Social Media Manager | Auburn Abroad
I recently had the opportunity to intern in the Auburn University Office of International Programs as the Auburn Abroad Social Media Manager. This was an exciting opportunity for me because I was given the opportunity to combine my love of traveling with my interest in Social Media Marketing. This was also a great opportunity for me to improve my managerial skills, as I led a team of 3 in order to run each of the Auburn Abroad social media accounts. In my position, I was tasked with curating and creating content for Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. This was a great opportunity for me to learn more about running a successful social media campaign.
Regarding Instagram, it was my job to post on the feed once per day, as well as create Instagram stories that correspond with the events happening in and around the office. This involved me creating program features that highlighted various study abroad programs offered by the university. I curated the content by reaching out to students who previously participated on the programs, editing the photos in Lightroom and Canva, then scheduling the posts with captions via Hootsuite. For stories, I was in charge of creating content to post each day. I created a comprehensive schedule of what to post each day, with a focus on making the weekly posts of #TakeoverTuesdays and #TipOfTheWeekThursdays. This content calendar allowed for my team to stay up-to-date and on consistent with our posting. After posting for Instagram, I was also in charge of creating comprehensive weekly reports in Excel tracking our growth and engagement compared to previous data. I then transfered this data into a PDF format to be presented to my supervisors.
Running the Social Media for Auburn Abroad was a great experience. It really allowed me to become more comfortable with doing Social in a professional capacity. I learned so much, from experimenting with optimal posting times to creating engaging content. I look forward to seeing how this new knowledge with help further my career!
Instagram Grid
When I began as the Social Media Manager, my first action was to re-design the Instagram Grid. I designed the highlight covers in Canva with the purpose of giving the page a uniform look. I also decided to create a bright and airy grid aesthetic in order to give the Instagram a true "travel instagram" feel.
Instagram Analytics
I used Instagram Analytics each week to measure different metrics from our Instagram posts, such as reach, impressions, profile actions, and liked and comments. I then took this data and input it into a weekly report in excel, which I presented to my colleagues and supervisors at our weekly staff meetings.
Facebook Analytics
Regarding Facebook, I used Facebook Analytics to track metrics such as post engagement, post reach, page follows, and website clicks. I then took this data and put it into the Excel report along with the Instagram data.
QR Code
I implemented the use of a QR code that links to the Auburn Abroad Website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages. The purpose of this is to make it easy to access our pages with a smartphone camera, which in turn increases our exposure. The code is placed on flyers that our distributed in our office and around campus to students. To the left is the chart showing the QR code scans over time.
Weekly Reports
Each week, I compiled reports tracking metrics for Instagram and Facebook. I gathered the data from Instagram Insights and Facebook Analytics, which I then placed into an Excel workbook that tracked our numbers compared to previous data. I transferred the tables and charts from Excel into a concise and readable PDF report that I could then present to my colleagues and supervisors, complete with write-ups discussing the context behind the numbers each week.
#Travel Tuesdays
On the Auburn Abroad Instagram, I implemented a weekly Instagram Story feature called #TravelTuesdays. The purpose of these stories is to give our followers a glimpse into what life can be like in the different locations in which they could study abroad. I designed the story features using photos and videos taken during my time abroad, or those curated from others who have visited the city of the feature. I use the apps Unfold, Canva and Plann to design and organize the features into a comprehensive and meaningful feature. The purpose behind this was to create a "day-in-the-life" style Instagram Story, placing viewers in that city with a real-time feel. These story features performed exceptionally well, garnering almost 200% more views than our normal Instagram stories did. They also attracted more interactions, profile visits, and website clicks. After the stories expired, we then posted them to our Instagram Highlights for each city we have featured. To the right, I have included a screen recording showcasing our recent feature on London, England.
