By Seth Copple
Oklahoma Christian University’s Eagle Public Relations team raised awareness for mental health through a student-led campaign February-March of 2017.
Sophomore Christian Franklin manages social media for the team, creating content to engage and promote the five signs of mental health awareness. The five signs of the campaign were personality change, agitation, withdrawal, poor self-care and hopelessness.
Franklin said he handcrafted each post for social media, whether it was a strategic post like a shout out and thank you to the mayor, or a conversation piece for people to simply observe and pontificate.
“If you think a loved one might be suffering from some form of mental health, don’t hesitate to get help,” Franklin said. “Even if you think it’s small or not important, talk to someone.”
The campaign goal was not only to raise awareness for mental health, but to help make the conversation surrounding mental health more comfortable to the Oklahoma Christian community, according to Franklin.
The Eagle PR team worked to make the campaign successful with various tactics, such as hosting events on and off campus, reaching out to the mayor of Oklahoma City, Mick Cornett, and having him speak on the campaign’s behalf during chapel.
“The campaign was a success, especially since mental health awareness has been more relevant on our campus recently thanks to U!Shine,” Franklin said. “Students were really more engaged and active about helping spread awareness.”
For the campaign, the team started from scratch with their social platforms. Franklin said he grew their social accounts from zero to reaching thousands of people for a small post boost price.
“We were able to accumulate good numbers for the number of followers we had,” Franklin said. “We were able to reach thousands of people and get hundreds of engagements for just $30 in paid ads.”
What role does social media impact your mental health awareness campaign?
Social media impacts this campaign by reaching those who mainly use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. By utilizing those channels, we can create content that appeals to people of all ages.
Who was the target audience for this campaign?
Our target audience mainly consisted of students on the Oklahoma Christian campus, as well as faculty and staff. We also reached out in the community and even people outside of town were able to hear about the NotOKisOK campaign.
Was social media the main source of awareness gain?
We reached out to outlets such as NewsOK and local news stations and were able to get some interviews which really raised awareness. But overall, the engagement on social media really brought in the numbers, since everyone is connected through social media these days.
What kind of numbers did your posts garner?
We were able to accumulate good numbers for the amount of followers we had. Twitter and Facebook had the most engagement, and we were able to reach thousands of people and get hundreds of engagements for just under $30 in paid ads.
Do you feel that this campaign was successful on campus?
Definitely, especially since mental health awareness has been more relevant on our campus recently thanks to U!Shine. Because of some tragedies that have happened on the OC campus over the past couple years, students are really more engaged in spreading mental health awareness.
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