Kelly Stone is on a mission to evangelize careers in information technology.
As senior social media manager for CompTIA, a nonprofit trade association for information technology professionals, Stone has the task of softening the IT industry's image to a younger demographic. Instagram has emerged as one of its most effective weapons in the fight against negative stereotypes.
"Many kids think IT careers are about sitting in dimly lit basements in front of a computer all day," he says. "We are focused on breaking that idea, and one of the biggest benefits that Instagram offers is in illustrating the variety of IT careers."
Stone also uses Instagram as something of a recruiting tool for CompTIA, fighting preconceived notions of what is working in a non-profit IT organization. Therefore, the brand account will highlight your progressive corporate culture and fun things happening in the office, such as birthday parties and baby showers.
Stone, who will speak on Instagram at the upcoming Big 4 Social Media Conference in San Francisco, August 9-10, provided some tips on using the platform to make a brand more relatable.
Create brand ambassadors from within
CompTIA began a campaign a couple of years ago called #CompTIAPerks to highlight its corporate culture. The organization asked its employees to post about why they love to work there, and gave prizes and trophies each month for the best positions.
"It's another way for people here to be active brand ambassadors," says Stone. "We can say that we have great benefits and flexible working hours, but it's different when you have an employee who takes a picture of something he bought with his vacation bonus."
Encourage your diet
For an Instagram account to be more attractive, it is important to vary the types of content you publish. Stone always makes sure that one in six Instagram posts have moving pictures, whether it's a GIF, a video or the Boomerang feature of the platform.
"You can use the same tools you would use for a personal account," says Stone. "I use applications like Frame Swagg that can create collages and other aesthetics that add more interest to your account."
For any video it produces, the organization will also create a version of Instagram to fit the 60-second platform limit. "But if it's complicated or serious, it probably will not play the audience," he says.
Get more information from Kelly Stone at PR News' Big 4 Social Media Conference and Google for Communicators Boot Camp, to be held August 9-10, 2017 at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco. Brand communicators from Google, Macy's, IBM, Microsoft, Taco Bell, Princess Cruises and many more will talk about everything from influencing influencers to SEO trends.
Customize messages for each platform
While it may be efficient to reuse the same image or publication across multiple social media platforms, it is not an effective tactic, and can have the effect of making your brand look robotic.
"When you think of Instagram, you have to create something different and unique," says Stone. "You need to work out the message to be a bit faster than your standard Facebook message, because people can not even read your legend on Instagram."
In addition to the animations, Stone will also use emoji in subtitles, and filters, to add some lightness and make a post stand out.
Put people first
Instagram has become an important part of the organization's paid campaigns to evangelize its educational opportunities and the professional certifications it provides. And the jobs that perform best for CompTIA-to encourage people on a subject as dry as professional certifications-focus on celebrations.
"We see a lot of resonance in pictures of people, specifically graduation images, it's an exciting day when they pass," Stone says. "People who already have certification can identify with that sense of relief, and for children who consider it, they identify with that sense of community."
