STORYTELLER • CREATIVE
A strong presence on social media is crucial for the success of any organization. It's more than an after thought, but should be a central point to any strategic messaging plan. I've been managing professional social media platforms since 2015 and have enjoyed the challenge of constant change and adaptation.
The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University is one of the nation's leading public, land-grant universities. The university is home to world-class faculty, passionate students and innovative researchers.
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In addition to leading in academics, the social media team at Ohio State leads the industry and has been ranked as having some of the most engaging content in higher education. Our four-person team has reached some significant milestones including over 380K followers on Instagram and over 200K followers on TikTok. We've also had more than 10 videos reach over 1M views.
Reeve Union
Reeve Union is far more than just a building—and telling its story on social media was one of the top priorities. I oversaw the development of the social strategy and also acted as oversight of any Reeve-associated accounts. I mentored a team of 2-3 students who helped develop the calendar and content.
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When I started in this role in May 2019, there hadn't been a social media professional working on these accounts for over a year. We immediately set to create a strategy and pivot in the direction that made most sense to go in. There were also several rogue or inactive sub-accounts that were detracting from the main messages.
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We had some great success growing our Instagram followers. In a year and a half, we have gained over 1000 followers. It is now the third most followed account on campus. Facebook and X continued to stay where they were (even though trends in the industry have both platforms losing followers to this generation of users).
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The philosophy shifted in the department to place emphasis on quality content that our audiences need and want to see. We changed where and when we posted content, and relied heavily on ephemeral content to get quick and easy messages across. We also tried to strengthen relationships with other departments on campus and collaborate on social media, where possible.
Worked closely with associated brand accounts to make sure best practices are being followed.
Created custom landing web page for social links, allows us to view analytics and keep branding without additional costs.
Started an ongoing project to have my team create AR filters for social media. We partnered with several departments to help them in areas they don't have the ability to.
Developed a brand tone and voice that allows us to play with trends and be light-hearted, while still accomplishing our mission.
Created GIF's so anyone in the institution could share/use. Some have gone "viral" on Giphy and reached millions of people. Ongoing project to add more options.
BYU Department of Design
While working for the BYU Department of Design, I developed the overall strategy and acted as lead content creator for all social platforms. When I started in my role:
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Instagram account was a year old, but hadn't gained traction with followers
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X account was established, but inactive
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Facebook and LinkedIn accounts were not created.
I had managed channels for other brands before, but this was my first opportunity to start from scratch and think outside of the box. Our goal was to develop unique and engaging content on each platform. We hoped to connect with students, faculty/staff, alumni and external audiences. In under two years while managing these accounts on a part-time basis, we saw some amazing growth!
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Following for our Instagram account increased 6x. We found that our followers primarily used Instagram for artistic inspiration, so our content was highly curated and focused on sharing the art of our audiences.
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X became a go-to source if you missed an event. We live-posted and published recaps of events. Oftentimes, alumni would share and join in the conversation—creating connections with current students.
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Facebook was established and grew as a place for students to read important announcements and see deadlines.
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LinkedIn was established near the end of my time, but because a resource for students wanting to list the department as an employer and a place to host a growing alumni group.
Regularly shared branded story recaps of trips and conferences.
Weekly job postings with engagement tools to help see what jobs students were most interested in.
Instagram Valentine design contest but the voting was held on Facebook to try and solicit more followers (gained ~80 in three days)
Piggybacked on a worldwide art phenomenon called Inktober. Student participated and tagged us in artwork every day for a month. Received hundreds of submissions.
