Social Media by Design

Social media is a huge part of marketing at CSU’s Lory Student Center. “More social media” is actually written into the building’s strategic plan. This is clearly aspirational, but the day-to-day reality of managing multiple Instagram accounts is anything but simple. My focus has been on the three biggest channels: @csulsc, @csu_bookstore, and @RamEvents.

@CSULSC

Our goal with the LSC's primary Instagram channel is to attract more visitors to this campus landmark. We do this with a blend of highlighting key partner events and services, plus representing the variety of activities available to the community in this massive 380,000-square-foot space. As you can imagine, there is always something happening, and it can be a challenge to determine what to prioritize. Through monthly team meetings to review content and statistics, we are constantly trying new things and tweaking our approach to resonate with a broad community.

In January 2026, @csulsc hit 4,000 followers, up from just over 2,600 in December 2022. That’s about 14% growth per year, well above the 5–10% typical for higher education accounts.

This consistent growth wouldn’t be possible without the team:

• Jill Jones, who managed daily content

• Ryan Haynes, who led building-wide campaigns like the bi-annual “Heart of Campus” initiative

• Student social media coordinators Sydnie, Hannah, and Caleigh, who kept content fresh, relevant, and student-centered

@CSU_Bookstore

Since Fall 2023, @csu_bookstore has grown 48.7%, roughly 18% per year. My early strategy focused on product sales, with basic branded graphics built around vendor product shots that linked to the Bookstore's website. I quickly realized this approach wasn’t working—attempting to drive online sales had unexpected tax implications, and the content itself could be more engaging.

Using lessons learned from this pilot, I shifted the strategy to center on student experiences and in-store highlights, conveyed through original photography and captions. I used our Loomly platform to set up CSU Bookstore staff for direct post review and approval. Candice Peters now leads the account, including scheduling, capturing photography, and writing captions. She has leveraged cross-campus collaboration with other accounts—especially the Alumni Association and Athletics—to raise the profile of the channel.

@RamEvents

My team also supports @RamEvents, a channel managed by Campus Activities. Campus Activities is uniquely positioned to execute student-led events and programs by working through liaisons with multiple offices, including CSU's Cultural Resource Centers. LSC Marketing's student graphic designers collaborate with students and staff from these teams to plan print and digital campaigns for nearly 60 student-run programs each year. Our designers’ graphics and illustrations represent roughly 60% of the content on this channel. The @RamEvents content is a fresh contrast to the more uniform corporate communications typical in the university environment.

Thanks to everyone following along—we literally couldn’t do this without you.

Follow @csulsc here: https://lnkd.in/e7Y8PehY