The leadup to finals week is always stressful for students. To inject some needed levity, Alvernia's Office of Marketing and Communications created a humorous video about procrastinating students doomscrolling instead of studying.
Perhaps because nearly everyone who is or has ever been a student can relate to finals-week procrastination, even those who went to school before "doomscrolling" was a thing, the video went viral, compiling 1.7 million+ views on Instagram and another 947,000+ views on TikTok for a combined 2.7+ million views.
The 8-second video has logged 94 days of watch time on Instagram.
"This is the first time any Alvernia post has gone viral and the first post that hit 1 million views in my career," said Communications Specialist Sarah Matarella, M.A. '22, who directs Alvernia's social media accounts. "While working at Alvernia, we’ve experienced what I like to call 'baby viral' moments, with our highest organic video views hitting over 135k on Instagram and over 184k on TikTok."
Ahead of National College Decision Day on May 1, Matarella searched for trends to increase Alvernia’s visibility. After getting inspiration from a video posted to Bowling Green University's Instagram account, Matarella and Marketing and Communications work study Hailey Rohrer recruited Golden Guide Ambassadors and students from the dining hall. The students picked it up quick; only a few takes were required. Matarella posted it to TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and YouTube Shorts that same day.
It took off almost immediately. A few hours after the video was posted, Matarella noticed its views on TikTok skyrocketing and comments flooding in at a volume she had never seen before on Alvernia's accounts. This prompted her to also share it to YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels.
"I think it struck a chord for a couple of reasons," Matarella said. "The timing of the post was strategic because it was right around the time when colleges in the United States are about to start or have started finals. Second, the tried-and-true tactic of making the point of view about the person watching works. Lastly, the topic has room for discourse. Doomscrolling has become a widely known term since vertical video took the social media world by storm. People, including myself, spend hours on their TikTok and Instagram feeds, sometimes avoiding responsibilities — studying for finals, in this case. And who wants to be called out for that? It not only stopped them in their tracks by calling them out, but it evoked emotions for the viewers."
Fresh off joining the million-view club, Matarella says her focus remains creating quality content that resonates with Alvernia’s audiences.
But, she said, "I think it’s safe to say that most social media professionals hope that one day their content will be viral."
