Nguyen
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ART
ROLE: Social Media Manager, Editor
Background
George Mason University’s School of Art is a collaborative academic and professional community focused on advancing creativity through traditional and new media applied to varying social contexts.
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As a Social Media and Marketing Assistant, I helped drive our social media presence with a broad focus on the planning and execution of marketing campaigns, day-to-day media content, and administrative support for events. I juggled multiple priorities while building my social media expertise to gain a greater social media presence for the School of Art. Most my duties involved managing and operating multiple social media channels, with high emphasis on Instagram.
Platform Strategy
Use Instagram to increase engagement with our target audience and as the main communications platform with art students. Use Facebook to promote School of Art's culture and keep parents updated on activities and events for current and prospective students.
The Process
The School of Art Instagram account had around 400 followers and content was focused on Back to School events with minimal post frequency. After surveying other art schools and conducting a brief audit, I helped deliver creative, interactive content that aligned with our overall strategy to break through the noise.
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Taking on a more analytical role, I assisted in developing a posting schedule for social media platforms and in reporting regularly on status, activities, and achievements. Additionally, I worked with our marketing team to advance a video-first approach to our social media strategy and find new ways to incorporate multimedia elements, shedding light on art students and their work proccess. I personally went around classrooms and took videos as well as interviewed students to create dynamic, authentic content to take our engagement and growth strategies to new heights.
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Content I Created
Humans of SOA
Humans of New York has developed a social following known for human storytelling but noticed that the School of Art did not do many Student Spotlights, a missed opportunity to build an authentic connection with core audiences. I proposed crafting our own Human of New York but instead renaming the series to Human of SOA, highlighting portraits and interviews from our student and staff members on their motivations, interests, and personal stories.
National Portfolio Day
In 2019, George Mason University was chosen to host National Portfolio Day representing the DC area. Representatives from the nation’s leading art colleges and universities accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design traveled to the George Mason University School of Art to review artwork, discuss educational and professional goals, and share information on art programs, careers, admissions, and financial aid and scholarships. As part of the marketing team, we created a marketing campaign -- which also included paid ads, TikTok references, and animation -- to increase registration to the event and created post-event content to wrap the campaign around in a full circle.
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Results
To increase our following, we decided to maximize Instagram. Instagram allowed for one-on-one communication to build authentic relationships with our target audience and hundreds of art students. Overall, our strategy was highly effective and I helped increase web traffic, content interactions, and accounts reached.
+63%
follower growth since I handled the account
+1020
likes since I handled the account