The Coronavirus quarantine has caused us all to increase our online efforts to engage and connect with students. However maybe you find your self stuck for ideas on just exactly how to do that? One of the best ways is instagram.
Instagram Stories vs Feed
Before we start posting photos and cute captions we need to remember the two parts of Instagram.
First there’s the feed. This is the square photos that you can post and appear as a grid or that you can scroll through vertically. The feed is best for reaching people. The feed is a great place to post photos from your last event. It’s static. The photos don’t disappear. Most photos are curated, carefully chosen. Think of it as your youth or church group photo album.
The other part of instagram is the story. This is the fun part of instagram. It’s whimsical and ever changing. Nothing stays up on your story for more than 24 hours then it is gone.
Interaction
Students are very careful about their feed. For many the feed is a portfolio of carefully curated moments that they want to put forward. But their story doesn’t last forever. They are much more likely to post your photo challenge, or interact with a post on their story.
Instagram Story Surveys
We have created several different resources to help youth leaders interact on their stories. There are Prayer Stations for instagram stories. We have “Would You Rather” questions for instagram stories.
And now we are launching Instagram Story Surveys. These posts basically provide a form that your students fill out by entering Gifs, choosing an option or filling in blanks.
Post the photo to your story and then ask students to tag your youth group and 3 friends. As their friends get tagged many of them will fill it out and tag more friends. Then you can post some of their response to your story.
You can download these files and more as they are added here on dropbox
