Navigating Social Media in Higher Education: My Thoughts

Hi, I’m Liza Shevchuk – Communications Coordinator for UC Berkeley’s School of Optometry & Vision Science! 

Since joining the school in 2022, I’ve observed how social media functions as a strategic tool to strengthen our community and expand our reach to key audiences, including alumni, students, faculty, and prospective applicants. In higher education, social media transcends mere visibility; it serves as a bridge to engage diverse groups in substantive, impactful ways.

Purpose-Driven Social Media

In my role, fostering authentic engagement is essential. Social media for us is not solely a platform to highlight achievements but an opportunity to reinforce our community’s core values. For instance, our posts about annual trips to Nicaragua with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) reflect a commitment to global health. Followers see beyond the surface of the posts – they witness our values in action, fostering a genuine connection to our mission.

Effective social media strategies, as communications expert Francine Charest suggests, require a balance of “building” strategies – well-structured, planned campaigns – and “dwelling” strategies, which capture the more spontaneous, day-to-day interactions.¹ For Berkeley Optometry, this approach means aligning content with our mission while remaining agile to respond meaningfully to real-world events as they occur.

Balancing Professionalism and Creativity

Successful social media efforts blend strategy with creativity, each post tailored to meet our audience’s interests. Whether highlighting an alum’s career milestone or showcasing a student-led initiative, this balance allows us to share diverse stories while fostering a cohesive sense of community. Amanda Zantal-Wiener, a social media strategist, emphasizes the importance of defining clear objectives for each post.² This focus ensures that content remains both relevant and purposeful, contributing to our broader institutional goals. By aligning each post with our audience’s interests and the school’s mission, we’re able to deepen engagement and reinforce our community’s shared values.

Maximizing Content Impact

Understanding which content fosters engagement is essential. Short-form videos, like Instagram Reels, consistently drive high interaction.³ Content that captures short yet insightful moments, such as our rapid-fire student interviews, are highly effective in drawing audience attention. Additionally, user-generated content (UGC) enhances our credibility and brings in authentic perspectives from students, alumni, and faculty. Zantal-Wiener notes that content aligned with genuine brand values resonates more deeply with audiences,⁴ underscoring the value of these authentic contributions to our overall strategy.

The Future of Social Media in Higher Education

Social media is integral to our outreach efforts, from event promotion to prospective student engagement. The objective is to remain authentic, ensuring that our values are evident in each post. I look forward to exploring new strategies to advance the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry's mission of promoting vision science and eye health, strengthening our community, and expanding our impact!

Learn More About My Work

Footnotes

1  Charest, F. (2023). Public Relations and Social Media: Deliberate or Creative Strategic Planning. Journal of Public Relations Research, 35(1), 45-67.
2  Zantal-Wiener, A. (2017). Planning Social Media Content? Ask Yourself These 9 Questions. HubSpot. Retrieved from HubSpot's website.
3  Zhong, C. (2024). The Most Effective Types of Content on Social Media in 2024. Social Media Examiner. Retrieved from Hubspot's website.
4  Zantal-Wiener, A. (2017). Planning Social Media Content? Ask Yourself These 9 Questions. HubSpot. Retrieved from HubSpot's website.