Social Media Templates
Explore the OER California Social Media Series templates and choose the ones you want to customize for awareness campaigns, event promotion, and everyday OER storytelling. (Flip through the templates by selecting the arrows above, hover to view the name each template, or select the four arrows on the top right to see the full screen. Scroll down to access the templates.)
Introduction
“The only legitimate role for new media and technology in education is to increase our capacity to be generous with one another.” — David Wiley
A social media post can quickly introduce a wide audience to OER in just a few words. It can celebrate free learning materials, highlight a faculty creator, invite someone to ask questions, or help a campus community connect textbook affordability with access and equity. These templates are designed to make that kind of sharing easier, bringing together warm colors, nature-inspired accents, and flexible layouts to ensure messages work well across different platforms.
Below you will find ideas for how to use the templates, real examples of social-media-based OER outreach, and guidance for customizing the templates for your own campus or campaign.
Ideas for Use
These social media templates can be used in different ways depending on your audience and purpose. Here are a few simple ideas.
For Students
- Share a post during Open Education Week. Use a short message and a strong visual to celebrate free learning materials and spread awareness among classmates.
- Post about your own experience. Add one line about how OER helped you save money, access course materials more easily, or feel more prepared.
- Use a story or reel cover. Make OER visible in quick, informal ways that fit naturally into student social media use.
For Staff
- Promote OER events and services. Adapt the template for workshops, tabling events, faculty support, or campus awareness campaigns.
- Highlight faculty and student stories. Use the templates to spotlight local OER creators, courses, or impact quotes.
- Create a connected campaign. Pair the templates with bookmarks, postcards, posters, or Zoom backgrounds so your outreach materials feel visually cohesive.
For General Use
- Share a short awareness message. Use a simple phrase such as “Open Books. Open Minds.” or “Stay Golden, Go Open” to introduce OER in a quick, recognizable format.
- Adapt the template for different platforms. Use one version for Instagram posts, another for stories, and another for wider landscape sharing.
Inspiration
Student Example: AMS UBC and the #TextbookBrokeBC campaign
Who did it: The Alma Mater Society at the University of British Columbia
What students did: Student leaders used the #TextbookBrokeBC campaign to ask students to post photos showing how much they spent on textbooks and share them on social media with the hashtag, helping raise awareness about textbook costs and open alternatives.
Why it worked: The campaign made textbook costs visible through student voices and easy-to-share images. It gave students a low-barrier way to participate, while helping connect personal experience to broader conversations about OER and affordability.
How to adapt it with this social media template set:
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- Choose one student-centered template and add a short message about cost savings, access, or learning.
- Invite students to post their own OER experience using a shared campus hashtag.
- Keep the wording short so the message is easy to read on a phone screen.
- Pair the post with an event, campaign, or resource link so people know where to learn more.
Quick Tips for Social Media Posts
- Keep the message short. Social posts usually work best when they focus on one idea at a time.
- Design for small screens. Make sure the text is readable on a phone and that important elements are not crowded.
- Use strong contrast. Clear contrast helps text stand out and improves accessibility. Use the Accessibility Guidance in the Appendix to ensure your marketing materials are as accessible as possible.
Guidance and Templates
View the video or select the arrows to read the steps for customizing your social media post.
Get the template
Social Media Templates in Canva
Select the social media Canva template links below to open the editable templates. The templates are free to use and adapt, but you’ll need to create and sign in to a free Canva account to customize and download your social media template. To begin using the template, select View template. Once you sign in. to your account, you may then be prompted to Open in Editor.
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- Socials_AllThemes_16:9 [Best for LinkedIn or other landscape uses]
- Socials_AllThemes_9:16 [Best for Instagram Stories, Reels covers, TikTok, or other vertical story-styles]
- Socials_AllThemes_8:10 [Best for Instagram and Facebook feed posts]
Need more options for adapting your asset template?
Once you’ve created your free Canva account and signed in, you can open the Growing Your OER Starter Kit alongside any asset template to copy and paste colors, graphics, icons, photos, and design elements to help your version stay within the OER-California branding theme.
Customize your social media template
Step 1. Open the template in Canva and begin adapting.
Use the Canva link above to open your social media templates and easily customize them for your own social media posts. Choose the size that best fits where you plan to share the post. You can update the text, swap images, change colors if needed using the Growing Your OER Starter Kit.
Step 2. Add your own message.
Update the template with the wording, images, and details that fit your audience.
You might include:
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- A short OER awareness phrase
- A student or faculty quote
- A campus hashtag
- An event name or date
- A QR code or short link
- A photo or screenshot
Keep the message brief so it stays easy to read on a phone screen.
Need a QR code?
You can create one with Canva’s QR Code Generator tool. Select Elements from Canva’s left-side menu [1] and then using the search tool to search for “QR code generator” [2]. Select the QR code generator, paste in your OER textbook’s URL [3], and select Generate code [4]. A QR code will appear on your image.
Step 3. Check for readability.
Before posting, make sure:
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- The font is large enough to read on a phone without zooming
- The contrast is strong
- Important text is not too close to the edges
- The design is still clear if someone only looks at it for a few seconds
For story-sized graphics, it is especially helpful to keep important text away from the top, bottom, and right edges.
Step 4. Download and share.
Once the design is ready, you are ready to download it.
To download, select the Share button at the top right of the screen [1] and then select Download [2].
From the File type drop-down menu, select the PNG to download as a PowerPoint slide deck file [3]. You may also want to download a PDF Standard version for ease of sharing.
From the Select pages drop-down menu [4], select the page or pages of the slide deck you wish to download.
Then, select Download [5], and your file will be downloaded to your device.
Step 5. Address Accessibility Issues
As these designs are meant to be shared digitally, you will need to take a few extra steps to ensure everyone can access your post. Use the Accessibility Guidance in the Appendix to ensure your marketing materials are as accessible as possible.
