Snapshots Announcements Spotlight UTSA Athletics

March 2016, Issue 3

Social Media Tips

Real-Time Engagement on Social Media: The Struggle is Real!

When students want answers to questions like “Where is the UC Denman Room?” or “What time does the UCinema movie start tonight?” they turn to social media to receive those answers. Today’s college student looks toward social media outlets as a 24 hour Info/Help Desk.

Real-time engagement provides rapid answers and responses to our students’ pressing questions. With real-time engagement on social media, not only are we marketing for events and the department, we are adding to the student experience by building relationships with them. We may never meet them in person, but an interaction on social media could have a lasting impact that stays with an individual for a lifetime.

What Real-time Engagement Looks Like

Here is an example of a recent experience on the University Center’s Twitter page that demonstrates real-time engagement on social media.

Twitter UC Engagement Discussion example Twitter UC Engagement Discussion example

If we had not responded quickly, this excited student may have opted out of attending one of our many Runner Con events.

How to Move Forward

So, what’s the problem and why aren’t we all doing this? Many of our departments have challenges finding the time and resources to commit to this initiative. Furthermore, as students build a relationship with your social media channels, the expectation for instant replies develops and quickly leads to a volume of messages that may be hard to manage.

Unfortunately, there is not a fix-all solution and each department will need to tailor their social media strategy to meet the needs of their department. In the University Center, we have one full-time staff and three Graduate Assistants who handle all four of our social media platforms. We communicate daily on what is being put out and strategize on how to manage the day-to-day management of our platforms.

Below are some helpful hints your department can use to better engage with the UTSA student; these tips are explained in detail at Melissa Leiter's website.

  • Pick which platforms are best for you.
  • Schedule out 15 minutes a day.
  • Set an alarm.
  • Take a day for social media.
  • Don't force it.
  • Share articles.
  • Do social on the go.

Most Importantly: Don’t Give Up!

Feel free to reach out to any member of the VPSA Social Media Team for advice on strategizing a real-time social media engagement plan.

Submitted by —
Tabitha Smith
Assistant Director,
UC Programs


Reyna Gonzalez
Graduate Assistant,
UC Programs


Sources