Building an active campus community requires a lot of moving parts, and mastering social media engagement is one of the top priorities. Just ask Morgan Schweitzer and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln MEDLIFE chapter. They recently took home the Best College Chapter Social Media Engagement Award in this year’s chapter awards, proving that a strategic, authentic digital presence can be one of the biggest pillars in growing your chapter’s reach.
How did they do it? Morgan recently spoke with us and broke down the exact playbook her MEDLIFE chapter used to capture attention, drive interaction, and turn online followers into active event attendees.
Here is how they stood out from the crowd, and how your own college group can do the same.
1. Make Event Graphics Visually Appealing
The first secret to success was moving away from standard, boring event announcements. “We have a couple posts that got a lot of attention about just meetings in general,” Morgan explains. Instead of just throwing up a basic text flyer, the UNL team focused heavily on aesthetics. “We didn’t ever just have a basic meeting one. We tried to make them look visually appealing, which I think a lot of people liked.” When your content looks good, people stop scrolling.
2. Leverage Your entire Team
Organic reach can be tough, but the UNL MEDLIFE team found a built-in solution: their own leadership. To boost their social media engagement, they utilized the power of networking. “Since we have nine execs, we just made sure everybody was reposting stuff, commenting on stuff,” says Morgan. By ensuring that the entire executive board actively interacted with the chapter’s content, the posts naturally reached a much wider audience. “Everyone that sees that was able to see more of our posts, and it was able to reach a wider audience, which was really exciting.”
3. Real-Time Posting
Waiting until an event is over to share photos is a missed opportunity. During their recent SLT trip, the UNL chapter focused on live storytelling. “We posted a lot while we were there,” Morgan emphasizes. “Instead of just waiting to post everything when we got back, we were doing it actively while being there.” This real-time strategy allowed members who couldn’t attend to feel included, while simultaneously prompting the students on the trip to keep sharing and interacting on their own feeds.
4. Turn Instagram into a Communication Tool
An active Instagram presence does more than just gather likes; it builds an open line of communication. UNL found that their high social media engagement directly translated to real-world event attendance. “We had a lot of people DMing us on Instagram, asking us questions like, ‘Where’s the volleyball courts for this?’ or anything like that,” Morgan noted. Because the student body knew the team was highly active on Instagram, it became the go-to hub for quick answers, bypassing clunky group chats.
UNL’s Advice: Just Do Everything!
If there is one takeaway from UNL MEDLIFE’s success, it’s to embrace creativity without fear. “Honestly, just do everything,” Morgan advises. “Literally, do not be afraid of trying to make a funny post or anything like that because you never know what’s going to be the next viral video.” Keep experimenting, stay active, and remember that your team is always there to support you!
To learn how you can get involved with your local MEDLIFE chapter or start your own, fill out the interest form below!