The #3CsofInstagram
In an article in UniversityBusiness.com, Scott Mobley describes the 3 C’s of maintaining engagement while we maintain our social distances. We here at marketing4education shared in a previous article how important it would be to use this opportunity to focus on engagement on social media. We checked up on some of our local universities and found that Florida International University (FIU) has been doing an exemplary job of embodying those 3 C’s on their Instagram page.
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Consistency
FIU’s Instagram has been consistently active, with a minimum of one post per week and lately, a post every single day. They’ve also kept consistent with their voice. Besides keeping a positive, fun and helpful tone, they have their own personality. FIU is located in Miami and has a majority Hispanic student body. Their profile reflects this with “Spanglish” or Miami-centric jokes.
Their photo-editing and quality is consistent too – particularly in the way they highlight graduating students.
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Creativity
Consistency is nice and important, but what makes an Instagram profile grow in reach and engagement is that creative spark. FIU’s Instagram showed off a custom collection of FIU gear… for Animal Crossing – a social simulation game. They encouraged students to swipe through for the codes to download the gear and to check their story for some bonus gear.
They regularly use their mascot in creative ways. Such us this sliding image of Roary’s outstretched arms and the banner saying, “Six Feet.” They used this to playfully describe social distancing procedures in the caption.
3.) Compassion/Consideration
During this time of uncertainty, FIU has also stepped their game up by communicating regularly with students, faculty and staff through multiple modalities. When it comes to Instagram, an important way to show consideration is to respond to comments and questions in a timely manner. Additionally, the president of the University posts tailored messages for the platform, including the video below using cards and music to congratulate this semester’s grads. His leadership in taking time out of his day to speak directly to his students speaks volumes – reflecting well on the school and on their Instagram’s credibility. Lastly, FIU has been showing compassion through its actions offline and then celebrating those acts online. FIU has been able to donate protective equipment to local hospitals and increase testing availabilities for the greater community. They were able to highlight these acts tastefully with videos and slideshows like the one pictured below. In it, healthcare workers pose with FIU signage as they sport 3D-printed face-shields created by FIU students.
Using the 3C’s has helped FIU improve its brand image through Instagram in multiple ways. Share with us how your university has used its consistency, creativity, and compassion!