If you want to know what is happening in Coyhaique, you have to use Facebook. I was told this by NOLS staff, and I experienced it myself in hunting for activities happening in town.
NOLS Patagonia has had its own Facebook page for several years. It is managed through the Spanish program and is targeted to Chileans: posts are in Spanish and upcoming Spanish program courses are announced on the page. North American students and their parents do find it by searching for NOLS Patagonia on Facebook, but most of the over 6,000 people who have liked the page are in Chile.
The Facebook page is maintained by a person contracted part-time in Santiago, who requires that content be provided to him for uploading. In the past, this has limited posting to the page. In 2015-16, there was an increase in use of the page, and recent posts include photos and videos from course expeditions, interactive contests that request alumni photos and fun facts, and shared posts on themes of interest to NOLS Patagonia alumni: environmental and outdoors topics. The most popular post in the fall season was the announcement of the annual used gear clearance sale, which received 133 likes.
Staff members and students are proud of their associations with NOLS and many choose to share their experiences online. A search for NOLS Patagonia on Facebook and Instagram found that a few staff members have used the hashtag #NOLSPatagonia on their own initiative. The hashtag has also been used by students before and after their courses. As almost all staff have a Facebook profile and some use Instagram (Instagram appears to be more common among students), it is an easy step to ask staff and students to use #NOLSPatagonia when they post about the branch and its courses. [A description and instructions are below]. This is also a way to build online content without an increase in staff resources.
The Facebook page is a venue where NOLS Patagonia can publish stories that highlight personal experiences. Currently, it appears that there are no posts in the past 6 months that identify individual staff members other than to credit them for photos or videos. During that time, NOLS Patagonia staff have done interesting things like participate in a river paddling festival, lead a fun run in Coyhaique, and run the Aysen Run marathon. NOLS Patagonia isn’t an anonymous faceless organization; it is amazing people.Shine a spotlight on how NOLS is part of the community! The tools section of this site includes profile templates that can be used to build stories on staff and students.
