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Update on CCU's social media dream team

By Brent Reser

A major philosophy I have regarding social media is that it is collaborative. Any institution or company must encourage ideas and feedback from others when developing and executing its social media strategy. At Coastal Carolina, we definitely don’t have a one-person show. 

In August 2014, a group committed to social media excellence at Coastal met for the first time. Representatives from areas such as dining services, alumni, sustainability, the dean of students office and athletics came together for a discussion. During this meeting, varying topics on social media at Coastal were discussed such as student trends, best practices and engagement. It wasn’t just a lively meeting; it was a productive meeting. 

Nicknamed the “CCU Social Media Dream Team” by Dean of Students Travis Overton, our group now meets once a month. However, this isn’t a group that just convenes once every 30 days and calls it done. Communication is open in between meetings, and events are held. For example, in October every member on the team contributed to stage the successful Yik-Yak Takeover. By everyone in the group taking a shift on Prince Lawn to encourage students to send out positive Yaks, it was a true team effort. 

Other people on campus noticed the work that was getting done, and something cool happened; our group grew. We now have a representative from campus recreation as well as a representative from public safety. In addition, two students also sit in during our meetings. 

WMBF-News stopped by to film our February meeting. A story followed that evening on the station’s newscast chronicling how CCU is doing everything possible to provide a superb social media experience for its students. The CCU Social Media Dream Team was on display for the whole Grand Strand to see.

The allure of our group in part is that it isn’t like other committees on campus. We make a purposeful effort to have as much fun as possible. Running competitions are held where group members can rack up contest points by winning icebreakers at the start of meetings or by being the first to respond to the monthly social media email newsletter. The inaugural competition ended in December with Jeff Stone from dining services as the prize winner.

Do you want more information on our social media group? Do you want to become part of it? Please feel free to contact me. The collaboration is not going to end soon.

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