Disseminating information and communicating through social media outlets is a quick and effective method of keeping audiences apprised of news and events, broadly amplifying the College's messaging and directly connecting with students and stakeholders.

The College's Digital Media Coordinator answers prospective and current student questions, and posts event information and activities. These outlets are also a great way to let audiences know about the kinds of events, programs and lectures happening at the College.

The College maintains official Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts. Several areas of the College, such as Athletics, Academic Advising and Spring Garden Records, manage accounts on various platforms. There are also numerous pages for students in specific programs, as well as pages for student clubs.

If you are interested in starting a social media account for your area within the College, please contact Talaya Martin Smith, Digital Media coordinator, at tmartinsmith@ccp.edu.

Voice and Tone

College Voice

Authentic, proud, community-centered, driven 

Social Media Tone

Playful and positive, engaging and upbeat, personable and accessible, celebratory and spirited, and uses intentional and purposeful language with active verbs

Follow the College

Please consider following the College on social media to stay connected, and to amplify and share news, student stories, upcoming events and more!

X: @CCPedu
Instagram: @CCPedu
Facebook: @CommunityCollegePhiladelphia
LinkedIn: @Community College of Philadelphia
YouTube: @CommunityCollegePhiladelphia

Best Practices

1. Choose which platform you want to use (and which you want to ignore). It is always better to put more effort into one platform than to spread yourself thin across multiple platforms. If your audience spends more time on Instagram than Facebook, then use Instagram only. 
2. Have a plan and a purpose. Put together a strategy that summarizes what you want to do and how you will achieve it. You can include a plan of what content you’ll post, how often you’ll post, and where you’ll post. 
3. Include a clear call to action if necessary. For example, include a link for registration or a web page with more information. 
4. Include a visual, whether it is a photo, video, graphic or gif. Posts with images/videos will always get more engagement. 
5. Use tools like Canva to create easy, quick and professional graphics. 
6. Optimize your images to fit each platforms’ specifications. Current image specs: 
   • Facebook: 940x788 px 
   • Twitter: 1600x900 px 
   • Instagram: 1080x1080 px 
7. Tag appropriate partners like @CCPedu or other College departments. 
8. Use hashtags when relevant and appropriate. Use up to two on Twitter, one on Facebook and up to 10 on Instagram. To find relevant hashtags, you can look at similar organizations or competitors, local Philly accounts, or trends in the area or subject matter. 
9. Be creative with your post. Include a quote, a contest, a fun fact, a question or something that will engage your audience. 
10. Keep an eye on your analytics/insights and make adjustments. Take a look at the metrics included in each platform to see what works and what does not work. This will allow you to make adjustments to the frequency of posts, timing of posts, types of imagery, language and more. 
11. Be social! If your audience comments on your posts or messages you, be sure to respond.

Photography Best Practices

Strategic Communications is eager to receive content from our community! Please share photos and videos for consideration to be posted on our social media accounts and in our weekly e-newsletter, Community Starts Here. You can submit these photos and supporting copy providing necessary context using the Strategic Communications Project Request Form.

In the meantime, here are some tips to help you take Instagram-worthy photos, particularly while using your smartphone:

• Take photos that emphasize people. We want to highlight our diverse and dynamic community of students, faculty and staff!
• Capture photos of our community in their natural environments. Posed portraits are nice, but even better are photos of subjects in their day-to-day environments, like classrooms, around campus, etc.
• Outdoor photos, overall, provide better lighting and more dynamic backgrounds that indoor photos do.
• Try to keep your main light source behind the photographer. This will help ensure your photo subjects are well lit. If taking a photo inside, don’t position your subject matter in front of a window or bright light. Instead, try to use the window or bright light as your light source behind the photographer.
• Try not to position subjects in front of a blank wall or background. Activity can serve as an interesting photo background!
• Your subject matter should fill 50 to 85% of the frame. Do not digitally zoom in. Instead, get closer to your subjects.
• Send photos in their actual size, as opposed to sizing up or down. Photos that have been resized may result in a poor-quality image.

We look forward to receiving your photos!