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Doubling Chapman’s Pinterest Following: How I Did It

pinterest

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with Chapman’s Strategic Marketing and Communication department this past year – specifically within their Interactive Department. I’ve been given a lot of responsibilities that I’ve found have helped me grow significantly as a young professional in the marketing industry.

One of my responsibilities that I would like to highlight right now is creating, gathering, organizing, posting, and writing copy for all of Chapman’s Pinterest posts. Now, many people my not even know that Chapman is on Pinterest. But at the time I was trusted with this responsibility, there were about 350 people who were following their boards. Now there are 864. So how did I do it?

The answer is simple: I started thinking as a student. What could possibly make me want to follow my university’s Pinterest account? I asked myself, what do I like to pin on my own board? The answer is probably what most women ages 18-45 would answer – recipes, crafts, fashion, DIY, career tips, and innovative ideas/tips. These are also the most popular subjects on Pinterest as the majority of the users fall into that demographic. The tricky part was figuring out how a higher education establishment could possibly post with these topics in mind without losing credibility or spamming its users.

I researched what other universities were doing effectively. One university that stood out was Butler University. They have almost 1,000 followers. Their use of “repinnable” content blew me away and was still appropriate for their brand. Using them as inspiration, I developed the following boards to implement on Chapman’s profile:

  • Healthy Panther – recipes for living in the dorms, exercises to do in dorm rooms or tight spaces without equipment, healthy living tips
  • Independent Living – “life hacks,” money management, organization, manners, laundry, other fun tips and tricks for life
  • Academic Success – study tips, vocabulary lists, organization, funny study memes, brain food ideas
  • Career Tips – resume and cover letter tips, how to dress professionally, interview advice
  • Chapman Events
  • Chapman in the News

The first four boards were widely successful. The other two had a good response as well, but did not attract quite as much engagement as the others. Through the implementation of popular but relevant hashtags and these new “repinnable” content, engagement spiked and followers increased dramatically. Almost a year later, there is more than double the amount of followers than before.

Check out Chapman’s Pinterest page here.
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September 10, 2013 by
Lifestyle

TED Talk Tuesday: Faculty Respond

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If you read my recent post about TED Talk Tuesday at Chapman, I only discussed my response to the speaker. However we were fortunate enough to have two Chapman professors provide their insight and feedback – Claudine Jaenichen and Kelli Fuery.

Claudine began with a discussion about how we interpret the actual visual aspect of texting. She touched on how people use emojis, smileys, capitol letters, punctuation, and formatting to convey a message. For example, the use of “LOL” and “haha” have evolved over the years. Instead of simply meaning literally “laughing out loud,” “LOL” stands for empathy or a marker of interest. “haha” lightens the tone of a message and indicates that something was amusing, not necessarily something you actually laughed at. We use ALL CAPS to signal excitement or anger. We add in smiley faces and emojis to attempt to portray a facial expression, body language, tone, or feeling. When the communication is simply visual, we create this whole new strategy for portraying our actual attitude. In addition, she highlighted how the language you use varies based on your relationship with the reciever as well as the status/job/personality of the receiver of the message. For example, a parent may appreciate a message such as “Hello! How are you?” whereas a close friend may expect a message such as “hey how r u” – it all depends on who the audience is.

Kelli explained how she had issue with the assumption that “texters” are generally youth. When asked for a raise of hands of who texts, all but one person in the room had their hands in the air. The audience was filled with people of every age group and background. She emphasized that it’s important to not associate texting only with youth because other generations use it as well – meaning a wide variety of strategies, styles, and audiences. John McWhorter explained that speech tends to be looser, more telegraphic, and less reflective. She believes that yes, speech is less reflective, however it is much more genuine, authentic, and natural. It does not make sense to apply formal grammar rules to something so informal such as texting and speech. Texting is a new form of visual communication, not a degradation of language. Both formal and informal writing have their appropriate places and share an equal importance.
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September 10, 2013 by
Lifestyle

TED Talk Tuesday: “Txting is Killing Language – JK!!”

TEDxTuesdays-Flyer

Today I had the privilege of attending Chapman University’s first TED Talk Tuesday event – John McWhorter’s talk “Txting is Killing Language – JK!!”

Every other Tuesday, Chapman screens a selected TED Talk and then professors lead a discussion afterwards. McWhorter examines how the development of texting has affected language both spoken and written. Check out the video here:

McWhorter opens with “texting is a miraculous thing.” Later he refers to it as a “linguistic miracle.” All in all, McWhorter has some great points. He addresses many concerns about texting decreasing the quality of writing by pointing out that texting is not about writing, but about simply communicating in a very convenient and efficient manner.

Historically, speech came first and writing followed. Texting revolves around writing how we speak. People argue that we should do the exact opposite – speak how we write. This does happen, but more and more frequently in a formal setting. If speaking how we write is acceptable, then why is the reverse considered less important and less correct? It shouldn’t.

In fact, McWhorter argues it should be considered even more important. He refers to texting as this “emergent complexity.” That texting does not represent a decline in language, but more of a progression. Texting is an expansion of language – if not its own language. So those that can understand and communicate this way could even be considered bilingual – a strong intellectual asset.

I also believe that understanding when it is appropriate to use proper grammar versus slang versus emojis versus full sentences is an important skill to learn. The ability to communicate to different audiences and tailoring your message to them individually creates a social awareness.

All in all, I agree with the majority of what McWhorter discusses. However, I do believe texting has very significant downfalls. For example, texting has a casual air to it and may not always be appropriate. The other would be that texting often results in more misunderstandings than in writing and other forms of communicating. Tone of voice and body language are lost. There are many ways to compensate for this – emojis, punctuation, all caps, etc. However, it is not the same.

The final concern I have around texting is the lack of knowledge of spelling, grammar, and punctuation it has. Yes, many people text with proper grammar and spelling. However, it is more common to let these rules go. There are many different ways to learn these essential skills, so I’m not saying that texting causes people to loose their ability to write properly. I’m just acknowledging that proper writing is no longer required necessarily for every day communications via text. The popularity and frequent use of texting causes people to have a tendency to ignore these rules outside of texting. Also, instead of reading news sources or written information using formal and correct grammar, they are more used to reading news and information with informal and incorrect grammar. The frequency of this is the cause of the problem. Student’s have smaller vocabularies and struggle to learn basic grammar rules because they are accustomed to the short-hand, informal style of texting.

There’s no question about it – texting has changed our language. Some argue it’s for the better, the others for the worse. No, texting is not killing language. It is simply changing it. However, there is no denying that since communication is evolving so quickly with technology, it’s difficult to maintain the “old” rules of language.
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September 10, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Chegg’s Marketing Understands Students

chegg

I recently rented all of my textbooks through Chegg and was happily surprised to find all sorts of goodies in the box – not just my stuffy, boring textbooks. Wedged on top of my Microeconomics book was a Red Bull. Next to that laid some travel sized TRESemmé shampoo and conditioner, 5 Energy Gum, and a coupon for Hulu Plus.

This little tiny gift has a serious impact. The gesture tells students, “Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.” It’s a pat on the shoulder, a push to the right path, a smile in our direction. Telling us that we don’t have to face another school year alone.

But above all, it creates a loyal relationship with us. I obviously want to purchase my books from a company that rewards me for being financially savvy and caring about my education. They also don’t send random promotions or useless gag gifts. They understand what students want – and need. An energy drink? Yes please. Travel sized shampoos? Perfect for when I visit home. Hulu Plus offer? Procrastination central. Why would I order with anybody else?

Buying textbooks is often a cause of extreme anxiety and frustration for many students, but companies like Chegg are learning how to make this process easier. They strive to lighten the burden financially and mentally. I could go on and on about how amazing it is that Chegg offers such low rental prices, but that’s another topic for another time.

This is the kind of marketing that excites me. It’s innovative. It’s fresh. It doesn’t feel in-your-face or superficial. It has a clear message and creates a strong following of loyal customers that will return semester after semester. Well done, Chegg.

 
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September 2, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Dr. Oz 3-Day Detox Cleanse!

dr. oz detox groceries

This past summer, I tried my first ever detox cleanse. People do detoxes or cleanses for many different reasons, but for me it was all about re-setting my body to how it is supposed to function and ridding my body of all the harmful toxins it had accumulated.

After freshman year and not really taking care of my body, I felt this was the most appropriate time. So I did my research and of course, I ADORE Oprah, so I had to check out if Dr. Oz had any program. It turned out that he does! Dr. Oz designed a 3 day detox cleanse that is incredibly simple so somebody like me (not exactly an expert) could follow along easily and successfully.

Basically, this detox consists of drinking four smoothies a day. There are three recipes – one for each meal. You are allowed to repeat your favorite smoothie as a snack between dinner and lunch. You take vitamins throughout the day and have green tea with lemon and Stevia in the morning. At night, you reward yourself with an Epsom salt bath with lavender extract. Pretty simple, right? Every single vitamin, ingredient, and sip of tea has been scientifically designed to provide your body with the nourishment it needs and to effectively flush out harmful toxins.

Dr. Oz compiled everything (even the shopping list!) into this one page super handy sheet. 4_055_3DayDetox

That was my Bible for the three days.

If you’re interested in doing this at some point, I would HIGHLY recommend it. It’s so easy to do and the best part is that you can prep everything in advance. It’s great for people on the go with busy schedules. Spend maybe an hour the first day prepping everything for each smoothie. Put all of the dry ingredients into freezer bags and when you want that smoothie, just grab it and add the liquids and blend! Super quick, super easy.

Each step of the detox is critical right down to soaking in the bath. Do not skip any steps! Everything has been chosen deliberately and carefully for the best results possible.

My experience:

I went into this detox with an open mind and heart. I had no idea what I was about to do, but I was determined to DO it. I committed myself 150% to sticking it out all three days. I’m not going to sugarcoat it – the first two days are extremely difficult. In the case of this detox, it is ABSOLUTELY mind-over-matter. The third day is not as bad because it becomes more of a habit at that point.

Here’s my groceries for the three days:

dr. oz detox groceriesBreakfast was AMAZING! I love it and still drink it all the time.

breakfast smoothieLunch was good too. I really enjoyed it when I added 1/2 cup more pineapple. You’re really not supposed to alter the recipes at all, but it just needed to be a bit sweeter. Also, a few tips to make the texture better – cut up everything TINY! And blend one ingredient at a time. There’s a lot of course veggies going into this smoothie. You want to make sure it’s smooth, otherwise you’re going to hate it. In the picture below, that was my first time making it and I blended everything together at once and did not cut things up small. It was a very gross texture. So don’t do that! But I also still drink this one!

smoothie3 I did not like dinner one bit. Perhaps it’s because of the cayenne pepper. A lot of people posted online and seemed to really enjoy dinner, but I absolutely HATED it! I really had to just grin and bear it by gulping it down fast. That’s why I didn’t take a picture. Because I was mad at that smoothie. Because it was evil.

Make sure you treat yourself to the bath and the morning tea! Those were the highlights of my day.

My results:

I felt lighter and I had much more energy. I never was hungry on this detox – I simply missed solid food and crunching. It’s definitely one of the easiest and best things you can do for your overall health and body. I lost three pounds total and a LOT of bloat. I would HIGHLY recommend this to anybody. But beware – do NOT go back to eating terrible foods after this. Continue eating a clean and healthy diet and you will be golden. This is supposed to reset your system. It is NOT a miracle weight loss diet. The weight I lost was purely a bonus.

Anyways, if anybody has ANY questions at all, do not hesitate to ask me. I could talk about this detox forever! Happy cleansing y’all!
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August 30, 2013 by
Lifestyle

DORM RECIPE: Quinoa in College!

meal prep

meal prepHere’s a SUPER simple and quick quinoa recipe that I absolutely adore. It should take about 20 minutes and this will provide 4-5 servings – enough for lunches for a whole work week!! (ps – the picture says meal prep Sunday because I made it then. I know it’s Thursday today haha)

What you’ll need:

  • An electric water heater/hot pot that you can cook food in like this guy here that I have from Target
  • Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rinsed quinoa
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 can whole kernal unsweetened corn rinsed and trained
  • 1 can black beans rinsed and trained
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 tomato (or canned & diced tomatoes)
  • 1 zucchini
  • 2 tbsp. lime juice
  • 1 tbsp. olive (or grape) oil
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • pinch of salt

Instructions:

Boil water in kettle. Rinse quinoa in room temperature water. Add rinsed quinoa to boiling water. Let simmer for 15 minutes (or until fluffy and cooked). Mix together corn, beans, avocado, tomato, zucchini, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, and salt together in a big bowl. When quinoa is cooked, fluff with a fork. Add quinoa to large mixture of the other ingredients. Serve hot or cold!

SO EASY! I promise you’ll love this recipe. A lot of people add a bit of hot pepper to theirs, so feel free to do that if you want a little kick. Have fun and happy cooking!!!!
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August 30, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Healthy College Eating

One of my new favorite things is creating yummy, healthy meals for myself that can be easily made in a DORM ROOM! Yep, it’s possible. I have a small mini fridge, microwave, blender, and a hot water kettle. So how could I possibly cook anything remotely healthy?

Well, I’ll tell you this – my mini fridge would not be featured on the TV show “Greek” or in any typical college movie. It’s not full of beer or vodka. Or jello shots or ice cream. It’s full of fresh veggies, fruit, hummus, whole wheat pita bread, yogurt, and WATER!

I’m going to be posting a lot of tips and tricks on here about how to stay healthy in general, but especially while in college. I hope you tune in and enjoy!
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August 30, 2013 by