On Monday, hundreds of potential new members opened their bids from various Panhellenic sororities and "ran home" after two weekends of formal recruitment.
The day is normally filled with excitement, chanting, throwing up hand signs and sometimes disappointment, as women see where they fit within Greek life.
National Panhellenic Conference sorority recruitment has happened every year, nationwide, for generations, but in recent years, it has been transformed by social media and brand partnerships. From themed photoshoots to choreographed dances in front of the Greek houses to endless public relations strategies, recruitment is unrecognizable from that of past generations.
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Since "Bama Rush" went viral in 2021, #RushTok has exploded in popularity. According to the Los Angeles Times, the hashtag has over 1.5 billion views and 1.4 million posts on TikTok. As a result, sororities across the country have stepped up their social media marketing efforts to reach a wider audience, boost recruitment numbers and answer questions from potential new members.
ASU Alpha Phi is one of the most followed sororities on Instagram, with over 162,000 followers. Mia Holland, Alpha Phi's marketing director from 2022-25, helped the chapter gain over 130,000 followers and produce viral videos on TikTok, some surpassing 1 million views.
Holland said its climb to the top was gradual but saw the most success with the team's original video ideas, such as dancing to new choreography in the house and recreating Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" music video.
"It was actually kind of crazy to see that domino effect as well," Holland said. "Just seeing the amount of attention that not even just Alpha Phi had, but that Panhellenic had as a whole was really crazy to watch, and I honestly think that can also be credited to why ASU is such a buzzword on social media today."
With a strong social media presence comes brand partnerships, extravagant sisterhood events and networking opportunities for active members as well. For Alpha Phi, that meant sponsorships from Edikted, SKIMS and more.
"It opened so many doors for really fun sisterhoods that we would have never been able to afford in the past if it wasn't for a brand seeing us and wanting to chime in and help out," Holland said. "I also think it just does reach a wider audience."
Holland also gained a massive following on social media, creating ASU and sorority content and gaining over 422,000 followers on TikTok. In Holland's time as marketing director, she learned the formula for making a viral video.
"There's got to be a wow factor," Holland said. "It's the type of thing where you see it and you get inspired. You want to curate a scene that seems relatable but also admirable."
However, now having graduated from ASU with a business degree and pursuing content creation in Los Angeles, Holland said sororities might be "losing the plot." Despite how fun it was to build the chapter's brand and following, Holland said it's getting to a point where chapters are not spending enough time on the actual sorority.
"Everything is about who has the best brand, who has the most brand deals, who's getting the most likes, the most followers," Holland said. "Everyone's kind of getting to a point where it's too much in that direction, and we're not spending enough time on the important things of being in a sorority and what a sorority is about."
Holland expressed worries that social media and sponsorships give potential new members a false sense of Greek life ahead of recruitment.
"It's not all supposed to be about being in the sorority that has the most followers or gets the most brand deals … but I think it has almost influenced girls to think that's all it's about," Holland said. "Maybe that can be fixed by incorporating more videos attempting to showcase the sisterhood a little bit more, but I will say every time we try to do that, those aren't the videos that reach."
Holland also said social media was "incredibly competitive" between sororities.
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Similarly, Gina Cisternelli, a senior studying communication and the online media director for Kappa Alpha Theta, said she also recognizes how competitive social media can be.
"Social media is one of those things where it's easy to measure 'success' based off views and likes and shares," she said. "It can just get very competitive based on whose video goes the most viral. I don't think that's the point of why we're making content. The point of making content is to share our sisterhood and our chapter with the rest of the world."
Cisternelli said she measures success based on her representation of the chapter and producing quality content.
"I'd say as long as I'm putting out content that I'm truly proud of and that girls respond to well and enjoy engaging with, then I consider that success," she said. "For me, I want to be able to post as many girls as possible and make sure that everyone's included in our social media."
Despite the downfalls that come with increased social media presence in recruitment, Cisternelli said it allows each chapter to express themselves creatively and spread awareness about Kappa Alpha Theta's sisterhood and philanthropy.
"We're just changing with how the times are changing, and since social media has become more prevalent in everyday life, then we have to adapt to that and utilize those tools in order to market our sorority," she said. "We're still just as much, (or) even more, about sisterhood and philanthropy; we just have an easier way of showcasing that to the world."
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On the other hand, before entering the recruitment process, potential new member Chloe Brown, a sophomore studying electrical engineering, said she was more engaged in content related to each chapter's philanthropy, members' lives outside of Greek life and advice for potential new members.
She said she feels increased social media presence has broken stereotypes portrayed in traditional media.
"I see a lot of the trend where it's like, 'Oh, they're just sorority girls,' like it's stereotypical, and then it's the montage of them doing all the different kinds of things — they do sports, they do different kinds of arts," she said. "That's where media is shifting to be more inclusive and … making it seem like it isn't just one size fits all for sorority girls."
Every woman has a different reason for enrolling in Panhellenic sorority recruitment; some may do it for public relations and the promise of internet fame, while others may just want community. Regardless of that reason, Holland encourages everyone to keep an open mind and trust the process.
"You are going to end up exactly where you're supposed to be, and the outcome you think you don't want might be everything you didn't know you needed," she said.
Editor's note: The author of this article is an active member in ASU's chapter of Delta Gamma.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf III, Emilio Alvarado, Senna James and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at sevoorhe@asu.edu.
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Sydney Voorhees is a Senior Reporter at The State Press. She is also an intern at Arizona PBS and a member of Delta Gamma Fraternity. This is her second semester with The State Press, working previously as a part-time Sci-Tech reporter.
