the app. We have found it helpful to follow other university accounts and see what they are doing.

These are the topics or trends the OSU account will create videos from:

  • College related trends
  • Trendy hashtags/music
  • Dance and Cheer team
  • Student clubs

We’ve had success on TikTok so far with collaborating with departments, clubs and student organizations across campus. We were lucky to create a video with the OSU Dance and Cheer Team, and it’s one of our best videos since launching the account. Success will come when you collaborate creatively. We’ve also seen success when sharing our exported TikToks on Instagram Stories. This connects your followers with another channel and can help with growth. A little call to action never hurts.

While we are still learning this new platform, we need to remember that the audience we are trying to reach is not only current students but prospective students. We need to create videos that showcase campus in a positive way but also builds on nationwide trends. Sure, there’ll be some things that you cannot do because they aren’t university appropriate, but there’s always a trend/style/music track to explore. You need to put your creative hat on and be willing to put yourself in the shoes of Generation Z knowing no idea is a bad one. Go out there and get your TikToks started!

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Social Media Tips and Tutorials

Event Coverage for Social Media

Getting out and covering events across campus is a fun way to engage your social media audience. They are always wanting to learn more about the Oregon State experience.

Part of the strategy for Oregon State’s institutional accounts is to attend events to help bring awareness of the culture on campus. Our goal is to reach students and prospective students by posting stories and photos to Instagram.

With this in mind let’s talk about our coverage of the 2020 Women’s Basketball Civil War. Planning is everything! You need to have a game plan and different scenarios.

Our game plan was simple. We designated jobs to certain people. Someone would be on Instagram stories, someone taking photos, and someone ready to push a tweet out if we won. Secondly, we made sure we had a plan if we did win. That was to test out going live from Instagram. The goal of that was to reach a bigger audience and celebrate a big win.

Here’s a breakdown of each job:

  • Instagram Stories– To get photos/video/boomerangs of the team, fans, cheer and Benny. With the key thing in mind: to show what it’s like to be at a game even if you aren’t there. (Make sure you have a beginning and end)
  • Photos– capturing game action, cheer, Benny, fans (before, during, and after the game)
  • Twitter– on call for if we win with great copy and a fun photo

With all of that planned out before the game we all felt prepared. Just to be clear things change all the time and you need to make adjustments. We made sure to go to the game early and feel conformable in a new environment. Sometimes that can be the challenging part but, if the crowds having fun then you will probably feed off of that energy.

Looking back at the game we didn’t win, but we put up a good fight. If you make sure to have a solid game plan heading into an event and people know what they are suppose to do you will have great content. Our Instagram stories and photos turned out fabulous and our followers enjoyed them. Our goal is to continue to share more events on our Instagram feed as time continues.

Cheers to the next events!

Categories
Social Media Tips and Tutorials

How to crosspost videos in Twitter Media Studio

Make sure you are logged in and viewing Studio.twitter.com or log in by going to Twitter Ads → Creatives tab → select Media.

Click the Upload button at the top-right of the page and select the video you want.

Give your video a name. For example, Benny learns how to cook | #GoBeavs

Select the best thumbnail. These should be catchy and draw in the viewers.

Next, click the sharing tab.

You can type the handle of the accounts you want to share with.
Example: @OregonState

Once completing the steps above, your video will be crossposted. However, it does not send a notification to the other account. It’s helpful to give them a heads up that you added it to their library.

How to know if a video has been crossposted to you:

In the upper left-hand corner where it says Library there is a dropdown menu. Click Shared Media to be able to view any content that has been crossposted to your account.

Once you are in the shared media section you can see everything that has been shared with you. To post, click the tweet button and add in your copy or other components. Then you can send it out directly or schedule for later! 

Crossposting will help us share content easily and collaborate more. If you have a big announcement or project coming up it doesn’t hurt to give people a heads up. Slack is a great tool for letting people know a video was crossposted.

We will not be able to share all content that is crossposted with us on the institutional level account (@oregonstate) but please don’t hesitate to share. We will do our best to integrate it into our schedule.