What is social media?
Social media is best understood as any online communication platform that allows you to interact with stakeholders on a scalable format. It can be public- or private-facing – below are some examples.
| Predominantly public facing, allowing you to post content accessible to everyone |
More private-facing messaging platforms that facilitate one-on-one and small group communications |
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Purpose of social media
In summary, most public-facing online platforms can serve the following functions:
- Brand Publicity – to promote the unit, its peoples’ success stories, and its initiatives
- Event Promotion – to publicise an upcoming event
- News and Media – to highlight news coverage, and act as archive for publications
- Staff Recruitment – to attract prospective academics and scholars
- Admissions – to engage with prospective undergraduate/ postgraduate students
- Unit Administration – to assist internal administrative needs of staff and/or students
- Photo/Video Gallery – to act as a repository for photos and videos
- External Services – to facilitate public-facing services (i.e. out-patient clinic services)
- Community Engagement – knowledge exchange with general public
These platforms have varying intended uses depending on its built-in demographic and features. Below are some recommended platforms depending on your desired usage.
| Platform | Average User Age | Feature | Recommended content |
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Positioning of the Faculty’s current platforms
The Faculty team currently operates its social platforms under the handle @HKUMed. Below is an overview of existing platforms and its intended demographic of audiences.
| Platform | Target Demographic | Message Focus | Language |
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Traditional Chinese |
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English/Traditional Chinese |
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English |
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English |
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English |
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English |
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Simplified Chinese |
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Simplified Chinese |
Managing your platform
Managing your School, Department, Centre, or Unit’s social media presence is crucial to engaging with your stakeholders in meaningful capacities. As such, you should consider the 5 Ws before launching on a new platform.
1. Who...
- are your target demographic i.e. prospective students, undergraduate / postgraduate students, staff members, general public?
- will be the colleague(s) in charge of updating the platform? Do they have the resources and connections necessary to curate relevant content from across your School, Department, Unit, or Centre?
2. What...
- will you post on your social media platform? If you choose to utilise more visually dependent platforms such as Instagram, do you have sufficient photos and/or graphics of reasonable resolution (i.e at least 1000 x 1000 pixels) to circulate on social media?
3. When...
- and how often will you post on your platform? Do you have sufficient content to maintain a regular posting schedule? If the platform is intended for short-term use only with sparse or no content updates, your stakeholders may not be motivated to “follow” your social media presence.
4. Where...
- will you publicise the new platform and how could you encourage your stakeholders to engage with it? Through what existing networks or platforms may your stakeholders utilise to find out about the page?
5. Why...
- are you creating a new account on your platform of choice? What are the reasons for your stakeholders to engage in it? How will your content enrich its audience?
Tone of voice
HKUMed is a community of healthcare professionals who constantly seek to innovate, both in its teaching and learning endeavours and research pursuits. As such, we aim to embody the following values in its social presence:
Professionalism – to promulgate staff and student achievements as well as their success stories
Expertise – to highlight HKUMed’s position as one of Asia’s leading research institutions
Open-mindedness – to value different voices in our community
Though social media typically targets younger audiences, that does not mean content on social media platforms need to rely heavily on slang, humour, or emojis, as these elements often do not translate as intended to up-and-coming professionals which form the bulk of our stakeholders’ demographic.
In summary, platforms under HKUMed should be used to amplify meaningful and genuine voices. Student success stories, recently published research, interesting scientific facts for the general public – these can all be valuable narratives on social media that can be communicated in a neutral tone and manner that maintains a sense of professionalism inherent to HKUMed.
Tools
Ready-made and freely available tools can help you create better social media posts. Here are some tools we recommend:
Grammarly – an AI-powered writing assistant that checks for grammar, syntax, style and formatting that enhances readability
Canva – a graphic design platform used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and other visual content
Shutterstock – a paid stock photo library service
Enquiries & request for event promotion
If you are looking to promote an upcoming seminar, symposium, public lecture, or online initiatives using social media, we also encourage PICs to first contact the Faculty’s social media team at hkumedsocial@hku.hk to coordinate promotion via our existing platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Follow HKUMed