INDIANA SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

INDIANA SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

As the Social Media Director of Indiana Science Olympiad I was tasked with finding engaging ways to cover academic events. My claim to fame in this role was a social media strategy framework that would grow into becoming the national strategy for the entire organization of Science Olympiad that is still utilized today.

I identified the key content pillars for their social platforms would be, live event coverage, creating native ways to engage the students, teachers and parents in communal story telling, asset management to archive events for reference and academic purposes, and general event communications.

Here It is in Black & White

Stats & Results

STATS & RESULTS

  • Integrated Social Media Management Software into the Olympiad’s first social channels

  • Established monthly digital media content calendars to track to event coverage through 10 Universities, 7 High Schools and Middle Schools

STATS & RESULTS

  • Executed and Produced all Digital Media graphics and content

  • Hired freelance help to cover events, shoot photography, etc

  • Managed over 51 individual events

STATS & RESULTS

  • Curated Sponsorship Relationships resulting in $10,000 in raised funds

  • Exceeded all KPIs set forth YOY for 3 consecutive years

  • Averaged 65.44% organic engagement across all platforms consistently

Contextualizing Indiana Science Olympiad:

Science Olympiad is a team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science. Over 7,800 middle and high school teams compete annually. These are rigid, serious, and intense minds at work. They will get to Nationals. It is quite literally, the science Olympics for students.

When I was growing up, Indiana was routinely in the top ten competitors. From when I was in school to when I started to work for the organization many years later that remained true. The biggest job I had under this role was to build a frame work around the passion and determination of these students. I wanted to create a means for sponsors and scholarships to find these students, and present them with any and all opportunity for furthering their education. Through creating engaging social content we activated community that was not there before and achieved this goal.

How to Make Education Engaging

    • There was a network to connect with in this organization that could benefit everybody

    • Only a former competitor could tell this story and connect the dots

    • Use social media to become more visible

    • Needed to focus on results that fostered community

    • Organic Reach and Engagement were primary KPIs to track for this goal

    • Maintaining organic engagement at 65% YOY across all platforms. Growing the reach of event communications and affecting attendance

    • Consulted with partner universities such as The University of Michigan per their request branch to instill consistent social practices

    • Creating style guide, obtaining account handles and integrating SMM Software

Attracting a Sponsor

    • Identified and Secured large sponsorship client for IN Science Olympiad

    • Account Managed this Sponsor, through providing relevant assets, analytics, and timelines.

    • Created photo opportunities, events, and social coverage that recognized their contributions.

    • Sponsor contributed ~$350,000 in grants that supported programming and supplies

    • Sponsor contributed volunteer staff for many events, contributing to students education

    • Sponsor provided access to mentors for students in their related fields

  • "I would recommend working with a Science Olympiad team to any ArcelorMittal employee… It's a chance to get the next generation excited about career options in STEM and introduce them to how it can relate to steelmaking."
    Bill Dalzotto, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor Senior Division Manager.

Philosophy of Producing

    • Understand your event’s purpose and build how to engage with content around that

    • Engagement comes from a place of earnestness, foster an environment that feels authentic

    • Capture content through organic moments that are built into the event

    • Feature content through communal story telling features on SnapChat

    • Highlighting accomplishments in produced graphics on Instagram

    • Commenting on the X platform and holding polls to take in feedback

    • Hosting Live streaming for award ceremonies

    • Always snapping photos, so the students always see themselves

  • One of the greatest signs of success in this philosophy was the live stream attendance during an Award Ceremony at the Indiana State Tournament. The biggest event of the year. A majority of our online audience was present at the physical award ceremony. Our live stream had over 3,000 more people tuned in on top of that. That means, not only were the people we talk to all paying attention, other people we hadn’t been talking to were watching as well

State Tournaments

  • I created posting strategies that could facilitate over 80 teams. This included extensive shot lists, live posting, and streaming video.

  • I executed both strategy and content creation for this event. All assets on this page were captured and created by myself.

In-Season Events?

  • To facilitate content that covers the tournaments through the year I created a content pillar strategy to both highlight the schools hosting events, as well as tracking the competitive arm of these tournaments and the people within them.

  • This strategy was relevant to these schools social presence because the community is keeping track of these competitive tournaments with or with out social media. Prior to my work with these schools there was no modern way to engage with this competition.

Warnings and Serious

  • Filling the role of External Crisis Communicator, I wrote all press releases and managed all time sensitive communications around the event, being on call to answer any questions and comments across all social channels. I also executed all graphics relevant to communicating these points.