Part of Audrey Hoffman’s job at Alvernia University in Reading is running the college’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. And she noticed a problem: Social media seemed to be a way for the university to push information out into the community, not a tool for dialogue and engagement.
Alvernia found a possible solution in a social media scavenger hunt, adapted from a similar first-of-its-kind event Texas A&M University held in January. Alvernia’s scavenger hunt is set for April 27, chosen because many students at the Catholic college take classes on Wednesdays and the day falls between Easter break and final exams. That day, the college will send clues about eight campus locations on Facebook and Twitter — four in the morning and four in the afternoon. Students can then check in from those locations on Facebook from their smartphones or from laptop computers set up at the correct places. The first few to show up at the locations referred to in the clues will get prizes like T-shirts, gift cards to local restaurants and merchandise from the university bookstore.
Hoffman, marketing coordinator at Alvernia, says students seem pretty excited about the upcoming scavenger hunt. While this event is limited to the college’s 2,900 students, similar scavenger hunts might be opened up to alumni and prospective students who’ve already received acceptance letters from the admissions office.
Source: Audrey Hoffman, Alvernia University
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen