Social Media on Campus

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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.

How do students get their campus news? 6% Student Publications

19% Social media 60% DragonZone

8%

During class

7% Friends

What can I find on HutchCC Social Media?

The Collegian, HutchCC’s on-campus newspaper, posted the fire science’s memorial in remembrance of 9/11 in 2020 to their Instagram. The newspaper regularly updates all social media to keep students informed.

On HutchCC’s Instagram account, followers can find numerous highlight reels with trivia, dates to remember, campus scenery and various account take-overs. They post multiple times a week.

In a recent post, the college highlighted Chemistry Professor Erin Beavers. The college’s Instagram account has many posts about instructors, allowing students another option to get to know the person by the white board. Photo | Kaitlyn Seiwert Gianna Leland, Pretty Prairie, checks her phone while taking a study break in the library. Leland’s favorite social media app is Instagram. Photo | Staff Janae DeWeese, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Information, hides a t-shirt image in Lockman Hall and snaps a photo for an Instagram story. The marketing department encouraged students to go to the Kansas State Fair by hiding tokens for concert and gate admissions tickets.

For each social media platform, the posting minimums vary. DeWeese explained how the marketing department does not like seeing inactive accounts, or how followers look for postings from certain accounts.

“Early on, I do [social media updates],” Hallier said. “As the year starts, we pick someone. I do most of the Facebook stuff.”

Hallier gives students freedom to post to The Collegian’s social media platforms.

“We run through trial and error, of course, keeping a professional environment,” Hallier said. “Not to say you can’t have fun with it.”

By working across campus with on-campus social media managers, the marketing department tries to increase account views with reposts.

“We keep an internal calendar of events and try to promote those. Our biggest problem is not knowing about events. We do a lot for perspective students and friends of the college. Social media takeovers are a favorite,” said DeWeese.

The newspaper uses social media as a marketing technique when trying to increase readership.

“All stories go on Twitter. Instagram has highlights from print editions,” said Hallier.

When starting a new social media account, DeWeese and Hallier have a few tips for new social media account managers.

“Having a plan is the easiest way to get started. It is much better to have a plan than to have to come up with content on the fly,” said DeWeese.

A plan could be as simple as a spreadsheet shared with account managers that lists information about posts including content, captions, and date to be posted. The newspaper’s biggest tip to those just starting social media accounts on campus is spreading the word. “Letting students know you have accounts. Interacting, tagging in posts, and a presence everywhere is necessary,” said Hallier. The marketing department also encourages others across campus to let them know about an event ahead of time so they can help promote the activity. Any social media account affiliated with the college is overseen by the marketing department. “We have a list of all social media accounts and how

Follow us on Instagram often they get used. We set a certain amount of time to update accounts in order to keep them up-to-date,” said DeWeese. HutchCCDragonsTale For activity sponsors, social media can be a big responsibility. While many “influencers” dream of a certain number of followers, the newspaper’s adviser has a different goal. “Someone every semester or year saying ‘I’m taking this Brad’ and providing consistency,” said Hallier. For DeWeese, social media is a big part of her life. “I have a degree in advertising and graphic design. Social media has evolved in the 12.5 years I’ve worked here. I was hired to be a graphic designer and photographer for the college,” said DeWeese. “I am an Instagram junkie by a long shot. I’m a visual person so I love the optics of Instagram.” From Instagram to Twitter, Facebook to Snapchat, HutchCC’s social media presence helps connect people everywhere. While the marketing department oversees all accounts affiliated with HutchCC, student social media managers of on-campus activities are the main driving forces behind the content.

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