Select Page

A sample instagram post from Washington County 4-HThere’s no one size fits all approach to marketing your 4-H club or letting people know the good stuff that’s going on in 4-H. But, it just got a little easier. Social media can be an efficient way to communicate with 4-H families and also recognize the great things 4-Hers are doing! Like Facebook, you can now have multiple Instagram accounts. I just created an Instagram account for Washington County 4-H, so naturally, I want to make it work for my 4-H program. Here are some tips to make your Instagram page stand out.

Which Type of Account?– Instagram offers three different types of accounts: personal, creative, and business. For 4-H Clubs, the best bet is a Business account.

Think Visual Impact – Facebook is a text/visual platform, Twitter is a text only platform, and Instagram is a visual platform. So use Instagram to share images and videos with your audience. Choose a single image that is impactful, that tells a story, that showcases one thing. Build your post around a single person, an event, behind the scenes, re-post from your followers, motivate, or educational posts on how to do or make something.

Don’t Overshare – Be choosy about which photo you share on Instagram. You might upload an entire album to Facebook, but use Instagram to feature your most dynamic photo. Stay away from posting similar photos, and don’t post more than once a day. 

Filters – When you upload your photo, you can enhance it using filters. You can also adjust brightness, contrast, structure, and warmth. Remember, you want that one photo to stand out and be impactful. 

Build Your Audience – Let your club members, parents, and supporters know where to find you. Include links to your pages in all of your emails, texts, marketing materials, articles, etc. 

Videos – You can also upload videos that are one minute or less in length.

Go Live – Here’s a great way to show what’s going on right now in your club. Share a 4-Her shooting skeet, showing livestock, taking a cake out of the oven, working on a sewing project or practicing a showmanship pattern.

Check out these resources to help you get the most out of Instagram. Be sure to review the UF policies on social media to protect youth privacy, or plan to attend our webinar March 18th at 6pm central/7pm eastern to learn policies, tips and tricks for using social media to enhance your club!

Resources:

 

Julie Pigott Dillard
Latest posts by Julie Pigott Dillard (see all)