This fall, the World Health Organization announced a crisis in “loneliness.” Research also indicates “unhappiness” on campus and, “stress,” a perennial problem for college students everywhere. So how can social media, so often considered a contributing factor to poor mental health, actually address these issues?
“The first answer is: it isn’t easy,” said Professor Suzanne Lowery Mims who has been teaching the PR and Social Media (Comm 384) course since 2014. “But research points to strategy.” Students conducted primary and secondary research to develop substantive content and the rationale for objective-driven, 21 day strategic social media campaigns. Following a detailed content calendar, they ran the social media campaigns and then measured results.
Senior Julian Lee led a team attacking “loneliness” by offering students a solution: join a Mason Club. “We researched not why students didn’t join clubs, but to learn why they did join clubs.” And that, he said, was the basis for the #GMUClubs campaign, which gained followers, engagement, and impressions.
Mental health issues are also impacted by relationships, especially healthy relationships. Senior Caitlyn Raymond and her team created a Friendship Week, which kicked off with an event on World Kindness Day in collaboration with Mason Chooses Kindness. Their campaign boosted the event attendance to over 250 students and succeeded in generating the hard to achieve “user generated content.”
A team made up of transfer students sought to connect with transfers and offer support and community. Students also used “Mindfulness” and a #StressBusterChallenge to address the stress of the many demands on a college student’s life. In a more brand-oriented issue, one team worked to boost applications to become Mason Comm Ambassadors and another sought to reduce caffeine consumption.
“The Social Media for Social Good campaign assignment puts the finishing touch on the course objective: that, is, to transition students’ use of social media from personal to strategic, to use it to achieve an objective.” What students learn, she said, is that motivating behavior takes far more effort and strategy than fun TikTok videos or pretty images. “It all starts with the research. It all starts with having something to say.”
December 01, 2023