Christian Gladney with his lint roller microphone.
Christian Gladney with his lint roller microphone.
The LSU Office of Communications and University Relations has been collaborating with student interns in creating TikTok content that showcases campus life and sporting events and providing viewers beyond Baton Rouge with a look at LSU life.
Mass communication freshman Christian Gladney is a social media intern at LSU that focuses on the TikTok account. One of his most recent videos asking students to respond to questions with only one word gained, over 37,000 views.
Gladney said the idea for the one-word interview came from his love for interviews themselves. He said he believes the one-word spin gives it a sense of uniqueness.
“It’s not just a regular interview. It makes it more fun, genuine and original,” he said.
When coming up with questions, he made it a point to make sure they were not usually meant to be answered in one word so the responses wouldn’t be dull and made room for funnier answers.
“I thought it was kind of goofy at first, but once I started coming up with the questions and asking people around me to answer in one word, I thought it would be good for my introductory video,” Gladney said.
Gladney said some of his favorite answers to his questions were “ok” in response to “How is your day going on a scale of one to 10? ” and “Mike” in response to, “What is the most overrated thing you can think of?”
Since his introductory video, Gladney has directed and produced others, such as one on study groups and another inspired by the new movie “Smile.”
“Every content creator will be different, and everybody has a different perspective on what is entertaining and funny,” he said.
Gladney said showcasing his side of comedy and humor while keeping it adjacent to the university is what makes the job enjoyable to him. He also enjoys the creative freedom he has.
Business administration graduate student Lindsay Horridge is also a social media intern for the LSU Office of Communications and University Relations. She helps create content for LSU’s social media accounts, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. Most of her time is spent on the TikTok account, where she finds ideas by scrolling through her “for you page.”
“I understand that TikTok trends come and go quickly, so it is important to come up with an idea and execute it in a timely manner,” she said.
She said she finds ways to relate trending hashtags and sounds to the clips she captures of campus. Usually, she aims to produce one video per week. Overall, she has complete creative freedom as her boss lets her develop her ideas.
“He is always there to guide me along the way, and he is supportive with every idea I bring to him,” she said.
Showcasing everything LSU has to offer is one of Horridge’s favorite parts of this job. She said that work doesn’t feel like “work” to her, and she enjoys expressing her love for the university in this way.
“LSU has become my home away from home,” she said, “I hope the people watching can see that and one day experience that same feeling, too if they do not already.”
Horridge said that if someone is interested in a social media job, to think outside the box and be themselves. Going beyond your comfort zone and pushing past intimidation is something that she said is essential in all aspects of media.
“TikTok is different from all other social media platforms because it provides an opportunity to see a little bit of LSU’s personality,” said Horridge.
Jake Terry, director of social media for the LSU Office of Communications and University Relations, and his former employee, Corinne Stephens, created the LSU Tik Tok account in the spring of 2019.
He and his team manage the account, which has built a following within the LSU community since the launch. He also oversees and manages other social media accounts such as LSU’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn.
They discuss and workshop new content ideas during their weekly meetings, mainly focusing on TikTok. This process includes creating, shooting, editing and publishing ideas.
Terry said he encourages students to apply for a student assistant position for the social media team as they are still hiring on Handshake.
“Social media is a fun and challenging field to work in, and I enjoy helping students grow and gain experience from a brand management perspective,” he said.
Terry said the main goal of the TikTok account is to appeal to current and prospective students of LSU, which he said has been successful.
“We have a lot of followers, excellent engagement, and most of all, we are having fun showing off our amazing university and the students and employees who make this special place thrive,” he said.
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