Glenville State University is a rural four-year university located in Glenville, West Virginia. The institution has a rich history, celebrating 150 years in 2022, and loyal support of the community and thousands of alumni across the world.

When I joined Glenville State University in 2019 to direct the institution’s social media presence, my goal was to create engaged communities across all mainstream social media platforms by leveraging the clear love and support for the institution, its mission, and its history. My organic strategy was focused on:

• Using student and alumni stories to amplify the institution’s broader mission, vision, and values and support messaging used in the overarching marketing campaigns. Students and alumni are natural ambassadors for the institution, and my goal was to tell their stories through photo, video, and written testimonials and features. These spotlights are highly engaging, authentic, and effective peer-to-peer marketing that cannot be replicated via traditional advertising.

• Sharing the impact. A critical piece of community building in social media is to show the impact of the institution on the community. I accompanied hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and alumni throughout the years as they embarked on community service projects, fundraisers, and more to capture their impact on our communities firsthand. This strategy positions the institution as more than just a place of higher education, but a partner and advocate for our communities.

• Immersing myself - and our communities - in the student experience. With a goal of building engaged communities, while also promoting the institution to prospective students, a critical aspect to my social media strategy required me to bring the student experience to life through social media. I attended hundreds of student activities, athletic events, classrooms (both traditional and outdoor), celebrations, concerts, galleries, and theater productions, commencement ceremonies, and more to show what it was truly like to experience Glenville State University as a Pioneer. This fostered pride amongst the student community in the University, while also engaging alumni who were prompted to share their favorite memories from their time at Glenville State.

I utilized professional photography, short and longform video, design, user generated content, and more to bring the institution and campus community to life for sharing with the world.

Outcome: Glenville State University experienced significant growth across all mainstream social media platforms during my tenure from 2019 to 2023. By the numbers…

• Glenville State University ranked nationally in engagement and video reach on Instagram amongst all division II colleges and universities in the country (313 schools) in 2022 - Q1.

  • #8 in Engagement: 7.1% (Industry average is 3.2%)

  • #8 in Video Reach: 39.1% (Industry average is 18.8%)

• Facebook following nearly doubled, growing 46.5%. Highest single post engagement grew from 14.9k to 50k+.

• Instagram experienced a 56.5% increase in followers. Instagram Reels viewership grew from an average of 453 views to 3,533 views. Average engagement rate was 5.95%.

• LinkedIn experienced a 23.7% increase in followers.

• Twitter experienced a 29.3% increase in followers.