Instagram is the world's fastest-growing social media platform, with over a billion users. With the option of uploading photos, videos, reels, emojis and even livestreams. Instagram has become the favourite of all age groups. Young and Old. Now, social media is seen as a feasible career option by the new generation.  

Instagram has also been utilized as a great marketing tool by most companies, from startups to big MNCs since it garners more reach and has a high rate of user engagement. Let's look at how to make Instagram beneficial for educational institutions. 

Be Authentic: 

It is really important to be genuine and authentic about anything that you post, it will be more interesting and relevant for the users, and it can also boost user engagement. Do not post and share spam content. 

Create a theme: 

Always keep your target audience in mind when you put up photos and videos, content that will fall in love and resonate with, but it should not deviate from your school as well. Once you have zeroed in on what kind of theme you would like to follow just stick with it. 

Engage your Audience: 

This might seem obvious, social media is all about socializing, digitally. Always make it a point to read and respond to the comments that you receive; this is a great way to enhance and improve engagement. Leave genuine comments so that people might feel encouraged to come back to your account/page again. 

Ask for Followers: 

You can ask followers for an educational institution's Instagram page on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp etc...do not expect a huge jump in followers, most of the time people may choose to ignore it. But you can put an engaging tweet that can encourage them to follow your school's page, you will be really surprised by the results. 

Learn more about the Audience: 

Make sure you go through your posts and review them. See what kind of posts and content got the most likes and shares as well as the ones that received the least. This will help you understand the stand, the needs of the audience and where their tastes lie, what kind of posts interest them the most etc.........and then you can incorporate those learnings in your upcoming content. 

Instagram Ads: 

Instagram ads are an excellent way to help you grow followers and expand your reach as well as boost your school's presence and performance. They can help you reach your target market and increase enrolment. Through ads you can put up content that directly reaches your desired audience thus, maximizing the chance that they will have a look at your account and eventually become a follower. 

Quotes: 

Quotes can be used as a medium to engage users, as they play a role in identifying your brand. Choose quotes that resonate with your school's image and brand value as well as that suit your target market and finally, it must be relatable to the end user. Posting quotes can lead to better engagement and more reach in social media for educational institutions. 

Add Videos: 

Instagram's latest version now allows you to post a minute-long video that can give your school a great opportunity to create engaging videos about your school and its activities. You can upload photos and videos of various events, field trips, etc....... which will be interesting for the audience to watch and learn more about your school, thus it could lead to a rise in admissions and enrolment in the near future. 

Collaborate with Influencers: 

For better reach and engagement on Instagram, you must think out of the box, You can collaborate with influencers and content creators who resonate with your target audience and possess a large following to promote your school via their social media accounts. 

Update IG Stories: 

Instagram stories are becoming so popular it is another must-use platform for enhancing social media efforts. Regularly updating your Instagram Story with the latest news about your school or any kind of fun updates from a school event is another form of content that’s attractive and engaging. 

User Generated Content: 

One of the best content types that has risen with the advent and expansion of social media are the ones that are put up by fans and followers, Such content can be helpful for schools because they are authentic, and it is proof or a testimonial to how good your institution is. It will be instrumental in spreading your school's brand far and wide within your target audience and even sometimes go beyond it. Therefore, reposting and sharing user-generated content can help you grow your Instagram followers. 

Write good Captions: 

Instagram, by default a visual platform, but a good caption can create wonders for your photo as well as your school, Some of the best all-time performing content on Instagram have been the ones that come with interesting captions. Captions can be short or long, but they must shout out the value of your brand and they must be relatable to your target audience. 

Analyze your Data: 

Another way to monitor your success on Instagram is to promptly invest in an online or offline tool or software that can provide you with the correct statistics. Such as the increase or decrease in followers, user engagements, the digital brand value of your school online, most liked content types, the nature and age of your followers and things you should focus on...these insights and information can be very useful when are curating and design your next Instagram post.   

Maintain a Schedule: 

Posting daily on Instagram cannot be made possible, therefore, it is always better to fix a schedule so that you can plan your posts in advance.