UW-Parkside: Social Media Analysis
Social media sites can be valuable tools to promote, inform, and communicate to a large number of people. One of the many organizations utilizing this strategy is the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, which uses social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. to make the lives and experiences of residents, students and employees easier and more immersive.
When looking at the university’s various social media sites, it is evident that their primary use is to inform followers of events and new developments on campus. This includes new projects on campus, student/staff achievements, and even updates on the university’s sports teams. The postings made by the university typically consist of either full stories which include articles, or quick posts which have the purpose of informing residents, students, or staff of specific information. These forms of communication are also one of the organization’s greatest strengths on social media, as they do a good job of informing and communicating with their followers in a quick and effective manner.
UW-Parkside’s Instagram does a great job at allowing and encouraging students to voice their opinions and share their stories. Through this, Parkside is allowing themselves to gather news about what is happening around campus and in students’ day-to-day lives. Students also have conversations in the comment sections of their Instagram posts regarding news going on in the world.
Something that UW-Parkside offers are things such as “A day in the life of…” on their Instagram account, that gives students an insight into the life of a Dean, student athletes, professors, etc. This is a very effective way of showcasing a variety of different personalities that can be found around campus. A student by the name of Grace Scalzo has her own interview segment called “Touching Base with Grace” and will go live on their Instagram story every now and then. What she does is interviews professors and students about activities happening around campus and allows other people joining the live to ask questions themselves. What Parkside is really great at is promoting their brand through platforms such as Instagram and Twitter by attaching their logo along with the pictures and videos they post. They also use hashtags such as #uwparkside, #wylliewednesday, and #parksideday. This allows for students to interact and share pictures with one another. Lastly, they do a good job at promoting their other social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Youtube.
UW-Parkside’s Instagram daily posts demonstrate that they are experts in their field because they promote cultural differences around campus for April. For instance, Parkside posted on their Instagram page to highlight the Asian Heritage Month to promote diversity on campus because UW-Parkside honors and recognizes the history, culture, and achievements of Asian Americans. Therefore, if anyone wants to learn more about the cultural event, Parkside provides a link at the bottom of the poster to check it out.
UW-Parkside goes live occasionally and posts pre-recording videos on their Instagram homepage to give updates to all students on what is taking place on campus. For example, the university posted a short clip video back on March 22 ,2021. In this clip, Chancellor Debbie Ford argues that everyone should continue following health protocols because we are in a pandemic and wish all students a safe and relaxing spring break. UW-Parkside mostly follows their campus clubs and organizations to show their support. Parkside also follows other institutions such as Duke University, UW-Oshkosh, and UW-Milwaukee. Parkside also has 2954 followers on Instagram, and currently, many of them are students here on campus, and the university uses its platform to inform its students for future events.
UW-Parkside does not usually respond to any comments left by users on Instagram, however these comments are few and far between and the UW-Parkside page will usually like the comments left by others. The same also applies for their Facebook page. However these pages are still very active, the user interaction seems to be low due to a low amount of comments and not due to the page not responding in a timely manner. The Facebook page does state that they respond to messages frequently.
The UW-Parkside social media pages use several techniques of journalism that can be applied to future beats. Such as active engagement, seen by the pages posting nearly everyday, usually multiple times a day. Giving information on alumni, professors, classes offered and other events that are taking place on campus. These posts help keep students and faculty engaged with the community. When a topic is relevant on a greater scale, you usually see an active comment section filled with students and alumni alike.
Overall, this analysis covers the ins and outs of UW-Parkside’s social media usage. UW-Parkside is active on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. These pages are up to date and keep students and faculty updated with the latest campus news and events. Having a better understanding of how the campus keeps it’s consumers in the loop is helpful knowledge to take in and keep to use on any future journalism projects that we may encounter.