With Fresno State students as connected as ever to social media and each other, the university has jumped on the bandwagon in many ways.

Dr. Tamyra Pierce, director of social media and integrated marketing said that social media is a marketing tool for Fresno State. It helps the school stay connected with alumni, students and the community.

“We have specific goals that we try to accomplish, but from a broad sense our goals include recruitment, retention and development,” Pierce said. “We want to help our campus community have school spirit and instill a sense of school pride.”

In order to build that pride in their alma mater as well as an eagerness to give back to the university, Fresno State also wants to keep in touch with alumni, Pierce said. It’s an opportunity for alumni to give current students an even better opportunity through scholarships and programs, she said.

Many university departments have established their own social media presences in addition to the official Fresno State accounts. Pierce is responsible for the university’s social media, but she also works with individual departments to help them learn how to have an effective social media presence.

Pierce said that students and their parents now use social media to help choose where students attend college””therefore, it is important that each individual department have a strong presence.

Steve Nasse, from the agricultural business department, said his division was encouraged to set up social media sites and received advice from Pierce.

“It’s hard to keep in touch with students. We do email, but students don’t always check their emails,” Nasse said.

One thing is clear to Nasse: Students do check their Facebook every day.

“It is just one more way to try to bring things to our students’ attention,” Nasse said.

Margarita Kalacheea, student assistant for the agriculture department, began working on its social media platforms last December.

“I think that it is really just to reach out to students and let them know about events that are going on,” Kalacheea said. “Sometimes we will just post a random question. It doesn’t have to be related to any events, but just to kind of get everyone involved and close together.

“Our department Facebook is more focused because you have the Fresno State Facebook, but that’s for all students. And if you are an ag business major, maybe it is hard to find posts that are related to you and your major. So it’s a bit more focused with things going on within our department,” Kalacheea said.
One department has not jumped on the social media bandwagon, though.

Dr. David L. Schecter, chair of the political science department, said that most social media seems like more trouble than it is worth.

“Don’t we all have information overload as it is?” Schecter said.

Political science reaches its students though email, one-on-one discussions and advising.

“We hope our majors check their email regularly, and, in exchange, we try never to spam them or overload their inbox with drivel,” Schecter said.