Instagram Best Practices
Audience
64% of Instagram users are 18 to 34 years old, which makes it an excellent platform to reach students and young alumni. It is important to note that Gen Z has spent most of their life consuming social media, and it can be difficult to hold their attention. Instagram is largely used as a “time waster” and users may not be looking for important announcements when consuming this media. Considering why users interact with the platform should be a large part of building your strategy.
Algorithm
Instagram uses an algorithm similar to that of Facebook, which attempts to predict what a user is interested in. This can make it difficult for new accounts to gain a strong following. Some ways to “beat the algorithm” is to partner with an existing account with a strong following such as your division, college or the main FAU account to share your Instagram content. We have seen great success with this approach.
Stories
Instagram stories are an excellent way to convey otherwise bland information in an engaging and visual way. Stories tend to have strong viewership and are an excellent way to convey personality and feature students.
Content
Instagram is a visually driven platform. Users expect beautiful imagery and engaging video. Accounts that have a consistent content theme tend to do well on Instagram. Alumni Relations may opt to create an Instagram account that showcases FAU alumni showing their pride, or a science department could run an account that posts interesting photos of students doing research. Posts should be high quality photos that are engaging, energetic and interesting. Because of the dramatic nature of many Instagram photos, followers do not respond well to boring or low-quality images. Below are some examples of Instagram Do’s and Don’ts.
Do’s
- High-quality photography that aligns with the university’s brand identity (find professional photography in our photo database)
- Images contain little to no text
- User-generated content posted with consent
Don’ts
- Low-quality, dark, obscure images
- Text-filled images (Use Stories feature to promote events instead)