From Monologue to Dialogue: Empowering Students Through Social Media

Michael Padian, Director of Digital Marketing & Communications at West Coast University

As we move well into the second decade of social media being a part of most of our everyday lives, and certainly a part of the everyday lives of students, something that’s changed very little as it relates to students and social media has been the tendency to be hyper-focused on the risks inherent in social media; and while those conversations – and developing strategies to protect at-risk young populations – are still critically important, I’d like to take a look at the opportunities social media presents to educational institutions to improve the experiences of, and create positive outcomes for, their students.

At West Coast University, where I’ve been the Director of Digital Marketing & Communications for a little over two years, our focus from Day 1 has been on our students, which is not nearly as simple as that may seem on the surface. With an incredibly diverse and dispersed student population – we offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees (and post-masters certificates) at six campuses (plus online programs) in three states–we approached this like a marathoner: patiently, one step at a time.

We visited each of our six campuses to meet with studentsand student groups (whom we continue to meet with monthly via zoom), and we met with campus faculty and leadership as well, putting faces to names, clearly communicating our shared purpose and, importantly, listening to each of them and understanding their points of view and the story(ies) they had to tell. We put one step in front of the other for many days and weeks and months to reach that ultimate goal of crossing the finish line, which for us was establishing a trustingrelationship with each of them.

Once we laid this foundation, our social media presence began to transform from a vehicle to talk at students to a vehicle designed to allow students to talk to one another, to share their stories of struggle and success and everything in between with one another.

To be clear, we still included in our published content information about programs and services and events and such, but increasingly throughout 2023 this transformation was clearly evident, and it was resonating with our students.

The growth rate of our social accounts (up 51% in 2023), of engagement (up 32% in 2023), and of user-generated content (up 11.8% in 2023) all grew at a dramatically accelerated pace during the year. Beyond the data there was also a trove of anecdotal evidence, the comments from students who were inspired by a fellow student achieving their life’s dream of becoming an RN; or moved by a post from a mom of two young children whose story so many fellow nursing students could relate to. And that has been the real proof point for us, seeing and feeling these moments of inspiration from our students.

There are so many examples of this that can be seen on any of our social accounts, but to bring this to life here I’ll share this one example of a post from a student who shared a video of herself doing homework with the following text on screen: “When you feel like you’re missing out on your early 20’s because you’re always studying…..” Here were some of the comments fellow students shared:

“I’m turning 30 and I’m on my 4^th term at WCU Miami, it’s not missing out, it’s sacrificing for a little bit but to be able to help people and also live a better life. Parties and vacations can come later, there’s more than enough time for that [heart emoji].”

“I started at WCU Miami (recently), super excited and nervous [double heart emoji]. Can’t wait for this new journey.”

“I am 34 and (just started) at West Coast University (LA Campus) … so far it is going great [heart emoji]. I love my classes and my professor is great. Can’t wait to become an RN. [nurse emoji].”

What’s more, there was a collateral benefit beyond the quantitative and qualitative results we shared here, a benefit that’s critically important to any school, public or private, K-12 or higher-ed, and that’s retention. A happier, more inspired and engaged student who has a connection with their fellow students will be more likely to continue and persevere past the speed bumps they will inevitably encounter.

And that – helping students to face and overcome obstacles en route to a successful outcome – is the ultimate win-win for students and educational institutions.

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