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Social media on campus is not as easy as it appears... the newspaper and HutchCC’s marketing department tell all. Photos & Story | Kaitlyn Seiwert
Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, oh my! Not only does Hutchinson Community College have a campus wide social media presence, but so does many clubs and student activities. These accounts are affiliated with HutchCC but many times are managed by students. “Ninety percent of web traffic comes from social media,” said Journalism Instructor and Newspaper Adviser Brad Hallier. “Social media helps generate views on our website.” The student newspaper’s website, hutchcollegian.com, gains most of its readership from social media. While social media connects students across campus, it can also connect the students with the college. “Social media is a great way to get involved, be a part of our community, participate in giveaways and upcoming events,” said Janae DeWeese, the Assistant Director of Marketing & Public Relations. Janae DeWeese is one of HutchCC’s account keepers. While managing HutchCC’s social media presence, she enjoys overseeing HutchCC organizations and activities that use social media to interact with students. “The sports department does a good job of keeping people updated. It’s also important for people to work together,” said DeWeese. DeWeese stresses the importance of accounts across campus working together, and activity account social media contributors working together. The newspaper staff exerts a team effort to all platforms organized by The Collegian. “We try to all come together for YouTube and podcasts,” said Hallier. The newspaper’s YouTube channel and podcast series is another way the newspaper staff keeps students informed
on what’s happening around campus. The newspaper has proven methods to increase social media views. “We tag people we write about and the writers,” Hallier said. “Retweets from tags help too.” Engaging with readers is very important to increase the number of followers. The newspaper staff enjoys watching readers engage with each other and the staff. If an on-campus activity wants a social media presence, the club sponsor must be the one to advocate for the account to marketing. “The process is to talk with the employee that sponsors the club and they work with marketing to set up the account and set perimeters,” DeWeese said. Once the account is created and the password is handed over to the activity sponsor, the student leadership for that activity does have certain restrictions. “We set rules for frequency and professionalism. Repost or promote clubs’ posts. We just encourage them to think about it,” said DeWeese.
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