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Social Media Guidelines

These guidelines are for McCormick School of Engineering staff, faculty, and contributors who manage or contribute to social media accounts on behalf of the school. Use this page as your go-to reference for writing copy, choosing visuals, and following best practices across platforms.

Have questions or need help setting up an account? Contact us.

Please review Northwestern's social media guidelines for accessibility best practices, channel setup tips, and emergency protocols.

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Platform-Specific Best Practices 

Purpose / Tone

Visuals

Captions

Instagram

(post 2-5 times per week)

 Visual storytelling

What to show: Student life, research, alumni stories, day-in-the life (labs, classrooms, events)

Promote: Initiatives, news, deadlines, events

Tone: Friendly, conversational, first-person, not overly academic or promotional

Photos or short videos/reels (high-quality, bright, natural)

Real people and spaces (no stock)

In Feed 
1080×1350

In Stories 
1080×1920

125-220 characters (up to 2,000 for narrative posts)

Tag: people, programs, locations

No links — use "link in bio"

Cross-post with other accounts when possible

LinkedIn

(Post 2-5 times per week)

Thought leadership, research

What to show: Alumni success and community impact

Promote: Industry partnerships, career development, programs, and announcements

Tone: Professional, informative, credible, clear and jargon-free

Photo with links (faculty, student, alumni, and event photos)

Square (1080×1080)

Horizontal (1200×630)

150–300 words

Story-driven with clear takeaways

Use line breaks

Tag people, departments, organizations

Facebook

(Post 2-5 times per week)

 

Engage grad students and local community

What to share: Share news, events, and pride-building content

Promote: News, major initiatives

Tone: Friendly, inclusive, celebratory, inviting participation

Engaging photos or short videos

Square (1080×1080)

Horizontal (1200×630)

40–80 words

Clear call to action or link

X (Formerly Twitter)

Post sparingly

Timely updates, live event coverage, research

What to share: Join academic and news conversations, tech stories

Tone: Concise, energetic, credible

 High-quality photos or short videos

Horizontal (1200×630)

Under 280 characters

Tag partners/faculty

1–2 hashtags max

 

Visuals

  • Quality matters. Use crisp, well-lit, in-focus images. Skip anything blurry, over-filtered, or dark.
  • Keep it real. Feature actual McCormick people, spaces, and projects. Avoid generic stock photos.
  • Stay on brand. Follow Northwestern's color and logo guidelines.
  • Video tips. Aim for 15–60 seconds. Always include captions or subtitles for accessibility.

McCormick Canva Templates

McCormick has a shared Canva account stocked with brand-approved colors, fonts, logos, and social media templates so you don't have to start from scratch. Check with your department administrator to find out if your team already has access. 

View MCCormick's Canva Social Media Templates

Writing Social Media Copy

McCormick's social voice is grounded, curious, credible, inclusive, and proud of engineering innovation. Good captions sound like they come from a real person, not a press release.

How to Structure a Caption

  • Lead with a hook. Your first line should stop someone mid-scroll. (Example: "These students are using AI to rethink the future of warehouses.")
  • Get to the point. The opening sentence should make clear what the post is about and why it matters.
  • Add context if space allows — Who's involved, what inspired the work, what someone should take away from it.
  • End with a clear call to action. Examples: "Learn more at the link in our bio" or "Join us for the next lecture in this series."

Writing Tips

  • Keep sentences short and active.
  • Avoid jargon unless your audience expects it.
  • Use emojis lightly on Instagram and Facebook, sparingly on X, and rarely on LinkedIn.
  • Tag relevant people, programs, or locations to increase reach.

Tagging and Mentions

Tagging the people, labs, departments, and programs featured in your posts helps extend reach and gives credit where it's due.

  • On Instagram, tag accounts directly in the photo when appropriate. If you're co-posting with another group, coordinate with them before adding them as a collaborator.
  • On LinkedIn and Facebook, mention accounts in the caption text.
  • Only tag people and accounts that are genuinely relevant. Over-tagging looks spammy.
  • Double-check that all handles are correct and current before publishing.

Hashtags

Hashtags no longer drive significant reach on most platforms. Today's algorithms prioritize content quality, engagement, saves, and shares. That said, hashtags still have value for search and brand recognition when used intentionally.

What works:

  • Use no more than 5 relevant, specific hashtags per post (e.g., #NorthwesternUniversity, #engineering, #AI, #startups).
  • Think of hashtags like SEO keywords. What would your audience actually search for?
  • Keep them authentic and context-appropriate.


What to avoid:

  • Stacking 20–30 hashtags on a single post.
  • Using generic hashtags like #love or #thankful.
  • Embedding hashtags mid-sentence. It hurts readability.

Using Generative AI for Drafting Posts

AI tools like Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude can help you get a first draft on the page quickly, especially when you're short on time. That said, all AI-generated content must be reviewed, edited, and approved by McCormick staff before it's posted. Use a McCormick-approved Reusable Social Media Caption Drafting Prompt as a starting point, but bring your own judgment, institutional knowledge, and brand voice to every post.