Mustang News
managing our college newspaper's social media platforms
Role
Social Media Manager
Contributing partners
Social Media Editors
Timeframe
June 2019 - June 2020
Tools
Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Rush, Adobe Spark, Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Background
Mustang News is the on-campus, student-run newspaper that serves Cal Poly SLO and the greater San Luis Obispo community. As Social Media Manager, I directed the social media operations and oversaw our three main platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I managed a team of three editors and one intern.
Creating social media assets
Using products within the Adobe Creative Cloud, I created social-native content to promote stories published to our website including informational videos, infographics, animated Instagram stories and more. My team created content that lived on social media, while considering platform algorithms and what would generate higher KPIs.
Mustang News social media at a glance...
24%
of total web referrals
818,275
Instagram users reached
4.8x
Users reached via social vs. the web
Reporting weekly data
As Social Media Manager, I backed the success of social media content by reporting data. I produced weekly and quarterly reports on metrics such as page views, engagement, reach, etc. pulled from Google Analytics as well as the built-in insights tools for each platform.
Conducting award-winning news coverage
At the 2019 student journalism conference ACP/CMBAM, Mustang News won 46 awards - including CMBAM Best Audience Engagement Strategy (first place) and CCMA Best Social Media Coverage of a Single Event (first place). As a leader, I was recognized with the SAGE Publishing Award for my coverage of coronavirus and the Chair's Award for Leadership in Journalism.
Covering breaking news in a virtual environment
With the onset of coronavirus in early 2020, Mustang News was at the forefront of news coverage for the local San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly communities. As Social Media Manager, I made sure content was accurate and available on all platforms.
When the Black Lives Matter Movement protests began in San Luis Obispo, we were the first news outlet to break video footage on Instagram of tear gas and firecrackers released onto protestors by the police. This led to our top-performing post on Instagram in two years with 40,000 users reached and 5,600 engagements.
