Social Media, Website & County Communications Processes

ANR Communications & Marketing provides social media and website support for MSU Extension. Visit their website for information related to:

You may also be interested in the MSU Extension social media templates.

For counties:

  1. District directors should send an email regarding a new hire to Mindy Tape (tape@msu.edu) and copy Chelsea Dickens (dickensc@msu.edu) with the new person's role and whether they need access to dotCMS, and what those permissions should be if specific folder(s)
    • If county staff need updates to staff bios, staff profiles, office hours, tags or map data, contact Chelsea. 

2. Refrain from starting new county social media accounts before thoroughly reviewing the Social Media Toolkit and existing accounts. 

    1. Social media accounts should be set up with the county email address and a password that both the district director and district support can access. 
    2. If you need to remove an account or page that is no longer in use or the access has been lost please report the account to Meta or the platform customer service. You can do this online, by email or by phone. In the event those requests do not work, consider sending a formal letter explaining the situation. 
    3. Please also consider the following if you would like to create a new account or page:
      • Why do you feel this channel is needed? What gaps will it fill, if any?
      • Is there a large enough audience to justify a new channel? Is this audience not being served by our current channels? If not, before you create a new channel, could you build on our existing channels?
      • Do you have the time commitment and capacity to put together and follow an editorial calendar? To gain a following and establish yourselves online, we advise being interactive in some way at least once a day or every other day, whether that’s posting, commenting, reacting to comments, responding to messages, liking photos, etc.
      • What will happen to this channel if you're on vacation, move roles, leave the organization?
      • Is this an area big enough to create ongoing content indefinitely? Would you be able to consistently have a mix of events to promote, educational articles to share, relevant photos and videos to post, etc.?
      • Do you have the knowledge and skills necessary to run a social media channel? Do you know how to use and review analytics to inform future activities, create graphics, consistently write compelling copy, boost posts, and build an audience through organic and paid avenues?

3. Telling our story can be done in a variety of ways. Exploring multi-tiered marketing strategies will help in amplifying that story. Project requests for video, photography, marketing, graphic design and data visualizations as well as social media consultation can be made using the Google Form.Please follow the instructions in the form. 

4. County support staff should be added to internal communication channels in Microsoft Teams. Please contact Veronica Dragovich (dragov@msu.edu) as a new hire or if you are not already in the team.