Recently, CCA leadership, the Communications Committee, and Casey Jones Communications have come together with a new, active, and inclusive approach to supporting members across all social media channels. Below is a Q&A with Casey Jones, who is an adjunct faculty at several community colleges in Southern California and has worked with CCA in the past when she was on the board of the Rio Hondo College Faculty Association.

Q. How is the new, improved online presence different from what CCA was doing before?

CCA has always had a social media presence, especially when it’s been about addressing the big issues which affect educators and students. Now, we’re using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, plus the website, to support our members from a micro-level. Every faculty association has things in common and a unique set of challenges. We believe our new approach will increase collaboration and also include some fun and humor.

Q. Can you talk about the background that went into updating the online presence?

Social media can be a maddening combo of simple and complicated. The leadership is committed to engaging with the CCA community in a more proactive way, but also wants to take advantage of the reach that social media has when it comes to issues related to our members. Social media is ever-changing, and CCA is ready to approach our communications from a more curated perspective. Plus, our members are amazing, and we want our social media presence to reflect that energy.

Q. When was the last time CCA revamped its online presence?

The website and past social media campaigns have been effective, but this is the first time that a more comprehensive approach has been implemented. We know our members are using social media, and we have seen firsthand how social media, especially over the past few years, has influenced legislation and policy which affects educators. We want to be sure and engage with our members and promote them across every platform. Our members are using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitch, TikTok, you name it!

We want to make sure that we are effectively interacting with members on the channels they and their faculty associations are using regularly.

You’ll also see some changes to the website that will be tailored specifically for our members who aren’t as active on social media. Every voice in CCA is important, and we want to make sure we are finding ways to engage with our membership off social media as well.

Q. Are there any new features?

Members will definitely start to see ways to connect privately on Facebook, in our CCA Online Break Room. Our front-facing pages will tackle some of the toughest issues facing educators, like part-time faculty parity, funding, equity, and student advocacy. However, despite these big issues, being an educator is a blast. We want to celebrate that every day in our posts, stories, and shared resources. We’re excited about taking CCA’s social media presence to the next level, so definitely stay tuned.