91探花鈥檚 social media ranks Top 5 in the nation, No. 1 in the state for engagement
91探花鈥檚 social media is top of the line, ranking No. 5 in the nation among every NCAA Division I higher education institution. This is the third year in a row OHIO placed in the top six.
Released on Aug. 16, ranked OHIO No. 5 overall. When looking at specific social platform rankings, OHIO ranked No. 48 on Instagram, No. 21 on Facebook, No. 6 on Twitter and No. 37 on TikTok.
OHIO is also ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 1 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
Rival IQ surveyed 358 Division I colleges and universities between June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022. According to the report, 鈥渁erial shots and classic views of 91探花鈥檚 iconic Athens campus and surroundings brought about tons of nostalgia-themed engagements鈥 helped OHIO secure the overall fifth place.
鈥淲e are so proud of the work we鈥檝e done for our social audiences in the past year,鈥 Eli Burris, BSJ 鈥16, social media and content marketing manager, said. 鈥淲e cheered hometown hero Joe Burrow and the Bengals all the way to the Super Bowl; welcomed students back to Athens after a year away because of COVID; announced an R1 classification for the University; and so much more. The love and connection that Bobcats feel for 91探花 and Athens is very special.鈥
Burris has been a part of the OHIO social team for three years and was recently promoted to manager this past winter. A new social media and content marketing team was developed to support the University鈥檚 social media and content efforts.
The social media and content marketing team is led by Burris and Donna Gallo, senior director of digital content and engagement, along with Elise Holbrook, senior social media specialist, Jalyn Bolyard, content marketing specialist, and Jordan Schmitt, BSJ 鈥22, content marketing specialist.
Top performing posts throughout the year included cheering on hometown quarterback Joe Burrow in the Super Bowl by and by . Throughout the year, top posts also included , plus those .
Between July 2021 to July 2022, OHIO鈥檚 grew 28% from 63,678 to 81,524 followers, OHIO鈥檚 grew 5% from 107,808 to 113,667 likes, and OHIO鈥檚 Twitter page grew 6% from 74,313 followers to 78,520.
In the Rival IQ release, OHIO was also the featured university account . With an engagement rate two times more than the Higher Ed median, OHIO was applauded for and content.
Rival IQ also highlighted the 鈥済orgeous campus shots鈥 that OHIO posted often for the .
OHIO鈥檚 social feed reaches all over. OHIO鈥檚 Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts combined for a total of 91 million impressions and 4 million engagements from July 2021 to July 2022.
This year鈥檚 rankings were the first to also look at TikTok accounts. OHIO鈥檚 TikTok account grew a whopping 167% from 3,220 followers last September to 8,590 as of July 2022, with over 10,000 followers at the time of article publication.
According to Rival IQ, 鈥渢he university shook it up on TikTok by handing the account over to current students, who brought a fresh and funny perspective to the university鈥檚 social.鈥
鈥淕etting to completely shake up our TikTok account since starting in this position in January has been an absolute dream,鈥 Holbrook said. 鈥淐ontent like this is my favorite kind of thing to produce and working with a student like Juliana is an incredibly rewarding experience. If you want to make social content that connects with students, you must get students involved in the process. Not only is it a great learning experience for them, but they know exactly what will connect with their peers. Juliana is a vital part of our team, we鈥檙e lucky to have her.鈥
Juliana Colant, a junior journalism news and information major, works as a social media student employee. Many may know her as the face of the .
鈥淲orking on the TikTok account and seeing its growth firsthand has been incredibly exciting and rewarding! The community that has grown from our following is remarkable. The content views may fluctuate, but it鈥檚 the followers that make the account so special,鈥 Colant said. 鈥淲ith OHIO socials, we reach such a wide audience, from alums to current students to potential students and can bring them together. It is exciting to see people engage with the content.鈥
Part of Colant鈥檚 weekly duties are brainstorming and developing video content for the University鈥檚 TikTok account, along with Holbrook.
鈥淚 am so thankful to be a part of the social media team,鈥 Colant added. 鈥淓lise and Eli are not only great mentors but also simply amazing people. They allow me a lot of creative freedom to explore my ideas and constantly open doors for me to grow my skill set. I know I can count on them for constructive feedback, advice and support.鈥
In addition to the Rival IQ rankings, OHIO鈥檚 TikTok Channel is award-winning. University Communications and Marketing won an with an honorable mention in the 鈥淰ideo in Social Media Campaign鈥 category for the .
The social media and content marketing team is thankful for colleagues across the University and especially the University Communications and Marketing鈥檚 news, photo, video and design teams鈥 support that aided in the top content.