#TransformationTuesday of sophomore Marné Gallant
Led by Sports Information Director Jim Caton, the Bowdoin College Athletics program has seen big gains in social media engagement after starting an Instagram account and adding students to its team this fall.
A GoUBears Instagram account was established in September and has already grown to more than 700 followers. Senior athletes Megan Phelps and Pam Herter also joined the social media team and are infusing new ideas into the program. “Megan and Pam have been encouraged to take charge of social media and try new approaches, such as using creative hashtags while live tweeting to make it more engaging, and snapping behind-the-scenes photos,” says Jim.
Successful endeavors this fall include live tweeting at select home games, most notably at the very popular Colby-Bowdoin hockey game, and creating Game Day photos for Instagram. Jim reports that students have told him they decided to attend a game solely because of the Game Day photos they saw on the GoUBears Instagram account.
Another student, Maddie Baird ’15, suggested an innovative idea called #TransformationTuesday, in which an athlete’s childhood photo is juxtaposed with a current photo of him or her in uniform. These images have been particularly popular on Instagram.
Use of the popular #GoUBears hashtag has also been convenient for aggregating tweets and photos from enthusiast fans at games, resulting in this Storify compiled by the Digital and Social Media team after a big weekend of sports in November.
The GoUBears social media team stand out as an excellent example of how increased social media presence can get the Bowdoin community excited and engaged. Go U Bears!