Marist’s Social Media Teams Keep the Voice of the College Alive

Marist social media staff and interns are frequently in the field. Photo courtesy Nelson Echeverria.

Marist College has a strong social media presence on places like Instagram, with accounts like the general @marist, accounts for individual schools and specialized accounts for alumni and other groups. Students and faculty collaborate with dining, housing and other organizations to bring posts to life and represent Marist on the Internet.

The Office of Communications and Marketing emerged in 2022, with a focus on telling the story of Marist faculty, staff and students in an engaging way. They hold the key @marist presence, which comes to life through a joint collaboration between its various partners, both in and outside the Marist community. 

“Managing social media through an institutional lens is extremely different from creating content as an influencer,” said Megan Dwyer, Associate Director of Social Media and Digital Marketing. “Many people have a hand in brainstorming and producing content for the @marist accounts.”

The social media team goes beyond the Marist campus when deciding what pieces go out. Study abroad experiences, community activity and experiential learning are all critical in what the Marist platform puts out. Coordination efforts can happen up to a month before an event itself, with timelines being set forth long before posts are filmed and posted.

“We put tremendous trust in our student workers because they’re the ones who live and breathe the Marist experience and share their stories across these platforms — and they are amazing at what they do,” said Dwyer.

Demographics and engagements are also key aspects of the Marist social media process. Meltwater, an analytics tool, is used to explore these data points, which are then reflected in future posts and marketing decisions.

The process includes a calendar, ensuring posts are timely, while also leaving flexibility to follow trends. Doing so is deliberate and requires those in the Office of Communications and Marketing to make calls about what’s appropriate in the Marist social media canon. When executed correctly, @marist accounts have been able to amass hundreds of thousands of views.

“To come across as authentic and build genuine relationships, you must be authentic, and that means if we want to share a true student perspective, students must be involved at all points of the process,” said Dwyer.

Marist social media platforms have gotten positive feedback, with Meltwater allowing the social media team to track sentiment on post engagements using artificial intelligence and other tools. 

“While we can’t catch everything, even with amazing tools like this, we keep a close eye and always aim to deliver the highest percentage of positive/neutral commentary as possible,” Dwyer said.

Students on the Marist Social Team also learn valuable lessons about marketing and social media. 

“I think what I have learned most is the importance of understanding my target audience and crafting content that resonates with students, staff and alumni,” said Sydney Scheels ‘27. “I’ve learned to balance creativity with strategy and community for the community, and I am so thankful for everything the Marist Social Team has taught me.”

Marist’s social media efforts also are critical in explaining the effect of social media and building community across groups at Marist.

“Working on the Marist social media team has taught me about how powerful the impact of social media can be,” said Cassandra Williams ‘27. “We use different platforms to build a sense of community and share our experiences at Marist College. I have been able to develop skills in trend analysis, idea building and content creation in a collaborative space to help share the key values and experiences at Marist.”

Students are also trained to learn how to follow social media trends at the College’s Center for Social Media, which launched in 2017. Using Brandwatch, a social media insights tool, it allows students to gain a deeper understanding of social media trends that they can take into their careers and internships. 

“Our staff consists of me and student interns,” said Amanda Damiano, the center’s director and associate professor of communication. “We frequently give software presentations to classes across the college and then offer office hours in our space, so students from those classes can stop by for help with their assignments, similar to a Writing Center or a Math Lab.”

The Center for Social Media has hosted multiple Social Media Lecture Series events, with voices from LEGO, ESPN, IBM and more.

“In terms of how our work connects to the Marist socials, we have collaborated with them on posts and brainstormed ideas for all of our accounts,” said Damiano.

Marist’s social media has garnered significant followings on platforms like Instagram with no signs of stopping any time soon. The Marist Social Team is constantly hard at work with new content, following trends and keeping the narrative of Marist alive.