Clicking with student diners on social media

Whenever a Boston University student has a question, concern or witty comment for @BUDiningService, there usually is a quick response from Robert Flynn, the dining department’s new-media coordinator. As the voice behind Aramark’s first C&U social media account, Flynn culls advice from his nearly 6,000 followers on how dining services can speak to students on their level. Here’s what he’s learned by sending 19,000 tweets—and counting.

Q: Why reach out to the students for social media advice?

A: We realized that we needed to capture them and communicate and engage with them faster and on their level. A lot of students that I saw had a lot of followers and were very active on Twitter. So I reached out to them. I would meet with them and buy them coffee, and I would ask for advice [on how they used social media].

Q: What are some of the ways you learned to communicate on their level?

A: I wanted to find out more than just social media tips; I wanted to find out what the students were into. I would ask about what are the students doing as far as, “Do you think that the students are going to be watching this TV show?” or “Do you think that the students will be watching this movie?” I knew that every Thursday, the students were watching “Jersey Shore.” So I started watching it and I would tweet along with “Jersey Shore” on Thursday nights. I would make little comments about Ronnie’s or Sammi’s big hair, and having issues fitting it into a hairnet. That started to garner some attention.

Q: What are some of the differences in the way you interact with each social-media platform?

A: We have to think about, how are we using this [specific platform]? We don’t just want to get on it to say that we’re on and then not do anything. It’s important to know your audience. See what they are doing first. If they aren’t using Twitter, don’t use Twitter. Use whatever they are using. It comes back to letting the students dictate. 

Facebook we use to promote specials and post menus. We use Twitter for customer-service issues and to engage and have a conversation with the students. We use YouTube to promote our videos to show what fun events we’ve done. Instagram we use a lot for catering and any kind of special functions. The convenience of Instagram helps; we have a lot of catering staff that will assist with posting pictures.