5 Ways to get Engaged with Social

12 Feb 5 Ways to get Engaged with Social

Posted at 15:22h in Blog by cassie

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If you are like me, then you feel yourself becoming more disconnected from the younger generation every year. After all, I was carrying around a flip phone when I was in school and the availability of Facebook had just arrived at most college campuses.

A study by Journal of Media Education showed that 70% of students use social media while they are in class. That behavior is not going to be changing anytime soon. So, you must meet them where they are.

1. Pick one or two platforms to focus on.
  
  Most of us have heard of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Twitter. You don’t need to be on every single one to engage with your student base. Each platform is different from the next, and if you tried to be on all of them, it would be very challenging to manage.
2. Content is not just a buzzword, it is king.
  
  Content marketing in a nutshell is content with the goal of educating. As a financial aid office full of valuable insight for students, you wield the advantage. This content can come in many forms, such as a blog, video, or infographic.
3. Encourage interaction.
  
  This could be accomplished several ways, such as posting a quiz, using hashtags, sharing a story and asking others to share their story, and more. This will also help you increase user-generated content which makes your students feel like you are authentic.
4. Don’t forget about engaging them in real life too.
  
  Let your students know that you are there for them and available to help in person. For example, February is Financial Aid Month and many institutions are hosting their own Financial Aid Awareness activity/event. If your office has an incentive for students who complete their FAFSA, social media would be a great way to get the word out. Don’t forget to post pictures or other content during the event as well!
5. Be consistent with your efforts.
  
  If you’re not engaged with your school’s social media presence, can you really expect your students to be? It’s going to be a lot harder for them to engage with you if you’re only posting once or twice a month. It might be necessary to sit down as a team to create a content calendar and divvy up responsibilities.