By Kimmi Sterner and Nazifa Islam

As you all know, we live in a world of constant updates, easily-accessible entertainment, and simple communication. Thanks to the internet and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so many NIRSA’s members are able to take the momentum from the Annual Conference to stay connected throughout the year. The NIRSA Student Leadership Team and your team at NIRSA Headquarters are aware of how great a tool social media can be. So we’re ready to go all-in using social media as a way for attendees to stay updated and involved at the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Expo taking place in Grapevine, Texas in just a few days!

NIRSA Student Leadership Team

The NIRSA SLT has Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts that they use regularly to engage with student members, and which are definitely going to be active at NIRSA 2015. Plan on getting involved with the SLT once you’re onsite at the Gaylord Texan—we’ll help take your conference experience to the next level!

First off, keep a lookout for two SLT-sponsored social media challenges per day! Challenges present students with multiple networking and learning experiences, and prizes will be given out in the Student Lounge. If you participate in every challenge, you’ll be entered for a chance to win the Grand Prize! And make sure you don’t miss the Student Member Network Connection Meeting on Tuesday, March 31 from 10:50am-11:50am. A social media challenge will take place during the meeting, and participating students could be selected to join NIRSA President Laurie Braden in her Presidential Suite for Take a Student to Lunch right afterwards!

Additionally, we will be holding an interactive poll using Polls Everywhere to give you all a chance to contribute to the advancement of our Association. Also, any questions you have during the Annual Conference can be directed right to our Twitter account. The SLT will do everything in our power to get you answers. So stay happy, stay connected, and we look forward to seeing you in Grapevine!

NIRSA Headquarters

The NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Expo is the Association’s paramount annual event and as such it will have a constant presence on the NIRSA Facebook page and the @NIRSAlive Twitter handle. The #NIRSA2015 hashtag has been used extensively over the past year on both Facebook and Twitter to indicate Annual Conference news and updates, and it will be in heavy use by NIRSA HQ staff next week in Grapevine. We would like to encourage NIRSA members to use the #NIRSA2015 hashtag as well to join in on the conversation and keep up with all the Annual Conference action!

Take to Twitter or Instagram—you can find the Association’s brand new Instagram account at @nirsalive—to share your conference experiences, photos, and any words of wisdom you gather in Texas! Our Facebook page will have up-to-date news and photos from #NIRSA2015, and you can always send us a Facebook message if you have any questions or concerns. Also, if you feel like showing your Facebook friends how excited you are about NIRSA 2015, you can now download a suite of Facebook cover graphics for your profile page—or for your rec center’s profile page.

Consider tagging @nirsalive in your Annual Conference photos on Instagram and adding #NIRSA2015 to your captions. On Twitter, include @NIRSAlive in your tweets for a chance to be retweeted—or to get in touch with a question—and make sure to add #NIRSA2015 to your tweet to be a part of the Annual Conference conversation. Follow @NIRSAlive, @NIRSAFoundation, and @NIRSAStudents for the latest Twitter updates from the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Expo.

Social media is a great way to engage with other NIRSA members and further your professional network, so don’t hesitate to make engaging, savvy, and responsible use of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram while in Grapevine!

 

For more information about NIRSA’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts, please contact NIRSA Communications Specialist Nazifa Islam.