Social Media

Instagram

Instagram is our one and only social media platform. Our main goal this year is to be more active on Instagram and gain more followers so that we can spread information about Regulus to more students.

When I first got the login information from the past EiCs and logged into this Instagram account, we only had about 300 followers. Now, in five months, we are close to doubling the number of followers.

Since we are a yearbook and not an online platform, we never really put effort into our social media.

When I say "We never really put effort into our social media", this is what I mean:

We did not post often

Just within this screenshot, there are two sets of EiCs (the EiCs my sophomore year and the EiCs my junior year) -> meaning, the EiCs before us posted less than 10 posts throughout their volume.

Inconsistent

The designs of posts were everywhere, not sticking to one style of design.

No reel posts

They ONLY posted photos of the Regulus staff and informational posts.
Not very engaging

Now, things took a turn when two other co-EiCs and I became the editors-in-chief: We knew that one of the best ways to increase the yearbook's sales was to level up our social media.

Here is a quick view of how our feed changed:

We try to post at least once a week

Since September 2024, we have posted about 15 posts, including photos from sports games and school events.

Consistent

Overall, our feed is pleasing to the eye.

Reels!!!

We have made seven reels (starting with CSPA vlog, prom, graduation, since we have taken the place of EiC.
Partly because we wanted to gain more followers and engage the school with the yearbook and partly because we enjoy making reels.

Let's dig deeper. What is my role?

It's hard to find a word that sums up my contribution to our Instagram page. I am all over the place.

But there is one thing I can say for sure: One of my hobbies is to go through our posts and observe what kind of posts got more views/interactions, and what kind of posts don't get much attention.

For context for the next few sections, my Instagram username is @aoba.f_, so when you see that username tagged in the captions, that means I took those photos.

Athletics

I post a lot of sports game pictures on our Instagram for several reasons.

It's genuinely entertaining to see people at your school playing sports through these photos

I have gotten reactions from my friends who saw the post and told me how they learned that one of their classmates is on the volleyball team.
Students who weren't at the game see the photos and at least recognize that there was a game.

To lead people to our Instagram page.

When students are featured in these sports photos, they usually repost them on their stories. When other students who don't follow Regulus see that story, they might follow us!

Other School Events

A lot of school events that happen at school, like the Holiday Concert, are during school time, so I try to go and get some photos if I have a free block or a canceled class.

These photos are also an excellent way to draw the audience to our Instagram page. Usually, students are interested in what happens at school, and so these posts tend to gain more interactions (as in likes and views) than sports photos.

Instagram Stories

Stories are the number one feature that Regulus uses on Instagram.

We use it for various purposes, including surveys and informational stories (ex. "Meeting in room 9204!").

Stories Pt.1: Consistency

Even in our stories, we wanted to keep consistent.

Our profile picture is the general color palette we use for our stories: Teal blue, pink, and white.

In September, I went on Canva.com and created a template for us to use on the stories (the two screenshots to the left).

So here is what our stories archive looks like: You can clearly see our use of the color palette.

As a few weeks passed, I got lazy of having to scroll down endlessly to find the templates through my camera roll, so I started using solid color backgrounds. Still, I used the colors on the color palettes so all okay.

Stories Pt.2: More than just a fun platform

One thing we need to do as a yearbook is to get as much student voice on our pages as possible. Now, there is a limit to how many different people our staff can reach out to.

For example, let's say there is a spread called "Morning at South," featuring stories of students who come to school early. Let's be honest; this topic is hard to cover and find stories of. Who wants to wake up extra early to come to school early and try to find content? No one. On top of that, there is a limit to the amount of information you have about other students. Often, our staff only end up featuring their friends, which leads to a lack of diversity.

This is where our Instagram stories come in handy.

I can just quickly make a story saying, "Do you come to South earlier and do something?" and add a "yes" or "no" poll. Give it a good couple of hours, and you have people responding to "yes."

What now? Just DM them or email them about it!

Mike Taylor and Debbie Approved!!!!!!!!!!

Mike Taylor is a National Accounts Manager and Journalism Specialist with the yearbook company Walsworth (the company we work with). He has earned countless awards and is a recipient of prestigious honors like the CSPA Gold Key and Florida Scholastic Press Association Gold Medallion. He is a true "yearbook nerd," as he says himself.

Debbie Cohen is currently a sales representative for the Walsworth yearbooks company. She has personally helped us through the process of the creation of our book. We have probably sent so many emails about questions and, most importantly, about cover designs.

Mike Taylor and Debbie both have a special place in my heart. Mike Taylor is such a legendary presence. Whenever I see him or even just hear that he is at the same journalism convention, I get excited. My mom has probably heard me say his name countless times, as I always tell her, "And you know who else was there? Mike Taylor." And Debbie. Without Debbie, we seriously won't reach the point where we can print the books out.

So, what exactly did we get "approved" by them?

Mike Taylor: He posted us on his Instagram!! Multiple times!! To be recognized by Mike Taylor, oh, what a dream.

Debbie: She follows our Instagram! And likes our posts! Can't get any better than this.

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