How Student Creators Fuel Boston University's Social Presence

How Student Creators Fuel Boston University's Social Presence

Author: Convince & Convert February 9, 2024 Duration: 30:28
Social Pros Podcast
BusinessMarketing

If you want to showcase the experience of being a student, who better to ask than the students themselves? We shine the spotlight on Boston University's student creator program with Director of Social Media, Dave McDonald. Much like with user-generated content, student creators bring authenticity, creativity, and expert knowledge to their audience. 

Full Episode Details  

Dave McDonald, Boston University's Director of Social Media, joins Social Pros to talk about his Terrier Creator Program - a program for student social media creators to produce content about student life.  

The program has been a huge success since its launch. BU's social media content is fresh, engaging, and highly targeted to its audience because student creators have in-depth knowledge of what the target audience wants to see and engage with.  

Dave explains how the program operates, his approach to coaching students, and why he prefers to let the students flex their creativity rather than restrict them with formal creative briefs. Dave also speaks about the importance of following trends, optimizing content for platforms, reporting on metrics, and ensuring creators always have the chance to bring new ideas to the table. 

In This Episode: 

  • 1:22 - Dave explains his day-to-day responsibilities and the programs he runs
  • 2:31 - How Boston University builds its international social presence
  • 4:25 - Why reporting is so critical for Boston University's social push
  • 5:30 - What the Terrier Creator Program involves
  • 8:42 - How the program optimizes content creation for each platform
  • 10:07 - Why the program is open to new ideas from student creators
  • 13:04 - How student creators highlight the student experience on social
  • 14:09 - How Dave coaches student creators and other university departments
  • 16:26 - The art of the pivot – how Dave coaches people through campaign pivots
  • 17:45 - The importance of testing new ideas and jumping on trends
  • 19:01 - How Dave balances the creator program with scheduled social content
  • 20:30 - Why student creators don't get strict creative briefs
  • 23:03 - Dave's advice on working with student content
  • 24:27 - Dave shares some standout content stories
  • 25:57 - What's next for Dave's team
  • 28:59 - Dave's top tip for becoming a social pro

Resources 

Visit SocialPros.com for more insights from your favorite social media marketers. 


For years, Social Pros Podcast has served as an essential meeting point for those who do the real work in digital marketing. Created by Convince & Convert, this isn't a theoretical discussion; it's a deep dive into the practical realities of managing social media within larger business ecosystems. The conversations here consistently explore how platforms intersect with brand strategy, content creation, public relations, and paid media, moving beyond hype to examine measurable impact. You'll hear directly from the people behind the profiles at major organizations like Google, Reddit, Uber, and Oracle, gaining insight into their successes and the challenges they navigate daily. The longevity of this podcast is a testament to its value, offering a accumulated wealth of knowledge from hundreds of candid interviews and expert commentaries. Each episode functions like a focused case study, breaking down the "how" and "why" behind decisions that drive genuine business results. If you're looking to understand the evolving role of social media beyond the latest trend, this series provides a grounded, insider perspective that has educated a generation of marketing professionals. Tune in to hear the actual pros discuss the work that rarely makes it into a polished tweet or case study.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Official website RSS
instagramlinkedinspotify
Social Pros Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Building Ideal Customer Profiles for Social Media Success [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:45
A marketing strategy can be full of great, inventive ideas but unless it's targeted at the right people, you could be flying blind. But how do you narrow down and identify your target market? Katie Robbert, CEO of Trust…
A Social Pros Special: Looking At Q4 and 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:27
What is exciting about social right now, and what are the things that bug you the most? This special episode of Social Pros gathers together Convince & Convert experts to talk about their shared frustrations with social,…
An AI Storytelling Masterclass with Mike Allton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:57
Can AI help us to become better storytellers? Your immediate thought might be no, of course not! But while an AI tool won't craft a compelling narrative out of nowhere, it can help us to become better at our jobs by savi…
How Quizlet Turns Fans into Friends on Social [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:26
When people head to social media, usually the last thing on their minds is studying. But Quizlet, the widely popular learning platform, has managed to build an impressive social media presence that engages learners aroun…
How Uber Turns Cultural Moments into Social Success [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:47
What does it take to manage social media for a global brand like Uber? We hear the secrets to their social success in this episode with N'Yaisha Aziz, the Global Social Media Lead at Uber, who takes us through Uber's str…
[Bonus] How Marketing Can Lead the Way with Data [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:42
Data-Driven Decisions is a new limited-series marketing podcast presented by Convince & Convert and shared with our Social Pros listeners. What happens when marketing truly takes the driver's seat with data and insights?…
How to Learn from Trend-Signals & Social-First Content [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:47
Leaning into social-first content can help you connect to the trends that your audience is already engaged with. The key to great social-first content? Being a content consumer yourself, says our guest this week, Byron S…
[Bonus] How Marketers Can Use Buyer Intent Data [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:00
Data-Driven Decisions is a new limited-series marketing podcast presented by Convince & Convert and shared with our Social Pros listeners. Data is being used more and more to help businesses make the best decisions, in p…

«12345678...10»