La Sierra University’s TikTok platform lands No. 1 in followers, views

Under Meert’s guidance, the marketing department’s social media team, digital marketing manager Mark Skjerven and content coordinator and student Morgan Schmitz, conceptualize, produce, edit and post at least one TikTok video a day. They also produce video content for the university’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube platforms.

Two additional student workers, external vendors and the university’s Film & Television faculty have assisted Skjerven and Schmitz. Going forward, the social media and digital marketing team is expected to expand to nine members.

"It’s pretty surreal because it’s such a small team and I expected it to happen a lot later." -- Mark Skjerven, Digital Marketing Manager

“It’s pretty surreal because it’s such a small team and I expected it to happen a lot later,” Skjerven said of achieving nearly 3,000 TikTok followers in four months. “My six-month plan was getting to 1,000 followers at the six-month mark. So for us to be where we are now is kind of crazy.”

Schmitz researches social media trends to determine the types of videos that might work on La Sierra’s TikTok account and sometimes plans out the videos shot by shot. She gleans info on trending content through La Sierra’s accounts, her own social media and the social media platforms which she manages for her church, OC Grace Church in Garden Grove, CA.

She and Skjerven shoot, edit and post four to five videos a week. When working with an external marketing video producer recently, the duo helped produce 16 videos in one day for future posting. “That was a long day,” Skjerven said.

The best performing content usually involves Eko the university golden eagle mascot, Schmitz said. “People like to see it because we do silly, funny things with him.”

“I would say the same thing,” Skjerven added. “Simple, short and funny and relatable. If you can bring all those together in a video, then people will watch it twice. That’s our goal.”

Skjerven said that some activity on the university website can be traced to click-throughs on TikTok, showing a certain amount of impact.

“They [team] focused a lot around what students care about,” Meert said. “I call it the three Es––content that’s educational, content that is entertaining, and content that is engaging. In a perfect world we would try to fit all three into the same video and have it under 10 or 15 seconds. It’s very difficult to do, but that’s what we’re trying to do, create content that is relevant to high school students, that highlights our school. Fun, short videos on a variety of different topics.”

Future social media strategies are in the works for the coming school year, Meert said. “We’re still figuring it out as we go.”

The team’s next big goal on TikTok is to reach 10,000 followers, said Skjerven. Going forward he and Schmitz aim to create and post five to six videos a week and produce additional types of content that directly tie in academic programming including spiritual and theological themes that may involve a devotional series as well as opportunities to understand the university’s values. Eko the mascot may be used in fun ways to grab viewers’ attention. “This just continues to spread the Adventist message, which is ultimately the goal, then an encouraging word, tie it into a verse or something like that,” Schmitz said.

"It’s important for our churches to at least understand how to use social media and how to follow trends." -- Morgan Schmitz, Content Coordinator, theology major

Meert is a 2003 MBA graduate of the university's business school, now the Zapara School of Business. He has a background in the entertainment industry and entrepreneurship. In 2012, he was honored with an alumni weekend Rising Star award from the business school. He is the founder of AdvertiseMint.com, a leading Facebook advertising agency and the best-selling author of the complete guide to Facebook advertising. 

Skjerven has worked at La Sierra for a little over a year. He arrived in the marketing office seven months ago from La Sierra’s Information Technology department. He holds a degree in marketing and management from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

Schmitz is a theology major in La Sierra’s H.M.S. Richards Divinity School with plans to go into pastoral ministry. “I’d like to ideally work with a lot of youth, and the reality is social media is such a big part of their lives,” Schmitz said. “So I think it’s important for our churches to hop on that and at least understand how to use social media and how to follow trends and things like that with an Adventist mindset. And that would help spread the message, which is the most important thing, and connect with kids which is also important.”

The social media team’s videos also feature many La Sierra students whose appearances bring them a taste of celebrity status.

Ivan Diaz, a senior history major, participated in a TikTok video themed ‘guess my major.’

“My peers around campus recognized me more frequently as, ‘that guy on Instagram/TikTok,’” he said. “A frequent comment was, ‘Hey you’re that guy!’ It was a lot of fun to have people approach or recognize me because it gave me opportunities to ask them about themselves.”

Diaz was elected during spring quarter to serve as next school year’s student association president. He has interests in teaching middle school or high school. “I know that I am being called by God to teach, and I’m going to fulfill that calling,” he said.  

“I’ve met a lot of the students, and I think the future leaders of America are all at La Sierra right now.” -- Brian Meert, Interim Vice President of Marketing

“I’ve met a lot of the students, and I think the future leaders of America, the future business leaders, the future top medical professionals, the future best teachers are all at La Sierra right now,” Meert said. “The potential looks very bright. The best students are coming here.”

To access La Sierra University’s TikTok and other accounts, visit www.lasierra.edu and click the icons at the top of the homepage.