The Instituto Politécnico Nacional shares its experience in managing social media.

Nestor Pinacho

As an institution with significant national reach, the social media platforms of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) are a crucial tool for the accurate and effective communication of information related to the activities of this educational institution. Furthermore, they encourage the strengthening of the Polytechnic identity. This was emphasized by the Coordinator of Institutional Image at IPN, Marco Antonio Ramírez Urbina, during the Second Congress on Challenges and Opportunities in the Management of Social Media for Higher Education Institutions, organized by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

In the opening session, titled "Communication and Dissemination on Social Media for Higher Education Institutions," Ramírez Urbina explained the challenges and the organization taking place within the Institutional Image Coordination. He also discussed the various analyses carried out on each of the social media platforms to identify the respective communities and meet their content demands.

"The communication mechanism has changed, consumers of social media and information sources have completely altered their consumption habits. In the past, there was an event, and you had to wait until the next day for it to appear in the newspapers. Now, an important event happens immediately, and it's already in the media," he pointed out.

In a productive exchange of experiences with Laura Ruth Morales Estrada, head of the General Coordination of Social Communication at the Universidad de Guadalajara; Libia Gallegos Martínez, from the General Directorate of Social Communication at UNAM, and Gabriela González Pureco, Coordinator of Web and Digital Strategy at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Professor Ramírez Urbina highlighted the transformation that the Gaceta Politécnica, the official publication of IPN, has undergone. It has evolved to adapt its content to the information demands of the new generations, incorporating multi-platform content that is appealing and supplementary to the text found on its pages.

The panel members agreed that these social media platforms are essential dissemination channels for higher education institutions, not only for members of the community but also for external audiences. However, they concluded that this should be done based on an understanding of the audiences that engage with each platform and the appropriate language to use on each of them.

Gaceta Politécnica #1744. (September 15th, 2023). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here