I never would have thought I would be back here doing something I love. One rarely finds the opportunity to combine both of their passions together in a singular focus—a geek of social media and a proud University of Michigan alum. I am excited to return to Ann Arbor and contribute to the #UMsocial team. I have been in the social and digital marketing space for five years and have worked with top fortune 500 companies to small brands.

My last two years have been with a NASCAR team traveling the remote areas of the country. In those two years I developed award-winning campaigns that excited, educated, and entertained the online audience. When I began, social media was like a mysterious box. My job was to demystify this box while, educating. engaging, and exciting our fans as we achieve milestones. Now, at Michigan, I am excited to team with Nikki Sunstrum, our social media director, who, as she puts, “takes the shiny out of social media.” I believe our team can lead the University to be number one among higher education in the social space.

I have learned so much from the past couple of years, mainly that social media marketing is storytelling at its finest. I’m happy that I can continue this work at U-M.

So you play on Facebook all day?

I wish that is the case. Being a social media manager allows me to think of new ways to connect with people. I like to create stories so that you can play on Facebook or your favorite social media channel all day. Social media is not like traditional marketing. It is a two way street; we create stories so our community can interact with us.

Wolverine Family

Before I was in a classroom, I was in the Big House celebrating the first of many graduations. I had the fortune of growing up with three older siblings that took the journey from Atlanta to Ann Arbor in order to become a Wolverine. From the beginning, I had no other choice. As the youngest of four, the bar was set, but I was glad that I had the best option in front of me.

This post was written by Yasin Id-Deen, #UMSocial Social Media Manager