Great Social Media Idea: #ChooseChico

Connecting satisfied alumni and prospective students is always a great thing in higher ed - they are the living, breathing examples that an education at your school is worth the investment, and no one can speak more authentically about the experience of attending a particular college than someone who attended it for four years and left with a degree.

But it's not always the easiest thing to do, and when you can successfully pull it off, it deserves some plaudits. Which is why I'm giving a shout-out to Chico State University and Kate Post for leveraging a visitation day - called Choose Chico! Day - by asking alumni and current students to share their reasons for choosing to attend Chico State.

Here is a full feed of all the tagged content. (Thank you, Kate, for sending this to me!)

I really love the idea of connecting an admissions-focused event with alumni engagement like this. Prospective students and their parents will definitely be checking out your school's social media accounts during a visitation weekend, so why not show them front-and-center happy alumni who will do a better job selling your school than probably anything else you might opt to post during that time.

Gotta love perfect timing like that.

Furthermore, I noticed this pic in the Facebook photo gallery from Chose Chico! Day, featuring signage with a great call to action to engage on social media and use the hashtag that - bonus! - will show whoever searches on it lots of great stories from alumni willingly sharing their story about why they chose to attend Chico State. Love it! (One thing I've learned over the years... never underestimate the power of a good sign. I've trended more than one hashtag simply using signs.)

Of course, this also made me bitterly regret not doing something similar to this during UP's visitation weekend last Saturday, but... well... this blog exists so I can learn from my brilliant peers, right? Right!

Props, Chico State, for a perfectly-timed and well-executed social strategy for prospective students and alumni both!