Creating Content That Connects: My Experience as a Social Media Assistant at Ferris State University

During my senior year at Ferris State University, I had the opportunity to as one of the Social Media Assistance for the university's central marketing team. In this role, I collaborated with other student creators and university staff to develop engaging content that captured the campus experience, highlighted student voices, and supported university campaigns across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. This experience has helped shape my skills in content strategy, digital storytelling, and social media analytics - all while being a full time student.

The Mission

Ferris State already had a strong brand presence on social media. Staying relevant in a fast-moving digital space meant continually evolving content to meet students where they are. Being on a student focused content team, our mission was to bring in future bulldogs and share the Ferris experience through a student lens but also keep our students and alumni well informed.

Goals:

• Create engaging, student-centered content

• Increase interaction and relevance on key platforms

• Maintain consistent branding while adding fresh energy.

My Role

As a Social Media Assistant, I was involved in idea generation, content creation, and monitoring performance.

Responsibilities Included:

• Creating graphics and short-form videos using Adobe Creative Suite and CapCut

• Writing captions in Ferris's voice and tone.

• Developing ideas for campaigns, takeovers, and story features.

• Analyzing performance metrics through Meta Business.

Types of Content I Helped Create

Event Coverage: Content create live or post-event to highlight campus happenings.

Reels and Stories: Fun, interactive content aimed at boosting reach and engagement.

Campus Culture Posts: Visuals that captured the everyday student experience and school spirit.

Ongoing Content Contributions

In addition to my work on Ferris State's main social media channels, I also contributed daily to a Ferris 360 group, a platform that shared Ferris related news and updates with the university. Each day I curated relevant articles to press mentions, wrote short engaging descriptions, and included direct linked to boost awareness. This daily task helped keep the community informed, while also training to write concise, attention grabbing, and stay on top of current events related to the university.

The Results & Impact

While I worked alongside a team, I saw first hand how our content led to:

• Increased interaction from current and prospective Bulldogs.

• Higher engagement on reels and posts.

• Consistently positive feedback from university staff and followers.

Through specific numbers varied post to post, our team's efforts helped Ferris State Accounts stay relevant, responsive, and reflective of real student life.

What I Learned

This role has taught me how to blend strategy with creativity. Here are some of my key takeaways:

• Consistency builds trust. Maintaining a brand voice across all content helped strengthen Ferris's online presence.

• Trends are tools. Leveraging timely audio and formats helped content gain traction.

• Find Your Brands Love Language. Ours is football and we made consistent posts and engaging content that reflects our love for Ferris State Football.

Final Thoughts

My experience as a Social Media Assistant and Digital Content Creator at Ferris State reinforced my passion for digital marketing. It also gave me hands-on experience creating and analyzing real accounts with real impact-something that continues to shape how I approach digital strategy today.

Want to see examples of the content I helped create or learn more about my digital marketing background? Explore more at The Marketing Meg.