What to Do With Instagram

How are associations using Instagram for good instead of evil? ASCD recently debuted its account, and the Alexandria, Va.-based association for education leadership is giving members a different view of the organization. The mobile app is meant for photo and video sharing, and so far the association has posted pics of its HQ space. The association's social media specialist Tina Byland says Instagram allows ASCD to post behind-the-scenes photos that wouldn't always work well on its other social media outlets. Plus it's where many of its members are already sharing photos, so it made sense to go where they are. 

The association posted this photo of CEO Dr. Gene Carter's study tour of Hong Kong. So how does one prepare for an Instagram presence? It helps if the person leading the charge has some experience with the platform, even if just personal. Using it for a large association is a different story, so Tina and the ASCD communications team read white papers and studied how members were using the platform. Many had used it to post photos of ASCD's big annual conference, which is how the association even knew members were on the site. 

This post shows ASCD's HQ. Tina says the goal is to post a photo at least daily. Good hashtags that are already being used by the educator community will draw them to ASCD's posts. The hashtags are included in the photo caption along with a brief description of the photo. Tina says the caption should be short but informative enough that people don't need to click on a link like they do in a tweet or a Facebook post. Instagram also has a feature that allows users to track how many people are viewing their photos and what's being shared. (Any associations find a use for Snapchat yet? Let us know.)