Instagram vs X/Twitter: Which platform is better for your school?

As a school you may be faced with the challenge of choosing the right social media platform or set of platforms to engage with your students, parents/carers, alumni, and your wider community. Two prominent contenders in this arena are Instagram and X/Twitter. Here, I explore both to help you make informed decisions about which one suits your school's needs better. 

Visual Appeal 

Instagram shines as a visual platform, focusing on photos and videos. You can leverage this through engaging visuals to reflect school events and activities. X/Twitter, on the other hand, is known for its concise text based communication. 

Real Time Updates

X/Twitter is designed for real-time communication, which makes it an effective platform for sharing immediate updates, important announcements, and participating in trending conversations.

Promoting Open Events 

Both platforms are effective in promoting events, but Instagram is more user friendly in terms of call to action (CTA). It provides more direct avenues for engagement with features like "link in the story," swipe up, and a link in the bio.

Safety 

Instagram's emphasis on visual content may raise concerns regarding the privacy/safety of students, while X/Twitter's text centric nature might be perceived as less risky.

Community Interaction

Instagram and X/Twitter offer opportunities for community interaction, each with a different approach. Instagram's engagement revolves around mentions, tags, likes, comments, and direct messages. In contrast, X/Twitter encourages public discussions through retweets and replies.

In conclusion, the choice between Instagram and X/Twitter depends on your school's communication goals, and the type of content you want to share and most importantly your target audience/demographics. Many schools find success in using a combination of both platforms to create a well-rounded social media presence.