Project Overview
From October 2023 through May 2024 I was a Digital Marketing Assistant for the Yellow Jacket Digital Agency (YJDA). This is an in-house agency at Baldwin Wallace University. I promote the biology and psychology programs through social media marketing with some assistance in emails. I get to work in two different teams to increase admissions yield within these programs.
My main goal is to create weekly content for Instagram and Facebook with occasional videos on TikTok to promote the programs. I created over 150 social posts and used Social Pilot to schedule them. The process involves meeting with graduate students leading the team to plan weekly themes. After this, I create 3-4 social posts for each week and each account. All posts would be approved by graduate students and scheduled for posting.
My Responsibilities
Content Planning
I am on two different teams for the YJDA and had to keep track of posts to make sure we had 3 to 4 going out weekly. I used two different content calendars. One included all the time for scheduling, a caption, link to the post, hashtags, etc. The other had the same options, but no time slots, just dates. All of the content would be placed into these calendars based on weekly themes that were planned out using AI assistance. The content would then be added to a database to track what type of content is being produced.
Content Creation
The next step in the process is creating content. Almost all of the content I produced was done in Canva using original designs, templates, and realistic imaging. At first each week would follow similar daily themes before working on new campaigns to focus on specific areas within each major for an entire week of content. I edited all of the content to make it easy to read and understand for any viewer. Most content was created to directly target potential students, with some focused on parents/current studetnts.
Content Distribution
All of the content I created was placed into a content calendar for the respective majors. I used ChatGPT to assist in captioning ideas and would place that and 3 to 5 hastags into Social Pilot with the graphic. After this, I would schedule the posts for sometime in the morning Monday-Thursday and notify a graduate student that the post was ready for approval. Barring any edits, the posts go out and then I review them later on to track engagement levels. This helped find potential changes in future content.
Tools and Apps Used
Canva was the primary tool used in content creation for this project. Most of the posts were graphics created for Instagram. I was able to utilize a brand kit to keep posts using similar colors and fonts. CapCut was used to add captions to videos for Instagram Reels and TikTok. I used Google Drive as a way to store ideas and content calendars. Google Sheets was used to create a content database (see below in the “Analytics” section) to store all graphics created.
While posts were created for Facebook, I targeted Instagram users the most and found a greater level of engagement through that platform. Basecamp was the task management system used to keep track of what needed to be completed and to communicate with other members of the team. ChatGPT was used to help generate theme and caption ideas for posts. I used Social Pilot to schedule out content that would later be approved by a graduate student.
Results
Increase Brand Presence
By posting weekly content for both the biology and psychology programs at BW, I’ve been able to help grow and establish more of a brand for people to follow. Both brands give off a more appealing look because of a combination of BW colors with realistic imaging.
I played a pivotal role in ensuring our messages reached and resonated with our target audience. Collaborating closely with graduate student leaders, I designed weekly thematic content that not only highlighted the unique aspects of these programs but also significantly boosted our brand’s visibility and attractiveness to prospective students.
Positive Brand Perception
I worked with graduate students to give each program a brand and put opportunities and values into the posts. Students are looking for programs and colleges that align with their wants and values, so it was important to feature this in our content.
Some of this came through with potential and current students commenting and liking posts. We also did a trivia campaign on Instagram Stories which had great interaction. As part of the team, we worked with the head of each department and they have mentioned their appreciation for the positive outlook on their programs.
Teamwork & Time Management
One of the biggest personal results from this project was learning to work with a variety of different teams while also managing my time between school and other jobs. I learned how to share my ideas and grow by hearing others and combining thoughts to have great outcomes. This project also helped me use multiple calendars to manage my time and make sure I wouldn’t plan too much in a day.
Analytics
Example Graphics
