How do we tell our stories of community engagement at UBC, and why are they important?
There are amazing stories of community engagement in each faculty, service unit and project initiative. To frame community engagement as a strategic priority, there is value in acknowledging the existing engagement activity, the stories of these activities, the opportunities and challenges they face and the impact of these initiatives with both internal and external communities.
I work in the Prospective Student Marketing, Communications and Social Media Team at UBC and a little while ago developed the hashtag #UBCstory.
Here are some examples of how we have captured UBC stories across Twitter:
What’s your #UBCstory? Jen Hinze balanced volleyball championships w/ a science degree & has big plans http://ow.ly/4VXQf
Check out the original 1914 plan of the #UBC Vancouver campus http://ow.ly/528qG #UBCstory
A new chapter in the museum’s #UBCstory 🙂 RT @UBC_Arts: The People’s #Museum: The Transformation of @MOA_UBC http://goo.gl/9vPqf
If we all use this hashtag we’ll be curating a collection of UBC’s stories and by searching #UBCstory you can explore and discover what it means to be a part of the UBC community.
#UBCstory helps to:
• Connect tweets from UBC Twitter accounts, making this story resource searchable.
• Highlight and build awareness around what historically makes UBC unique.
• Give the UBC community a common hashtag people can use with affection and pride.
A #UBCstory is about a person’s and the university’s experience. You define what you consider to be a #UBCstory and may want to encourage your followers on Twitter to interpret it how they wish.
@timmywong11: @youbc my #UBCStory starts with Orientations as a 1st year, and I’ve been volunteering with them for all 4 years that Ive been at #ubc
@RoryJMGreen: @youbc BA in poli sci, rec football and student gov’t, now great career and lots of alumni volunteering #UBCstory
@ubc_arts: @moa_ubc maven Carol Mayer recognized by President’s office http://goo.gl/jiTGj #UBCstory
Help spread UBC’s stories through this hashtag. Happy tweeting 🙂
Blurbs in skytrain stations/skytrain – how UBC makes a difference in the community. Use pictures/stories. Have partners featured.