Meeting your students where they are: How social media can help
Bartley Sides, Associate Director of College Counseling at Christ Church Episcopal School

Working with teenagers means being up-to-date with social media trends that have caught their attention. From TikTok dances to meme trends, finding ways to meet students where they are is a great way to showcase a school’s college counseling program while also having fun with colleagues. 

Bartley Sides, Associate Director of College Counseling at Christ Church Episcopal School (CCES), has found the fun in teenage trends through their office Instagram account. See our Q + A with Bartley below:

How do you decide which trending memes or cultural moments to incorporate into your content?
Honestly, it’s usually a spur-of-the-moment decision. Our options are sometimes limited by what’s school-appropriate, so if a meme, song, or trend checks that box and it’s timely, that’s a win-win. We also miss moments here and there because we’re caught up in other parts of our job - and that’s okay! We focus on having fun with the ones that fit naturally. 

What’s your team's creative process like—from idea to posting a finished Reel?
Ideas pop up at random times, and if someone brings one forward, we usually run with it. Our motto is: “If it’s taking too long to plan or film, it’s probably not that good.” We’ve scrapped plenty of ideas for being too complicated, and that’s always been the right call. We’re a fairly theatrical bunch and not afraid to be silly, which helps make us more relatable (and human!) to our students. 

What tools or techniques help you keep your content fresh?
We’ll admit it: we spend way too much time scrolling through Instagram. The platform does a great job suggesting trending sounds and similar content, which helps keep ideas flowing. We also look to other college counseling offices for inspiration (shoutout to Baylor School!). And any time we feature current students or recent alums, engagement skyrockets - students love seeing themselves and their peers. 

How do you measure whether something resonates with your teen audience?
We’re often surprised by what takes off. This fall, we had alumni film short videos promoting college visits - one reel hit nearly 54,000 views, another over 37,000. At one point, our account saw almost 180,000 views in 30 days! We also post strategically: since our school is phone-free, students don’t scroll until after dismissal. Posting during school hours hurts engagement thanks to Instagram’s algorithm. (It also helps me to have a middle-schooler at home to keep us humble and in the loop!)

What advice would you give to other college counseling offices trying to use humor effectively without feeling forced or out of touch? 
Just try! Being a little out of touch can actually be funny. That said, keep videos short and valuable. Long, serious messages don’t belong on social media. Approach your office’s content like a college essay: if you’re funny, be funny, but don’t force it. Be authentic and post what serves your community well. Our mix of humor, information, and heart has resonated with students, parents, and alumni, but if it didn’t, we’d pivot and try again. Use trends to your advantage, experiment freely, and most importantly - have fun with it!