During Fall 2023 I had the opportunity to manage the BYU-Idaho’s Lost and Found Instagram Page. It began with scheduling a meeting with the BYU-Idaho’s Lost and Found coordinator to discuss the idea of the project and develop project goals. It was decided that the primary objective would be to enhance awareness of the Lost and Found services. I aimed to inform more students about its existences, answer questions, and show a tutorial on how to get to the Lost and Found.
Digital Impact: Posts with purpose
One of the most viewed, and interacted post I created was a meme. After researching social media post ideas, I concluded a meme would be a good way to interact with college aged students and within that, share something helpful. Aside from being funny due to the massive amount of water bottles we have, in the description of the post I emphasized the importance of customers giving us much detail on lost items, because many items look similar.
Another post the gathered a lot of attention was a giveaway post. After receiving permission from the Lost and Found coordinator, I was able to host an Airpod’s giveaways. The objective of this post was to get as many participants as possible, and tag a friend so it could grow the Instagram following.
This next post is a thumbnail of a hyperlapse reel I created showing how to get to the Lost and Found from the Manwaring Center. Though it did not get as much likes as some post it does have approximately 1200 views. The Lost and Found switched locations from the Manwaring Center to the Rigby Building in 2022, making the purpose of this video to help students find the new location.
Behind The Scenes: Overcoming Challenges
Though I have taken design classes both at BYU-Idaho and my previous college, I still consider my level “novice”. When taking on this project, I devoted time to practice and learn design techniques. I did find using Canva to be super helpful, as it provided lots of templates and premade graphics. There were some instances where I would use templates and adjust them to my liking, other times I would try to make my own designs from the start.
Another challenge was video creation. I was able to make the hyperlapse video, but it was not as easy as I thought to edit it, and add some music to keep it entertaining. In the end I wanted to make more videos, but after a few rough drafts I realized the creation of videos takes more time and knowledge. I have since researched some methods that I may be able to implement in future projects.
Lastly, was surveying students. Every 2 weeks I asked random students on campus if they knew of the Lost and Found and where it was. Now though the use of this data was somewhat helpful, the numbers stood relatively the same. Towards the last 2 weeks, I surveyed students that visited the Lost and Found and asked how they heard about. This data will be used for the Lost and Founds advertising methods in the winter and spring semesters.
In The Making: Project Development
First came brainstorming a project that would benefit me with professional experience. Seeing as how Social Media has become a big part of business and communication, I knew this was the route I wanted to take. I met with a mentor to help me discuss options and eventually landed on running a social media campaign for the BYU-Idaho Lost and Found. After meeting with the Lost and Found coordinator, it was set to begin.
In the beginning, I generated ideas that would help spread awareness of the Lost and Found, anything from “Do you know posts?”, giveaways, videos, to advertising the Lost and Found Sale and more! No matter the kind of post it was, my goal was to make sure it benefitted the Lost and Found.
For the first post, I thought of creating something simple yet introductive considering the Instagram page hadn’t been used in months. I used fall colors and made it easy on the eyes and it got a decent amount of attention.
After, I proceeded to implement the other post ideas by actively posting at least twice a week. This method of posting seemed to keep account engagement active and consistent throughout the Fall.
Journey Highlights: My Experiences
Content creation and content strategy was the majority of what I got to experience. Having the opportunity to design and create post was a great learning experience. I constantly referred to the analytical data provided by Instagram to see which post worked to help make more data driven decisions.
Audience engagement and social listening was another part of what I was able to experience. Sometimes in a story post I asked questions to get direct responses on what the audience wanted from the Lost and Found. I responded to some messages and make sure concerns and issues were resolved.
Hands-on Impact: My insights and takeaways
First and foremost, this project provided me with valuable experience on what running a social media page for an organization looks like. I think it was interesting learning about the effectiveness of content posted. With data I am able to see what works and what doesn’t work and therefore be able to move forward making more engaging content.
It also taught me time management, it took time to create post, monitor data, and research effective ideas. Also the publishing of content, having to create a content calendar to ensure consistent presence on the Instagram.
In summary, The BYU-Idaho Lost and Found Social Media Campaign achieved its goal by effectively raising awareness of its existence and engaging with a broader student audience. The campaign marked a milestone in the Lost and Founds communication and resource utilization.