OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Instagram is a very visual platform. Share content that grabs your audience's attention. This is one platform that is best for engaging with students and prospective students.
What to post?
Pictures and videos are the best performing pieces of content on Instagram. Post original content that you feel best expresses your college/department or Oregon State.
The best video length on Instagram is 60 seconds
Photos should be square (1800x1800) to take up most of the timeline. It looks pretty.
Timing matters! Do research to see when your audience is most active. Then make a schedule of when you will be posting. Don’t overload your followers with content.
How many times to post? 1-2 times per week.
Made a mistake? Don’t worry! Instagram lets you edit your copy right away. If you upload the wrong video or picture you will have to delete the post and reup it as Instagram will not let you switch it out.
Make sure you tag the right accounts. Sometimes other handles can be tricky. Be extra careful that it’s the correct one.
Sharing someone else's photo? It’s always good to ask that person. You can direct message (DM) them to ask. Most of the time people will happily let you use their photo. You must give them credit in your copy!
Be Responsive. Make sure you’re monitoring what people are saying. If someone reaches out to your account or adds a comment, respond quickly and accurately, whether the feedback is positive or negative.
Engage. Follow and reach out to pages or people. Comment, reply and be active on other social accounts.
Use our hashtags! Oregon State has established hashtags already: #GoBeavs, #BeaverNation and #OregonState.
It is important to remember that to make a great Instagram Story, you must have a clear story or idea to tell. You should ask yourself: Why am I posting this? Will it grab their attention? Would this be a better native Instagram post? Once you have thought about it, go ahead and post!
What to post?
Original content: Share photos, students, research whatever may fit into telling a compelling story. If you have a link you want to share with your audience, use the new link sticker. It is available to all accounts no matter the size.
Sharing other posts: Feel free to share when you see fit.
How many times to post?
3-6 times a term
Limit your stories to 4-8 “slides”
Made a mistake? You’ll need to delete the story and fix the error as Instagram will not let you modify it once posted.
Sharing someone else’s post or story to your Story?
DM them and ask if it’s okay. You can share the post and don’t need to attribute them since their information will show up.
If you get tagged in an Instagram Story, you should still ask before you use it. No need to attribute as it will show where the original post came from.
Save the best #Content as a highlight:
Instagram has a feature where you are able to save your stories as a highlight. These are great for anyone who visits your page to learn more about the Oregon State experience. You can go back and add to those highlights as you see fit or make more for different things.
Examples: Q&A’s, stories of students/alumni, campus beauty or events
Be Responsive. Make sure you’re monitoring what people are saying. If someone reaches out to about your story, respond quickly and accurately.
Use our hashtags! Oregon State has established hashtags already: #GoBeavs, #BeaverNation and #OregonState.
Understanding video needs for each platform is key. Here's a breakdown of video specs for Instagram, Stories and IGTV to reference while making content.
Native Feed
Instagram Stories
IGTV