UGA’S Director Of Social Media Strategy & Digital Identity Jen Galas Creates Content That Resonates With Fans

1Tell us about your role as Director of Social Media Strategy & Digital Identity for the University of Georgia. What does a typical day look like for you?

In my role as the Director of Social Media Strategy and Digital Identity, I serve as the lead voice for all departmental (@UGAAthletics on Twitter and IG, @GeorgiaBulldogs on FB) social accounts.

I also develop our visual identity on digital platforms (social, email, web) and work with our sales staff to create content that can be sponsorable.

My typical day consists of planning a schedule that promotes our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and departmental initiatives through a variety of digital platforms. I also work to educate staff, student-athletes, and coaches on best practices for social.

A big part of my job is to come up with ideas to create content that fans want to see and interact with. Our job, especially now, is to deliver information in a creative way to our fans to give them a unique and interactive experience.

I also work hand-in-hand with our sales and sponsorship staff to develop content plans that can be offered to sponsors in an effort to generate additional revenue.

Ha! Far from it.

I went to school at the University of South Carolina as a PR major thinking that I was going to be the next Sam Seaborn or CJ Cregg (from The West Wing).

After a year, I realized that that probably wasn’t the best path for me. After my junior year, I realized that my scholarship ended after four years, so I needed to take some summer classes/internships in an effort to stay on a four-year plan.

I was living in Columbia, so I needed an internship locally.

I had always been interested in sports as a fan (I’m super uncoordinated and didn’t play any in high school), so when I saw an internship with the athletic department, I applied.

I completed my internship and stayed on through my junior and senior years as a student assistant. I enjoyed the fast-paced lifestyle and decided that going into sports full-time would be a good option.

At the time I worked in the sports communications office, so I set out to get a postgrad internship or job as a SID. I landed at the College of Charleston as an intern, then got a job at Elon. I made my way to Georgia when my husband got a job here.

I got out of sports for a year and hated every second of it.

I came on as a GA in the sports comm office at UGA and worked there for about 4.5 years before I moved into social full time.

I enjoyed being a SID but realized that I didn’t love it as much as I used to.

I made the promise to myself that when I stopped loving it, that I would move aside to give someone else an opportunity.

Around that same time, I was doing more and more in the social and digital space and realized that I enjoyed it so I shifted gears and moved into this role.

3As Director of Social Media Strategy & Digital Identity, you essentially speak on behalf of the University of Georgia. Through your career with UGA, how have you gone about determining and establishing the look and voice of the brand?

Establishing the look and voice for Georgia took a long time, and honestly, is constantly evolving.

Georgia is a place that is steeped in tradition, so I knew that we couldn’t go crazy.

When I hit reset on the accounts, I started as a more informative, news-like baseline.

Over the years, it has changed, and we have added more of a personality to it.

I like to say that we loosened the collar, but have undone the tie.

When deciding what to say or what something should look like, I have a unique chance to be a sports fan.

A lot of the times, I put myself in the shoes of a fan and ask, “what would I like to see?” or “what would my friend/husband/dad/mom care about?”

As simple as it sounds, being a sports fan has allowed me to create a voice that I hope resonates with our followers. I hope that they see the platform as a friend rather than a brand.

4Social and digital media can often be seen as spontaneous, but there is much more strategy and planning that goes into it! How much time do you spend planning vs. in the moment reacting? Additionally, how do you measure the success of an effort to know if you are hitting the target?

I do my best to plan for a ton of different things, but also leave room to be flexible.

For instance, I don’t want to miss out on a chance to do something spontaneous because I have something else planned. It can be difficult to build in flexibility, but it’s important to have that leeway.

I have a basic guide to what my month/week will look like, but often to schedule posts until the day of to make room for breaking news, etc.

In-game, we have a set list of things that have to get done, but a lot of the reactions are done in the moment.