School of Business’s Social Media Success Story
At the Ithaca College School of Business, we often talk with our students about the power of data-driven decision-making. Over the past year, we turned that philosophy inward and experimented with LinkedIn as a platform for alumni engagement, institutional storytelling and student learning. What began as a conversation quickly became a school-wide effort that has transformed our digital presence.
What made this project special is the way it blurred the lines between classroom learning and professional practice. Students in our social media team served as content creators and strategists. They designed campaigns, tracked performance metrics and collaborated with faculty and administrators to align messaging with institutional priorities.
Inspired by IC’s mission of “theory, practice, and performance” and its core value of academic excellence, for example, we launched a video series called “Pursuing Excellence” to showcase the achievements of students, faculty and clubs. There was never a shortage of successes to highlight, and content was sourced from all across the School of Business.
As the faculty advisor who initiated this endeavor, my role was to guide, mentor and ensure that students applied their business, technical and analytical skills in meaningful and impactful ways.
3,000 Followers and Beyond
When we started in October 2024, the School of Business’s LinkedIn page was quiet, with about 450 followers and very little activity. Today, we have about 3,000 followers. This growth was not accidental. It was the result of deliberate strategy, consistent content creation and the active involvement of students, faculty, alumni and staff. The School of Business now outperforms several peer institutions on the platform in terms of engagement and visibility.
Of course, follower counts tell part of the story; but what mattered most were the connections we built. Alumni began to reengage with the school through LinkedIn polls, event announcements and messages. Faculty gained a platform to highlight their research and community involvement. Students discovered how professional storytelling could shape career opportunities and institutional identity. And the School of Business benefited from a tool that supported recruitment, fundraising and broader visibility within the IC community and beyond.
The journey was not without challenges. Early on, we struggled with inactive posts and low engagement rates. The solution was to experiment with different content and formats — moving from static photos to reels and videos and coordinating across multiple platforms. We also learned the value of synchronization: aligning LinkedIn content with Instagram for campaigns and major events like Giving Day that created momentum and consistency.
Lessons for Higher Education
Why does this matter beyond the School of Business and IC? Because it shows what happens when social media is treated as a laboratory for student learning and institutional innovation. Many colleges and universities and some schools on our campus face the challenge of building digital communities. Our experience demonstrated that a student-centered, faculty-led approach can achieve that goal while giving students real-world skills in analytics, communication and leadership.
Looking ahead, we are excited to continue this work with new directions under the guidance of the School of Business’s incoming social media advisor, while keeping students at the center of the effort.
At the School of Business, LinkedIn has become more than a social media platform. It is a bridge between the classroom and the world, between students, alumni and professionals. And if you are reading this, there is a good chance you might already be one of our followers. We are grateful for your support in helping us grow this community. That is a success story worth sharing.
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge and thank our student team for their invaluable contributions to this project. Senior Elle Wilcox, who served as content creator and strategist; senior Brendan Occhino, who led the analytics; and Cole Doyon ’25, who managed Instagram posts.
