Students formed a club to run social media for Florida Tech’s Nathan M. Bisk College of Business this spring.
According to Kollin Upton, a senior studying business administration, the College of Business Social Media Team consists of about 10 students aiming to increase outreach and engagement to current and potential students.
Upton started the club and now serves as its administrator, meaning that he performs secretarial tasks and other “behind-the-scenes” work.
Upton said the group meets once a week to think of ways to promote the College of Business. The discussion and schedule revolves around events happening that week.
“We do things like student spotlights, or event spotlights, where we recognize events going on around campus,” Upton said.
He said that the student spotlights help appeal to prospective students by showing what current students are accomplishing.
Since the club’s formation, the members have created an Instagram account for the College of Business, floridatech_cob.
“It’s been about a month and a half,” Upton said. “Our Instagram presence has grown notably.”
He explained that the group began with a mass email to seek members. Interested students volunteered to participate, and Upton said the students continued with it because they enjoyed it.
The group includes international students and at least one nontraditional student, according to Upton.
He said that having members from different backgrounds helps provide different perspectives in their planning.
Upton says the group being mostly student-run allows for the content to be more relatable the student audience, since they are their own “target market.”
“Students know what students want,” he said.
The club is led by two student leaders. Upton said that having two leaders provides more than one “point of contact” for leadership duties.
Drew Bastian, a senior studying global management, is one of the club’s student leaders.
He said the club provides the students with marketing experience and a chance to use what they are learning, while giving them a say in how the College of Business is seen by others.
The group is working to gain followers on the College’s Facebook and LinkedIn.
According to Upton, the group has limited access to these pages, unlike the full access to the Instagram account.
Bastian said the club would like to improve the timeliness and accuracy of posts across these pages.
“The future plans for the group, currently, are to grow the social media presence of the [College of Business], and to eventually hand the group off to other students that are as interested in learning about social media and how it can help in business,” Bastian said in an emailed response.
He explained that the group does not currently have any other specific plans, but that he is “excited for the future.”
“With all the different backgrounds we have working on getting information and content made, I feel like anything can happen,” Bastian said.
According to Bastian, the club will be seeking new members in the fall semester.
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