Social Media Engagement

REACHING STUDENTS THROUGH TIKTOK

Earlier this year, InsideHigherEd reached out to Cape Fear Community College to write a feature on our TikTok campaigns, and we couldn’t be prouder! CFCC has been creating quite a stir, attracting thousands of followers on TikTok since July 2020. During the height of COVID-19, CFCC’s Community Relations team began creating videos to encourage and engage students and clear up negative misconceptions and stigma about community college. The response was incredible. To date, CFCC’s TikTok account has 20.6K followers and 892K likes. Most importantly, we’re reaching and communicating with more people about the benefits of attending community college.

“One of the main advantages of TikTok for colleges is the personal touch of having peers looking to their peers,” said Erin Fabian, CFCC’s digital marketing analyst. “When we post a TikTok video, we see a spike in visits to the college’s website, and we think that the dialogue between students is partly why the platform is so powerful. It’s just student to student, student to prospective student, and it makes students feel more comfortable and motivated to watch these things. It eliminates that gap, that barrier.”

CFCC Alumna Maria Congema graduated at the top of her high school class with hundreds of community service hours, and she then chose Cape Fear Community College. “You don’t have to do what all of your peers are doing, it’s okay to do what works best for you,” Congema said. “Not everyone has the same journey in life, so I’m super happy that I got to be a part of breaking that stigma.” Congema created a TikTok video sharing her experience, and the response was not what she expected. “It went crazy, it went viral,” she said. “It’s reached so many people, and we’re just so happy that the message is getting out there that it’s okay to go to a community college.”

“We want to show students the fun side of our campus. You don’t see a lot of advisors doing dances on social media. People really seem to like the fun side, the lighter side.”

—Julie Martin, Community Relations

7,747 Views 271 Likes 9 Comments 16 Shares

Read our feature in Inside Higher Ed! 1.2M Views 103.4K Likes 1742 Comments 1342 Shares 811.9K Views 77K Likes 1451 Comments 3095 Shares

Data as of 11-3-21 Check out our TikTok account: capefearcc

CFCC is reaching the community and spreading the word that community college is an excellent choice, allows students to save money, avoid student debt, and have a great college experience.

President Jim Morton gets social!

Check out some of the inspiring comments we’ve received!

@anairdna5 Starting at a community college was the BEST decision I made! Fast forward 6 years, and I just got my masters!

@doctorshepard_md I’m a doctor now and I started at my local CC. It has never held me back.

@laurahann_ Going to CC for the first two years is literally the reason why I’m graduating with my bachelors with no debt! 0 regrets!

@mileyjustine So true!! I started at community college 35 years ago and graduated from a top-tier law school w/no debt and have had a career making a very good living.

@dozerdiggitydodoggie I’m a community college grad, registered nurse, and I make 108k per year and I don’t even work full time.

Student Ambassador Shelby Lloyd interviewed President Morton for social media.