Stephanie Ramírez is the director of social and new media in the office of communications at Amherst College.
U.S. News: You revamped and elevated Amherst’s student content creation program. What are some specific ways the student voice has benefited Amherst’s overall digital presence? Are there any platforms on which student creators particularly excel that staff members may not?
Stephanie Ramírez: The student voice has allowed us to provide an authentic glimpse into life on campus, so that current students see their community reflected back to them and prospective students see where they fit in.
- My student team has also helped me understand where our digital presence has gaps: What have we been missing on our channels? What do we not talk about enough? What do/did they wish they had known prior to coming to Amherst?
- I think students are particularly adept at the platforms they use most, namely Instagram and TikTok. But it’s not that students know these platforms better than we, as social media managers, do. They just have a different understanding of them.
- We are still the strategists, the people who understand the brand and its context, the folks on the channels every single day, but they are the content creators, the voice, and the insight into the next generation. The blend of these two understandings is where the magic happens.
U.S. News: Are there any concerns others should be aware of before starting their own “street teams”?
Amanda Huhmann
Ramírez: I would name a few things:
- For one, I know every institution is different, and at many, social media teams (or solo managers) are not afforded a budget. It’s still possible to launch student teams without a budget and structure them instead as ambassadors. On a volunteer basis, it’s harder to build team culture and spirit, but it’s not impossible!
- The other concern I often hear is around balancing the funnier, trendier voice students want and the official, professional brand voice. I’m a strong believer that higher ed does not belong in every trend, and students need to understand that. But there are also places where we can bend and expand the brand voice to connect in a more humorous way with students.
- Trust your gut, and be open to new ideas. If the idea is not possible, explain your hesitation to your students, and be truly open to their feedback. Question yourself where you can! The best leaders I know are aware that they don’t know it all.
U.S. News: What lessons have you learned from this undertaking that you would want other schools to consider before embarking on it themselves?
Ramírez: The biggest lesson I’ve learned, by far, is that your relationship with your student team needs to be a mutually beneficial one. The more students enjoy and see the value in working with you, the more they’ll value the role and give it a higher priority in their already packed schedules.
Jobs like these are one of the few spaces students can understand social media as a career, so treat them like a true team and with respect and mentorship from the start.
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- Build camaraderie, culture, inside jokes. Explain the why, and help them understand the complexities and nuances of this work.
- Nurture your relationship with each student. It may seem simple, but getting to know them, being invested in them as people and remembering things about them goes a long way in developing a relationship with them.
In 10 years, a student may not remember a project or video they worked on, but they will always remember what it was like to work with you and what they took away from the experience. The work we do offline with our teams is far more important than the work we do online.
