Connect and Create with Andrew Cassel
When he’s not working behind the scenes for local theatre productions, sampling craft beers, or making GIFs, Andrew Cassel is the social media content strategist behind the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s intensely engaging social media accounts. He approaches his work with an unparalleled enthusiasm that is absolutely contagious. I recently asked him about how he manages his day-to-day work in the world of higher ed social media.
Name: Andrew Cassel
Twitter Handle: @andrewbcassel
School: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Job Title: Social Content Strategist
Department Housed: University Relations
Current mobile device: Personal iPhone X Work iPhone 8+
Current computer: content creation: 2013 Mac Pro, workhorse: iMac 27’ 2017 (dual monitors) laptop: MacBook Air 13” 2013
In 280 characters or less, describe your social media marketing philosophy.
Share delightful content that helps reach the measurable goals set by my supervisor and department head. I want the social media platforms I admin to feel friendly for those who engage with the content. Users should find the content I share interesting and useful.
What’s your social media pet peeve?
Posts that start with a question. “Did you know…” is the WORST
Other than your phone or laptop, what’s the one social media management tool you can’t possibly live without?
A second phone. Imagination is the real answer. Thinking of new ways to share evergreen content, embracing those ideas that come at midnight, keeping an open mind as to what social media “is” and can be.
What’s your favorite social network and why?
Facebook is my favorite for work. Seeing students react to themselves being on there is very rewarding. It’s also a favorite because I can post content there that people send me randomly and I know that it will just sink into the depths of the algorithm but I can tell the sender that I shared it and keep those lines of communication working for when I need them.
Personally I enjoy Instagram the most.
Of all the posts you’ve made on behalf of your school which one are you most proud of?
Ultimately I think the one I am most proud of is the first post I ever made. Just having a job as a professional social media manager in 2011 was an amazing opportunity. This isn’t the first post - that was a few weeks earlier. But this was during my first month.
What brands/organizations do you think are doing well on social media or who do you follow for social media inspiration?
NASA is amazing. Real science, a broad selection of accounts, images and videos. Tons of content from decades of work that they curate. Great stuff.
What does your workspace look like?
Cassel’s four screen social media command center. You can check out the study/focus playlist on the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s Spotify channel here.
What’s on your phone’s homescreen?
Cassel keeps it minimal with low distraction home screen with apps neatly sorted into connect, create, and consume categories.
What’s in your everyday carry? What items do you keep in your bag at times that you just can’t live without?
A light everyday carry with a external hard drive, earbuds, mouse, and note book; all the basic needs covered.
What are you reading and/or listening to? Do you have any book or podcast recommendations for other social media managers?
When I need a moment of inspiration I always reach back and give a listen/read to Marshall McLuhan. His ideas for communicating in the digital age are the perfect way to reboot a brain that’s deep down in metrics and best practices.
Do you have any higher ed social media managers that you would like to see interviewed here? Let us know! Please leave a comment or send an email to jsstansel@gmail.com