On the onset of the pandemic, as Zoom and different distant instruments noticed enterprise explode in unprecedented methods, so too did the prospect to interact with college students digitally. Throughout this time, campus social media managers have relied on their strengths of reaching college students the place they’re, delivering info in well timed, easy-to-consume methods and making college students really feel heard by responding to issues instantly and publicly. However right here’s the factor about outcomes: once we and our supervisors see nice achievements, it may be tempting to consider they’re attainable, if not simply replicable.
Two years in the past, social media use skyrocketed, with college students reporting utilization leaping from two hours per day to 3 or extra. They have been an viewers that was bored at residence and lacking their on-campus expertise and connections.
However now, it appears the time has come for that long-awaited, disbelief-imbued return to regular on most campuses. And the position of communicators, together with social media managers, is again to that pre-2020 capability. Whereas crises and unlucky information have been and can at all times be part of the job, the magnitude might be a lot lessened, and the steadiness between these and the alternatives for these “enjoyable” posts on campus life will normalize.
In a typical educational yr, college students know precisely when they are going to be on and off campus, and communicators can regulate plans accordingly and have an affordable expectation for dips and peaks in engagement. As college students go away and return from spring break over the subsequent few weeks, they are going to be cautiously optimistic about remaining on campus. They are going to be much less remoted and fewer prone to flip to social areas with earlier vigor. Protecting that in thoughts, it’s necessary to develop projections for engagement which are cheap, attainable, however, as at all times, nonetheless bold.
College students reported being pleased to return to campus in fall 2021, so it’s key to keep in mind that above all else, many college students are glad to be again on campus in the event that they really feel secure. That pleasure could proceed to be tempered by lingering pandemic issues and pangs of disappointment over misplaced experiences, nevertheless it’s sound recommendation to deal with the remainder of the semester as a celebratory time. Essentially the most visible platforms—Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok—are good for this technique. Instagram Reels and Snapchat Tales can and must be upbeat and provides college students a cause to test in for cheery content material. Persistently add images to Instagram Highlights that function college students utilizing the areas of campus they’ve probably missed probably the most over the previous two years—dorms, pupil facilities and even eating halls. Give customers a cause to return to Highlights by routinely reminding them by way of Tales that content material is frequently refreshed. The “Add Yours” Instagram sticker is likely one of the best and finest methods to ask the complete campus physique into taking part in a dialog.
As college students collect in teams each giant and small, revisit your social media ambassadors and confirm they nonetheless need to present content material for the establishment. If it’s time to refresh your pool, ensuring your variety of content material creators precisely displays the huge spectrum of campus tradition. Sharing images of athletic occasions could also be a surefire technique to get likes and feedback from boosters, college students and alumni, however don’t neglect these small however devoted teams that help smaller pockets of campus actions. Numbers could also be smaller on posts that deal with these audiences, however these populations feeling heard will construct loyalty that lends itself to immeasurable dedication.
All through the previous two years, simply as college students and better training leaders grew to become used to a specific protocol or approach of studying or delivering studying, one thing popped as much as disrupt that consolation and made flexibility a requirement for coping, a lot much less thriving. It has been the position of communicators to relay that tough info to audiences who understandably grew extra weary with every transition however have been nonetheless hungry to know. Doubtless, engagement charges is not going to return to the numbers seen on the onset of the pandemic, and maybe not even to the degrees earlier than, when expectations have been clear. However understanding the place college students at the moment are and persevering with to speak to them via sound technique that their ideas and emotions are valued on the establishment can hold them at a sustainable stage.
Kylie Kinnaman is engagement strategist at TVP Communications, a nationwide public relations company targeted on increased training.