Michelle Schraudner
Life Editor
Many at ISU have noticed an increase in social media use by various university departments and groups in the past year.
“Whether it’s just to post the picture or posting score updates, I realize we live in an instantaneous world where people want information now. We try to provide that,” said Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Steve Schaack.
The Athletics Department runs the main ISU Athletics social media accounts, while teams control their own pages, according to Schaack. If the teams want assistance posting to their accounts or sharing during games, Schaack and his team are more than happy to help.
Interested in keeping up on school press releases and other updates? Check out @IdahoStateU on Twitter or Idaho State University on Facebook.
ISU even joined Instagram this summer. The account, also @IdahoStateU, shares photos of Bengal pride on campus and around town. It also posts updates from sporting events, New Student Orientation, and the occasional Throwback Thursday post.
Popular hashtags used on Twitter and Instagram by the ISU community include: #GoISU, #GoBengals and #IdahoState.
Fans of Throwback Thursday (#throwbackthursday or #tbt on Instagram) may enjoy “The Bengal’s” social media accounts this year. Online Editor Travis Smith will be sharing pictures from the newspaper’s archives.
A few of “The Bengal’s” editors met recently to discuss the newspaper’s social media strategy for this school year. Consistency and variety were chosen as key elements to focus on to make connecting with us more exciting for readers.
On Facebook, we’re “Idaho State Bengal Newspaper,” and @ISUBengal on Twitter and Instagram. Smith will be posting most often but look for updates, especially on Twitter, from others on the editorial team as well.
Schaack agreed that consistency is key online. The athletic department even added the hashtag #GoISU to all of its press credentials for this season to promote use by Bengal fans and press alike.
Another strategy university groups are using to increase engagement? Giveaways and discounts.
“We’ve done a football promotion where we had a coupon that they could print off and get a half-off ticket discount but they could only get it from Facebook, by liking our page and printing it off that way,” Schaack said. “We’re going to do similar things this year where the only way to access it is through our social media sites.”
“The Bengal” gave away four-day passes to Boise’s Treefort Music Fest in the spring by asking readers to answer trivia questions on its Facebook page. Look for other giveaways from “The Bengal” this year as well.
The Associated Students of ISU (ASISU) uses Facebook to connect with students and community members. The page is run by Student Body President Matt Bloxham and ASISU Secretary Zara Sivertsen.
Bloxham said he’s noticed growing student engagement through ASISU’s Facebook page. Ease of connection to other campus groups, such as the Alumni Association or the cheerleading team, is also a big draw for ASISU’s Facebook use.
The Student Activities Board (SAB) recently added Instagram to its list of social media accounts. SAB now uses Facebook (ISU SAB) along with Twitter and Instagram (@isusab). Promoting Bengal pride and upcoming events is SAB’s main goal.
“I think most people are up on the social media world that we can effectively advertise via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram,” said SAB Co-Chair Anjel Zamora.
SAB Co-Director Jessica Rahill said although SAB doesn’t find YouTube necessary because Instagram now has a video option, SAB enjoys sharing videos from BeTV to promote other campus groups.
