Instagram Student Takeovers

Instagram student takeovers are a great way to showcase a day in the life of a student at your university. I started Instagram Takeovers at UNMC on a weekly basis about a month ago, and they've been going very well so far. The mission is to show the world what a day in the life of a UNMC student looks like.

But how do you implement this tactic without giving up control of your school's social account? Instead of establishing temporary passwords for each student, the students send me all of their content (4-6 photos and captions) and I post it to our Instagram account. This allows me to be the filter for all the takeover content, to ensure that all the posts are appropriate. Check out the further guidelines and rules I have in place below. I send these out to each student participating in the takeover each week.

Guidelines:

• Show UNMC love! Show off your school pride.
• What should the captions say? Write the captions in first person, as if you are actually taking over the account. 
• Use the UNMC social team as a resource. 
• Photo rights: We want to show the world what you’re doing, so your photo may be shared by others on other platforms. 
• Tag other accounts.
• Hashtags to be used: #IamUNMC, #TakeoverTuesdayUNMC
• Have fun! 

 Rules:

1. Send appropriate content only. No alcohol or drug use (Not in any capacity). If you send us a potentially inappropriate photo/video, we will contact you about replacing the photo. Your photos can be of whatever you want that depict your life at UNMC, but keep the photos and captions positive and appropriate. No alcohol or drug use (Not in any capacity). If you send us a potentially inappropriate photo, we will contact you about replacing the photo. 
2. Get verbal permission. If you’re taking pictures of your friends, classmates, professor, etc. GET PERMISSION from them to post this on UNMC’s public Instagram account. Every time. Even if you don’t think it’s necessary. (Unless they are unrecognizable in the photos, i.e. back of their heads, far in the distance, etc.)
3. Introduction and Conclusion. Don’t forget to introduce yourself in the first photo. Also wrap up your final photo/video in a way that is a clear indication that your Takeover is finished (through the caption). 
4. Order of photos. Please note what order you would like the photos to appear. It works best if it corresponds to how your day happens chronologically, starting in the morning. I can post the photos anytime throughout the day, whatever makes the most sense with your Takeover depending on your photos. (Breakfast would be during breakfast, for example) We typically get more engagement in the late afternoon or evening though.