Instagram Cheat Sheet

Instagram gives you the opportunity to show off your creativity through short-form or long-form videos, colorful and bright photography, and social templates that stop the user from scrolling and makes them engage. The goal is to have users like, share, and save our posts. We want to gain and maintain our UMass Lowell fans.

Our top 10 Instagram dos will help you successfully set up your Instagram page and promote your department to your fans.

1. Vanity: Your bio should be clear and straight to the point. It should contain keywords that are highly searchable through search engine optimization (SEO). Try to update your bio every few months to keep things fresh.
2. Brand Yourself: Your profile photo should have UMass Lowell branding that’s correct and up to date. Please reach out to a social representative to find the correct images.
3. Put It All Out There: Instagram allows you to add multiple links to your profile for your followers. Use this to your advantage and promote yourself.
4. Find Your Social Leaders: Who manages your social media? Consider having a trusted student voice help manage your social media. Their insight is invaluable, and it will give you a break. It’s easy to tell when someone is burnt out on social media. Don’t bore your audiences! Perhaps designate social media days for people in your office to break up the work.
5. Our Story: Your Instagram page should reflect your brand. Is this page about Art, Student Life, Residence Life? Your profile should highlight those topics, so your followers know your strategy.
6. Create Your Strategy: Consider your audience. What do they want to hear? Make it fun! Post about interesting things related to your field. Rather than pushing events and press releases on your fans 24/7, give them a variety of consistent content so that when you do have information you need them to pay attention to, they will listen. Write down your goals and how you can accomplish them. Create a content schedule and carve out time in your own personal schedule to dedicate to social media. Come up with a flexible weekly schedule of what to post and when. Make sure everyone on your team has this strategy.
7. Post It: Now that you have your content strategy, make sure you commit to it. Post to Facebook at least 2-3 times per week.
8. Cross Promote: Cross promote your Instagram posts on Facebook and Facebook Stories (or Threads if you use this) There is a section on your Instagram post that allows you to share your Instagram post straight to Facebook.
9. Engage: Promptly answer direct messages and comments to engage with your followers. The more you engage, the more your followers will trust your account. Think of comments and direct messages as a way to the conversation going by offering your own replies and insights. Always engage with your audience!
10. Measure: Adapt. Evolve. Continually look at your insights and analytics to see what’s working (and what’s not). Tweak your strategy on a semester basis. Don’t be afraid to try new things — but always keep it interesting, informative or funny — and relevant to your department. Instagram analytics can be found through the professional dashboard.