If the first thing you think of when you hear the word organic is "social," then you're in the right place. 🍅🌽🌶️

Quick & nimble marketing mic drop 🫳🎤

Higher ed social media managers are keenly aware of the importance of social listening — identifying and assessing what is being said about their own institutions — but here’s a mini case study from a brand to highlight why it’s so important to be tuned in beyond your own mentions: TikTok influencer and 2023 University of Miami grad Alix Earle and her 10 friends found themselves stranded in Italy after the villa they booked didn’t exist. Naturally, Alix posted the drama as it was unfolding on TikTok.

The scam was not through Airbnb, but the company saw what was happening and swooped in with a brilliant social play: They scrambled behind-the-scenes and soon enough, Alix was posting from this gorgeous mansion, thanking Airbnb for saving the day and now her 5.3 million followers want to stay in an Airbnb in Italy. This took some quick action and awareness beyond just Airbnb's own social listening streams to make this happen. And the ROI may be squishy here, but Alix’s stamp of approval and millions of video views are invaluable.

How can higher ed be ready for these moments? Social media managers have to be aware of what’s happening on social media beyond just chatter about their own institution, and they have to be ready to act. What if you see an influencer unhappy with their current institution? Or a well-known high school TikToker spends the summer posting campus tour videos. There’s a way to tactfully reach out to them and bring awareness to your institution in these moments. Maybe you learn that an influencer graduated for your institution or their parents are alums; send their family some updated swag with a hand-written note and chances are high the gear will start showing up in their TikToks. Don’t just wait until you find out an influencer was at a football tailgate (although that’s great, too); go ahead and get creative in making these moments happen. Want to brainstorm some more proactive moments like these? Book an office hours session

Keeping up the cadence this summer

Depending on your academic calendar, campus might be quieter for you right now. That doesn’t mean your social media has to go dark. Here’s some content ideas:

☀️ Internships, summer research, new jobs: This is a great way to incorporate user-generated content into your goals of showing your institution’s outcomes. Don’t be shy about asking students or recent grads to share a photo of them at their workplace this summer. If you don’t know where to find this content, your career center or academic program coordinators may have the scoop on who has engaging internships, summer research placements or new jobs.

☀️ Campus scenes: A less-busy campus offers a fresh perspective on your surroundings and helps you see picturesque moments you may have missed when things were bustling. Bonus: Students who are away or recent alums will get all the feels from seeing their favorite places on their feed.

☀️ Engage with polls and Q&As: A great way to figure out what students are up to this summer is to ask in a Q&A box on Instagram Story. Or ask them what they miss most about campus this summer or their favorite nap spot, dining location, study space, etc. Pull images from your media library (or take new ones) of some of the best answers and repurpose them right in Stories or as in-feed posts. Just because your students aren’t physically there doesn’t mean they aren’t engaging with your content from afar.

☀️ Highlight cool summer semester classes or faculty/staff who are still around: Remember that email you received during the busiest part of the semester from a campus unit that was begging for a highlight on the flagship account? Maybe now is the time to revisit those requests or find stories about the employees who keep your campus going all year-round. Many institutions also hold some distinctive, hands-on summer courses that are hidden gems and because of the casualness of summer, faculty may be more open to you tagging along or popping in for content. 

I’m getting ready to celebrate my birthday in a couple of weeks. Another trip around the sun makes me feel like I’m getting farther from the age of the higher ed target audience of prospective students. It’s giving 👵🏻. But the celebration will be lit, because I’m in my slay era. And you know what? I am going to keep creating content that isn’t cringe or gives Gen Z the ick. It’s about listening and learning about your audience, finding focus groups, conducting and consuming research, keeping up with trends and tools, staying curious and being open to evolving — no matter your age.

Around the socials

> Instagram explains its algorithm 

> Pinterest pushes its positive environment

> TikTok testing AI chat bot in platform

RWJ Social helps higher ed institutions shape social strategy through a variety of services, including influencer engagement, benchmarking, monitoring and more.

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