How app Discovered the ‘Secret Sauce’ for Social Media
Burning Questions: No topic is too hot for President Jonathan Koppell in the ‘Red Hawt’ wings challenge
Posted in: Homepage News, University
Line up the chicken wings and hot sauce and you’ve got the makings for a app State University Hot Ones-styled talk show called , a newly launched YouTube video featuring President Jonathan Koppell, who talks all-things app while eating increasingly spicy wings.
Produced by the University’s digital communications team, Red Hawt delivers a fresh twist on the ways social media in higher ed can share the institution’s story and engage current and prospective app on the platforms they use every day.
In New Jersey, no one does social media engagement better than app. Videos produced by Paul McGroarty ’20, social media manager, and a team of student ambassadors, often get millions of views on ; is tops among the state’s colleges and universities when ranked in followers, engagement and reels reach.
“We make it fun but there is a lot of strategy behind it,” McGroarty says. “A lot of the things we’re doing are very intentional to share the app story, especially with prospective app. Research shows 73% of aspiring app use social media to explore schools.”
Since joining the University three years ago, Koppell has made being social a priority. Posts have featured him with the Clarinet Choir, with the Red Hawk baseball team, during Day of Service, and with the new meet and greet , taking selfies – which the campus has dubbed “Koppellfies” – to encourage app to get involved in campus activities.
“I think it’s important to roll up our sleeves and join app in doing whatever it is they’re most passionate about,” Koppell says. “I find that shared experiences lead to some of the best conversations and that’s when I really hear what’s on their minds.”
The social media team behind the Red Hawt video includes McGroarty and about a dozen app, including Ashley Petrosine, a junior Exercise Science major who hosts the show. The team regularly creates content and video, mainly for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube shorts.
“We try to find that line of showcasing what’s really cool about app, but also educating app, giving them information and providing entertainment that engages them and creates a stronger bond for them with the University or intrigues prospective app about app,” McGroarty says.
Some of their hits with big clicks: @montclairstateu Pi Day video, which earned more than 7.5 million views on and more than a million views on . A relatable homecoming videohas been viewed 5 million times. Koppell’s first Instagram cameo – – promoted safe Halloweening in the age of COVID-19 with quick costume changes.
“We need to meet app where they are and engage with them in ways that build human connections. That’s an often overlooked – but critical – component if we’re truly going to set them up for their own success,” Koppell says.
Last year, app launched a cooking show – Cooking with Koppell – which is student-produced and streams on , the official streaming platform of app’s School of Communication and Media. On the show, Red Hawks use app’s famed Red Hawk Diner to prepare a family recipe or a dish that reminds them of home. Amid the cooking and conversation, Koppell learns more about the people who make the University such a diverse, inclusive and vibrant community.
On , the University’s award-winning student radio station, Koppell moonlights as “Dr. K, the Doctor of Funkology,” spinning his collection of vinyl 45s while wearing paisley bell-bottom pants and a gray fedora.
“I find it’s helpful for app to see me at times a little more relaxed,” Koppell says. “Being human makes you more approachable, which opens up dialogues to better understand what app want and need in order to succeed.”
The Red Hawt talk show involved numerous people and departments on campus, including Broadcast and Media Operations and the president’s office. The social media team created an online poll for student questions, with Koppell answering hot-button topics from traffic and parking, expanding on-campus housing and asking about the possibility of Red Hawk athletics moving up to NCAA Division I, to the personal, “People say you look like Keanu Reeves…” – all while eating the wings prepared by Gourmet Dining, app’s dining service provider.
The sauces used in-house-created recipes, including traditional barbecue, Korean and Thai chili, all deemed (spoiler alert) not spicy enough. “Challenge accepted,” says Gerard Gagliano of Gourmet Dining. “We will definitely get hotter sauces for next time.”
Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren. Photos by John J. LaRosa for app State University.
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