5 Reasons Schools NEED to be using Instagram
With over one billion monthly active users, Instagram has evolved from being a place for people to share filtered pictures with friends, to being one of the most popular social media platforms in the world and an essential marketing tool for businesses. Still very much a visual platform, the communication, marketing and advertising opportunities available simply cannot be ignored by schools. Here are our top 5 reasons why schools NEED to not only have an Instagram presence but implement a solid strategy to communicate their brand values.
It’s where millennial parents (and even some sixth formers) are!
25-34-year-olds represent the largest advertising audience on Instagram. This means not only are millennial parents of potential new students hanging out on Instagram daily, but your current parents, students and staff are also there, making it a no brainer! Millennial parents aged 28-34 are a key demographic for schools to attract new children into their nurseries, pre-prep and prep schools. Attracting prospects to join the school in younger year groups builds loyalty and they are more likely to stay in the school and progress up the age groups. Using Instagram for your school is also a great way to build on a sense of community for older students who tend to be glued to their phones as well as staff and current parents.
2. It helps build an online community for your school
We are living in a digital world and schools must move with these changing times or risk being left behind. People are on their phones more than ever and having a platform where you can communicate with parents & students quickly and easily is essential. Enter Instagram! Building a sense of community on your school’s Instagram through encouraging engagement with parents, staff and students, using bespoke hashtags where photos and images can be shared and viewed, and sharing important updates and news. Instagram is also a place to get creative, have a little fun and show off your school’s amazing personality which parents, students and alumni can not only relate to but also feel involved in and proud to be part of.
3. It humanises your school’s brand
Allowing people to see behind the scenes of your school, meet some of the team and show off what makes your school unique is a powerful way of not only building trust, but also allows people to relate to your brand values and feel part of your community. Building this community by humanising your brand builds deeper connections and encourages conversations and engagement (which the Instagram algorithm loves!). Think “meet the team” spotlights on staff members, students or sporting/academic teams. Posts with faces almost always outperform those without, proving that people connect more with people!
4. It showcases your school’s USPs
Where better to showcase your School’s USPs than on a visual platform like Instagram? Make your school stand out from the crowd by sharing what makes you special and unique. Do you have amazing student-tended gardens, beautiful historic buildings or a state-of-the-art science lab? Show them off on Instagram! Instagram has fantastic features like reels, IGTV, stories and posts allowing you to share pictures and videos in a variety of ways to suit your content.
5. It allows you to share your school values
Your school’s values communicate to parents, students, staff and the wider community about what you stand for and your culture and expectations. Using your School’s Instagram to post about student initiatives, fundraisers, awareness days will help support these core values and get across key messages about what your school stands for.
Is your school using Instagram as a way of reaching potential new parents and as a means of communicating with your community? Having a solid Instagram strategy and content plan for your school will help you to effectively communicate your key messages to the right people. Need some help? We got you! Download our FREE Instagram Content Planner to help you plan ahead, save time and get results! If you are looking for further support and advice, why not book a 1-hour Instagram Power Hour Call to look at how you could better use Instagram to meet your brand-raising, community-building, and student recruitment goals?!