Ready, set, Tweet: ‘#HornsUp’

BUFFALO. N.Y. – It didn’t take long. After the announcement last week that the University at Buffalo football team had accepted a bid to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise — UB’s first bowl invitation since 2008 – excitement about the game versus San Diego State took hold and now appears to be feeding a growing social media presence.

 “HornsUp!” is what it’s called and it’s gaining popularity among the UB faithful.

Selfie photos of UB alumni and fans using the #HornsUp sign have begun to appear on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with increasing frequency under the #Hornsup hashtag.

Even snapshots of dogs in UB Athletics gear have emerged. There are photos of the UB Bulls quarterback and his star wide receiver, students, football players, cheerleaders, alumni and staff sharing their #Horns Up posts.

Athletic Director Danny White, whose media and marketing team is collaborating with University Communications, has been posting the HornsUp pics on his personal Twitter feed and sharing them on #BowlingBulls and other UB Athletics Twitter sites.

Nancy Paton, UB vice president of university communications, said the “Horns Up” campaign is one part of a communications strategy designed to encourage public and university community engagement with UB through digital media – interactive web pages and social media – in support and celebration of UB’s bowl appearance.

“‘Horns Up’ is gaining traction around the country and is something the university and its athletics teams can build on throughout the year,” Paton says.

“Because we have a communications strategy in place that addresses the multiple audiences, internal and external, we want UB to reach, it allows us the nimbleness to direct web, print, broadcast and social media during an opportunity like a bowl game.

Rebecca Bernstein, UB’s digital strategist, says the UC team and UB Athletics colleagues first noticed last week that UB “Horns Up” photos began appearing on Facebook, Twitter and in other social media.  Recognizing the opportunity, the two groups began sharing the pics on UB’s official social media channels.

Now, it’s grown into a social media campaign, supported by the university.  And what’s a social media campaign without a contest for the best selfie, Bernstein asks.

Bowl game swag and other prizes will be awarded to students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members who post the fan favorite “HornsUp” pics on UB and personal social media channels and share them on #HornsUp.

It’s also important, Bernstein says, for UB supporters to “Like,” “Share” and “Favorite” the “#HornsUp” posts and pictures.

“We’re encouraging UB Bulls supporters to share the excitement of the bowl game through posts from home, from a favorite location, from the game, from the playing field after the big game, from a bowl-game viewing party, from anywhere they get the urge to support the UB Bulls,” she says.

UB’s official social media channels are:

UB Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universityatbuffalo

UB Bulls Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buffalobulls

#hornsup: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23hornsup&src=typd

#BowlingBulls: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23bowlingbulls&src=typd

UB Community Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBCommunity

UB Athletics Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBAthletics

UB football Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBFootball

Instagram: http://instagram.com/universityatbuffalo#

UB Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ubuffalo/go-ub-bulls/