The vast majority of high school and college students are active on social media, and the Oklahoma Christian University marketing department is taking advantage of this to recruit students by hiring freshmen to work as social media influencers.
The New York Times said online brand promoting is the “hot college gig” because, as students return to campus, they constantly check Instagram, Snapchat and other social media accounts.
According to Pew Research Center, 88 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds use any form social media, and 71 percent use Instagram.
“For busy students, it is an easy, low-pressure way to make extra money or get free products,” the New York Times said. “For marketers, it is a simple way to reach young people—a supplement to their other social media efforts, including hiring full-time promoters.”
The Oklahoma Christian campus store decided to use some students’ online presence, sponsoring Instagram posts from ambassadors and giving them personal discount codes to share with their followers.
The marketing department, however, chose to hire influencers to post about campus and the Oklahoma City, OK area. Senior Sydney May is the freshman social media influencer coordinator and said Sarah Horton created this new aspect of marketing for Oklahoma Christian.
“The purpose is to reach current high school students who might be following these new freshmen and showing them the cool things to do around Oklahoma City,” May said. “One thing that OC has on other Church of Christ schools is that we have this huge metropolitan area, so we want to highlight that through this program.”
According to May, she selected eight freshmen to be social media influencers through an application process. She said they focused on Instagram and looked at current follower count, post interactions, how frequently they post and the type of content on their page.
“We do a number analysis so we can see how effective this program is at the end of the year,” May said. “So, I look at their posts and if their likes and followers increase as the school year goes on.”
Currently, May said she schedules excursions for the freshman influencers to go on together, and contacts local businesses to get sponsorships. May said this week they get one free drink from the Brew in exchange for a post about the “Brew’s Clues” event on their Instagram story and a post about the Brew on their feed.
“Social media is just such a huge thing to this generation and that’s the generation this school is trying to reach,” May said. “I feel like as much as you put on the website and send out pamphlets, you want to see real people doing real things.”
Freshman Anna Johnson said she applied during the first few weeks of school to be a social media influencer for Oklahoma Christian. She said the excursions have included the OKC Ferris Wheel, dinner at a local organic taco truck, Honey Bunny Biscuit Company and a visit to an art museum downtown.
Johnson said when she was considering applying to Oklahoma Christian, she looked at the Instagram’s of current students she could find to see what her life as an Oklahoma Christian student might look like.
“Social media is a huge resource for marketing,” Johnson said. “Especially in our modern age where technology is one’s primary source of information, influencing has a huge range of impact. Having people behind the scenes purposefully marketing the area and the school is a way to improve the national image of the college and community here in Oklahoma.”
According to Johnson, she hopes her social media posts show the world that with dedication and drive, adventures are possible in everyday life.
“I want people to see an authentic life,” Johnson said. “I believe social media can be used to inspire others to look twice at situations they first might find impossible or uninteresting. Opportunities are created by motivated people and OC has an abundance of potential for those driven enough to discover it.”
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