Western Sydney University’s Copycat Facebook Post Sparks Priceless Reactions

Western Sydney University’s Copycat Facebook Post Sparks Priceless Reactions
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



When Netflix shared a Facebook post this week simply stating ‘Netflix’, many were somewhat confused.

Despite the ambiguity, the post soon went viral, gaining thousands of likes, shares and comments.

Identifying the success of Netflix’s post, Western Sydney University opted to go down the same path, sharing a post on Wednesday afternoon, which simply read “Western Sydney University”.

And in further proof that simple is best, the post has so far garnered 417 comments – many of which are hilarious – and 68 shares.

“This post truly inspired me. My friends saw this post and felt moved. I especially likes when you mentioned ‘Western Sydney University’. Amazing stuff thank,” one Facebook user said.

“I am packing my bag Thanks Western Sydney University,” said another. 

The university has already started capitalising on the viral popularity, pointing potential students towards its applications page.

western sydney uni

A spokesperson from the university told B&T the social media stunt was a way to engage with its audience in a relevant style.

“Leveraging trends like this one not only has the benefit of helping extend our organic reach but it’s also the right tone for our audience in these channels where the expectation is that we are in touch with their needs.”

But the posting your own name on Facebook strategy appears to predate even Netflix’s stunt, with a host of Australian bands taking part in the gimmick earlier this week.

Ball Park Music, Phil Jamieson and Sweater Curse have all had some fun with the ploy.

It can all be traced back to Australian music personality Max Quinn, however, who boldly claimed last week it is a way to ‘hack’ Facebook’s algorithms to boost posts without paying.

If the popularity of all these posts is anything to go by, Quinn could be onto something.

Life after a rebrand

It’s all a little more pertinent for Western Sydney University, however, which has spent much of the past four years clarifying its name.

In 2015, what was then the University of Western Sydney spent $20M to rebrand to the current Western Sydney University.

At the time the change was billed as a way to reinforce the university’s leadership role within the region by “putting Western Sydney first”.

As part of the rebrand, the university used the #NewWS hashtag to promote awareness of the change.

While it is unclear whether this latest social media post is a continuation of the rebrand strategy, it is not the first time a company has used the technique.

 




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