8 #HESM Content Creation Ideas

Your #1 priority as a content creator is to identify the wants and aspirations of your demographic, and give them content that speaks to that.
Why? The likes, shares, and comments on your content get on the radar of your friend’s friends.
We create gorgeous looking content not only because it looks cool…but because it has been proven that a 37% increase in engagement is experienced when Facebook posts include photographs. This is consistent with research by Dan Zarrella of Hubspot (stats from Heidicohen), and tweets with pictures are shared three times more often.

Below are 8 Higher Ed Social Media Content Creation Ideas I’ve executed for my current client, Southern Oregon University. I conceptualized the cards and initiatives and provided copy and examples. SOU’s in-house graphic designer determined the font and design of each card. The final bits of content have arrived through a collaborative process.

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The tagline of Southern Oregon University is: Outstanding People, Place, and Programs. I used these pillars to structure SOU’s social media content calendar and determine the content to create and post to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I emailed faculty members and asked them to provide a quote about their field of study and working with students at SOU. I linked to their department’s FB page and/or information about the professor’s most recent accomplishment.

I’ve had a blast taking photographs for the SOU Instagram account. And in addition to posting themed albums highlighting students (this example taken by our very talented student intern) , students in action out in the world or students responding to calls to action…creating new content inspired by and culled directly from SOU’s people, places, and programs, in short, was a no-brainer. And super fun.
I noticed that Millennials used countdown apps to count down the days until the 1st day of class. I shared some screen grabs of apps with the graphic designer and a flash photo I took of the SOU banner (card #2), and he created this font and came up with “Share Your Visit.” This card was primarily created to post on Instagram but was also posted to Facebook with positive success.

preview day count down card instagram share your visit

Here I used an image one of our student interns took in Lithia Park (to celebrate Place) and pulled a quote about learning.
There was no CTA; sometimes just wishing people a happy weekend and letting a quote card speak for itself resonates best.

When you release a video, it’s essential that you have a plan in place. The You Tube manager posted the new SOU “About” video to You Tube during Winter Break. As many students might not see the video over break, my plan to extend the life of the video by pulling video stills to create text cards and create social property backgrounds (Facebook and Twitter) became even more essential in extending the life of this asset.
I asked the editor to export 18 video stills out of his editing timeline by providing screen grabs with the TRT. On the first day back from Winter Break, I posted this Facebook cover photo collage created by SOU’s graphic designer.
Text was added to the FB cover photo to direct students to the video.

I paired the image below to reflect the student’s lifestyle options at SOU…yoga and coffee are as important as Calculus 101, yes? Additionally, my goal was to build awareness about yoga on campus…and nurture the relationship SOU has with a great coffee shop across the street, Case Coffee by tagging them in the post.
I added the copy “SOU Salutations” to the card – pointing to both yoga and the greetings we exchange when seeing good friends for coffee.

Asking students to identify locations on campus is a fun way to engage this demographic.
Identifying parts of campus inspires “new ways of seeing” and experiencing the day-to-day.
The first example below is an Instagram video.

Posting a simple photo CTA celebrates the people and place that make SOU outstanding, and creates a feeling of inclusion. This bear was really popular!