The fraternity brothers of Delta Sigma Phi (Beta Mu chapter) at Transylvania University produced this viral video, “just for fun.” But it was also a great way to showcase their organization and prepare for recruitment. They received wide press coverage (example, example) and appeared on a local news station to explain their goals and process. Views of the video have reached over 2 million and counting.
UPDATE: Since I wrote this, Universal Music Group decided to assert their copyright and have the video taken down because of its inclusion of the Taylor Swift song. I thought the music industry had moved past this and recognized these types of videos as free advertising. YouTube allows copyright holders to monetize videos like this through ads that pay out directly to the copyright holders. I guess the music industry still hasn’t learned. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. SO the second video below is the fraternity brothers minus the sound. If you want to, you can use this link to the Taylor Swift song to play it in the background. You should start it right after the guy takes the pills.
The video resulted in Taylor Swift herself inviting the brothers to one of her shows:
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/510518853412343808
The university also utilized their student’s viral success in their admissions efforts, highlighting the creativity and community amongst their students:
And it has garnered the attention of others:
Perhaps best of all, it allowed the fraternity to showcase its values and demonstrate the positive effects greek involvement has on its students.
Social media efforts by colleges and universities don’t need to just come from the university’s press office or departments and offices, but can come from the students themselves. In fact, sometimes these student-driven efforts are even more successful because they tend to be more raw and genuine, something privileged in the online space. How can you encourage your students and student organizations to engage in the same way?
This is a post from my ongoing effort to highlight interesting examples of social media efforts by colleges and universities every Monday. Check out past examples here. Have an example to share? Tweet me.
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