{"id":16748,"date":"2021-12-10T05:14:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T05:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=16748"},"modified":"2021-12-10T23:52:10","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T23:52:10","slug":"what-goes-behind-the-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=16748","title":{"rendered":"What Goes Behind the Content…"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lot of effort and a lot of planning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind the content, there are two young women with their cellphones ready to push Guelph-Humber\u2019s name out there and beat the algorithm. So, can they get any likes, comments, shares or saves?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kathryn McGuire and Jordan Cutmore are the two Guelph-Humber students who work behind the camera, or better, behind their phones?<\/span><\/p>\n

They manage UofGH\u2019s socials; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their main purpose is to promote the University of Guelph-Humber in order to bring more students to join the institution they say, which ironically is also their most difficult task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat is our main challenge, getting our name [Guelph-Humber\u2019s] out there, especially to high school students,\u201d says Kathryn. \u201cI don\u2019t even think my parents would know what exactly Guelph Humber University is,\u201d she says jokingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The girls have been working in this position for hoping to become social media managers in the future, yet both had different experiences during the process of getting this job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI handed in my resume like any other job position,\u201d said Jordan. McGuire\u2019s experience was somewhat different, \u201cI had to even participate in a contest for it,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When explaining what kind of content they produce, they say that it all depends on the platform they are focused on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe content depends on the platform, so we produce key messages mostly to Twitter and Facebook. And on Instagram more \u2018photography-type\u2019 posts,\u201d says McGuire. \u201cBut this year we\u2019ve been working on TikTok, and Instagram Live, which are more \u2018video-like\u2019 content.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cutmore also says that the age range of their audience differentiate between these platforms. For Instagram, \u201cwe have like an audience that ranges from 15 to 20 and 25 to 35. As for Facebook, we know that more parents [of future students] are the demographic over there,\u201d Cutmore says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even think my parents would know\u00a0<\/span>what exactly Guelph-Humber is.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div><\/h4>\n

In terms of time management of producing the content, they say, \u201cit\u2019s more about planning what we\u2019re doing rather than the actual creation of the content. We have a lot of video content that we produce and we make sure we plan what we are posting,\u201d said Cutmore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cYes, we make sure that we have enough content scheduled for Twitter and Facebook, and then content for Instagram. We know that videos, such as live interviews, get more attention from us in terms of planning, adds McGuire. “So, yeah, I would say it\u2019s more about the planning than the creation set up.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Live interviews such as the #Wednesdaywisdom series, where they have been interviewing the heads of the programs offered at Guelph-Humber, posted every Wednesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though their job is to enrich their audience with content during the semesters, their palinging begins way ahead. They go on explaining that they have planned the scheduling of posts during this summer of 2021, and have enough content until the end of the whole academic year, which means until April 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their work on promoting the University of Guelph-Humber all over social media is constant, consequently making them release content everyday. The two students go on explaining that Instagram is their most successful platform in general. The account currently has over 5171 followers and 184 posts with content related to the University of Guelph-Humber. Key messages, videos featuring interviews with special guests, Instagram Heels (Instagram’s short videos) with information and a few humorous clips all relating to the university.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, another platform is becoming more and more promising over the last few months, which is the ‘trendy’ app, TikTok. It has dominated the world over the last year and has been growing surprisingly fast in popularity and engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two students go on saying that they are trying to deal with the unique platform with its unique way of producing content. Making creative and scripted videos, such as the ones exploring\u00a0 and giving a tour around each program\u2019s classes and areas of study.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going well, one of our videos got over a 1000 views. It\u2019s a different experience since it\u2019s more of a \u2018video-only\u2019 platform, so we are trying,\u201d laughs Cutmore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet they acknowledge that nowadays social media has become more and more video-only content. \u201cWe\u2019ll also probably use the same content from Tiktok and post it on Instagram,\u201d Kathryn says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, especially during these times where Instagram pushes more video content,\u201d adds Jordan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping up with what\u2019s \u2018trending\u2019<\/em> can leave the two young women with a feeling of uncertainty.\u00a0 McGuire explains that they both have to wonder whether the content will please the audience since the key to increase engagement is to know what exactly is ‘trending’ at the moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little tricky, so we\u2019re trying to figure that out. We planned over the summer. We might make a video during a week and the next week we have to look if it [the content] still is relevant,\u201d she says. \u201cSo, yeah, it\u2019s kinda tricky, we\u2019re still figuring that out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as how the creative process goes they say, \u201cwe\u2019re allowed to have a lot of creative freedom, as long as it is approved by our manager,\u201d says Cutmore.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we have to analyze and let our manager see if what we\u2019re working is ok to be posted,\u201d adds McGuire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut she doesn\u2019t need to check up on everything we post since she trusts us enough to manage the platforms by ourselves,\u201d Cutmore said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in October, the two students had made a Halloween themed TikTok video that had also been posted on Instagram.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had planned on posting a video for \u00a0<\/span>Halloween. But we only came up with it [the concept],\u00a0<\/span>like four days before [Halloween],”\u00a0Kathryn\u00a0says. “So,\u00a0<\/span>yeah, that\u2019s the one we had.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The video turned out to be one of their\u00a0<\/span>most viewed ones on Instagram, reaching over 4,289\u00a0<\/span>views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The Halloween TikToK Video done back in October.<\/p><\/div>\n

Even though they are proud of their\u00a0<\/span>work, especially of this special \u2018spooky\u2019\u00a0<\/span>video, the two of them confess that\u00a0<\/span>being in front of the camera and being\u00a0<\/span>recognized by their friends and peers still is\u00a0<\/span>complex for them. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other challenges that they face, apart\u00a0<\/span>from trying to push Guelph-Humber\u2019s name out there, is the hard task of gaining\u00a0 engagement from the content they create across the platforms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta come up with strategies, like,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0how to get comments, and sharing from\u00a0<\/span>students,\u201d says McGuire.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cWe might ask people to comment or share and they might be like, \u2018no.\u2019 So it\u2019s kind of complicated like that. But at the same time, why would someone that doesn\u2019t know Guelph-Humber, share and comment, right? So, it\u2019s tricky, but we\u2019re trying,\u201d she laughs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked if they have ever encountered \u2018trolls\u2019 or \u2018haters\u2019 that can become an obstacle over the platforms, they say \u201cNo, we have never faced any kind of hate comments. We did receive some about the vaccines, saying \u2018oh, this lame,\u2019 but it wasn\u2019t exactly about the university,\u201d said Kathryn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if we ever receive any hate comment or anything we will just screenshot it and show it to our manager,\u201d added Cutmore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their manager, Erika Wright, is<\/span> a Liaison Communications Coordinator in Student Recruitment, who oversees the team of Digital Media and Communication Assistants (DMCAs) and the social channel content and engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cW<\/span>e work as a collaborative team on content planning, design and scheduling,\u201d Wright says in an interview via email.\u00a0 \u201cThe DMCAs get a lot of opportunities and creative freedom, which gets submitted for approval to ensure brand and messaging alignment, as it feeds into our larger marketing, communications and recruitment plans.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Erika also says that planning and brainstorming also occur from time to time in order to ensure that the content is clear and that something new is being created to engage the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hold regular meetings, look at upcoming deadlines and events, audience and applicant informational needs, topical news about education and our seven programs, the work of students and faculty, as well as current online trends to develop ideas for our content<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Erika, the two young women, Kathryn McGuire and Jordan Cutmore have been doing an excellent job at reaching for the goal of promoting the University of Guelph-Humber through social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKathryn and Jordan each bring many unique skills, design talent and strategic communications thinking to our team,\u201d said Wright.\u00a0 \u201cThey are indispensable when it comes to keeping our content current for the generation Z.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So, have you gotten inspired yet? Want to become a <\/span>Digital Media and Communication Assistant?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Erika then says, \u201cw<\/span>e hire DMCA work study students on an as-needed basis, typically once or twice per academic year. Interested students can check the GHWorks online job portal for postings in the spring and late summer yearly.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lot of effort and a lot of planning.\u00a0 Behind the content, there are two young women with their cellphones ready to push Guelph-Humber\u2019s name out there and beat the algorithm. So, can they get any likes, comments, shares or saves?\u00a0 Kathryn McGuire and Jordan Cutmore are the two Guelph-Humber students who work behind the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":16761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[132,174,62],"tags":[602,712,359,714,571,713,140,715,716],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}