8 resolutions for social media managers in 2024

Treat Gen Z like they’re anyone else

One of my pet peeves when it comes to audience psychology and social media is our tendency to talk about generations as if they’re part of some alien race that’s completely different from people in the rest of the world. In higher education, I think we’re doing that to Gen Z right now. 

It’s true that communication preferences change over the years, and social media managers need to stay on top of those trends to ensure they’re maximizing their ability to reach prospective and current students where they are. However, keep in mind that today’s teenagers and people in their early 20’s carry a lot of the same pain points and anxieties as previous generations had. The world in 2024 is complicated to navigate.  

Place your focus on providing terrific customer service and doing what you can to alleviate fears and entertain people while you’re at it. Your audiences (younger and older) will thank you. 

Make community building a priority 

One of my steadfast rules about content strategy is to never look at social media channels as a billboard, tempting as it may be. Instead of “spreading the word,” a phrase that I think is self-serving and ignores the question of whether your audience wants “the word” in their feeds, think of the information you’re presenting as a service to others … and make that information as compelling as possible to ensure that you’ll capture as many readers as possible. 

Additionally, if you look at social as a community organization tool, I think you’ll find it takes a lot of the pressure off your shoulders and allows you to approach your work in a much more organic, audience-friendly way. People use social to break up communication distances and keep up with what their friends are doing. Brands can use social in much the same way. Think about your content through the lens of what it’s doing to elevate your audience’s voices and help them discover common bonds around your school’s brand. It just works. 

Don’t give up on Twitter/X yet

Although some advertisers and big businesses have started to leave the platform, reports of Twitter/X’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

A survey from HubSpot indicated that most of the platform’s users will continue to scroll and swipe through it in 2024, though Bluesky and Threads may cut into some of that market share. Some of Musk’s changes to the platform have been a nuisance, including a shift in the way link cards are presented (Headlines and excerpts from og: tags no longer display on the platform – only the featured image with a small note in a bottom corner that details where the link directs to.)  

Still, their number of daily active users remained well over 200 million at the end of 2023. With most users checking in between the ages of 25 and 34, the platform remains a solid option for colleges and universities to connect with their young alumni and community bases through text updates, great photography and video content. Changes aside, Twitter/X’s easy-to-use interface and ability to send news and information in real time remains a key factor in the social media game. 

Reserve your handles on Bluesky and Threads

If you’re not already on them, note that I didn’t say you have to instantly use these channels, because you don’t. But just like someone who was in your seat before reserved handles on then-new platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, now is a good time to lock down the name of your university on today’s new opportunities. 

Bluesky

Created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter/X competitor Bluesky hit a key milestone in September when it hit 1 million daily active users. Users can share text posts of up to 300 characters that will display in their followers’ feeds. It’s still a small venture and the jury is out on its future, but this is a good platform to reserve, sit on and watch over the first half of 2024 to see if it takes off. 

Threads

Although Instagram’s Threads platform has seen a lukewarm response to its attempt to compete with Twitter/X, it was still projected to have almost 24 million monthly average users in the United States by the end of 2023. That’s less than half the users that Twitter/X has, but the tie to an Instagram platform that younger audiences use more often should be enough for you to pull the trigger and lock down your handle. 

Invest even more in YouTube

And now, a note about my favorite social media platform, YouTube. Getting involved with it can feel like a heavy lift due to the burden of non-videographers creating content for and curating a channel full of video content. But with its base of about 2.5 billion users, 1 billion hours of content being watched each day and placement as the top video streaming app out there, it’s worth a look to see if your college or university can get more involved. 

Still not sold? Check out these YouTube demographics data reports compiled by HubSpot. Your young alumni are there … and so is the next generation:

• Millennials trust YouTube more than any other generation. (HubSpot Blog Research) 
• 56% of Gen Z, 54% of Millennials, 48% of Gen X, and 26% of Boomers say they discover new products most often on YouTube. (HubSpot Blog Research) 
• About 377 million adults between ages 18-24 use YouTube — about 15% of YouTube’s audience. (DataReportal)  
• As of 2022, 20.2% of YouTube’s advertising audience is between 25 and 34 – the largest group – and 15.5% is between 35 and 44. (Hootsuite) 
• 85% of children ages 2-12 say they watch YouTube. (TVTech) 
• 84% of parents who use YouTube or YouTube Kids agree that YouTube makes learning more fun for their children. (Oxford Economics) 

Plus, YouTube’s content is easily repurposed and embedded into web content. The future of TV is here, and it’s in the palm of your hand. 

Do an inventory of your profiles’ details

Just as you might look ahead to spring cleaning your house, do the same for your social media channels. How’s the image quality of your profile picture? Could your cover photos use a refresh to reflect the season or something going on at your campus? Does your bio still accurately reflect the mission of your university? How about your profile links? 

These are examples of ways to win in the margins. Small improvements all work together to paint your pages in the best possible light. Putting in an hour of work to make sure everything looks as best it can is well worth the effort. 

Use your time off

One of the biggest mistakes I made in my first full-time job in this industry was rarely using any of my time off. I loved what I was doing and enjoyed coming to work. However, the downside to that is left unchecked, loving coming to work can lead to becoming addicted to the work. I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) shut down the engines and actually take care of myself. 

The result was burnout, and while navigating the pandemic in a social media manager’s role exacerbated that issue, my mental health was going to go careening off that cliff one way or another. My advice to anyone reading this: Don’t let that happen. Take a random Friday off every once in a while, take a road trip and get your mind off the content creation and community management. Those things will still be there on Monday.

Accept that bad things are going to happen

This is something I learned rather quickly. When you’re at a major college or university, you’re going to have deal with complaints and minor crises frequently. That’s just the numbers game of serving an audience in the tens of thousands. However, keep in mind that most of your students, alumni and community members are having a lovely time and enjoying the content you’re entertaining them with, so don’t lose faith either.