Texas A&M encourages students to explore campus with social media scavenger hunt

Texas A&M, one of the first colleges with a foursquare branded profile, announced today a new social media scavenger hunt designed to get students to explore their 5,200 acre campus. The hunt, which takes places January 25–26, leverages the university’s presence on Twitter, Facebook and foursquare.

Clues will be tweeted by the university’s main Twitter account, @TAMUtalk, up to four times a day. Once students find the spot referenced in the clue, they check in there on foursquare during the specified time period. Prizes will include merchandise from the Texas A&M Bookstore, college apparel from Adidas and gift cards from the Texas A&M Department of University Dining.

“The social media scavenger hunt is one way to leverage our social media sites to encourage students to explore our campus and make connections—while enjoying our great Aggie traditions,” said Diane C. McDonald, the university’s director of social media and marketing programs.

In addition to the scavenger hunt, the school bookstore will be offering a 15% discount on logo apparel for students who check in. The school will also be hosting “Foursquare Friday” on January 28th. They’ll be awarding prize packages to students who’ve earned foursquare’s college badges.

This sounds like a fun way to encourage foursquare use on campus and use it to get students to explore places they might not normally visit. What do you think of the hunt?