Improving non-profit organization’s social media platforms to increase following

In today’s society, it is almost impossible to find individuals who do not have at least one account on the several social media platforms out there. That being said, it is important for businesses, companies, and non-profit organizations to create attractive social media accounts to gain attention. I viewed the Instagram accounts of New Orleans local nonprofit organizations including CASA New Orleans, Caps For Kids, and Take Paws Rescue. In this article, I will be showing three popular Instagram accounts and describe what they do to achieve their high following and share how some of these nonprofit organizations could do the same.

1. Instagram: @Vivianeaudi

Viviane Audi is an Instagram influencer who posts videos and photos highlighting different tips on fashion, beauty, travel, and more. She has 334 thousand followers and averages at about 40 thousand likes per photo. As you can see in these photos, she makes her content very aesthetically pleasing by inputting nice backgrounds (i.e. the sunset), posing the right way, etc. which is why she has the following she does. She also is sponsored by so many different brands because she brings them great attention by posting photos in their products and making sure to tag them.

Caps for Kids is a nonprofit organization that brings smiles to kids with cancer by sending celebrity autographed caps to them. They could use some of these tips from Viviane when going forward with their Instagram account. For example, I would recommend tagging the celebrity in the actual photo tag (similar to how Viviane tags these brands) so that people will be able to see Caps for Kids’ account when looking at the celebrity’s Instagram.

2. Instagram: @Quotesbychristie

Quotes by Christie is an Instagram account that posts inspirational quotes every day. The account has 1.1 million followers and averages about 80 thousand likes per post. As you can see, Christie makes it a point to use bright colors that will stand out in every post. She also uses an attractive font that automatically pleases the eye. Another interesting thing about her account is that for each quote she post, she puts about 4 different photos in the post with the same quote but in different colors. This way it allows everyone to pick out their favorite combination of colors and words.

CASA New Orleans is a nonprofit organization that fights for the rights of abused and neglected children. I think the Instagram account has a lot of potential to increase its following and bring more awareness to this organization. For example, they can post different inspirational quotes for people who are fighting a battle like abuse and neglect with pretty colors and nice aesthetics. It may be a shock but some inspiring words on a simple Instagram post can really brighten someone’s mood. Also people tend to share inspiring words with others so they will send around the Instagram posts to friends and family which will gain more attention for the account.

3. Instagram: @FrenchTruck

French Truck is an Instagram account that posts pleasing photos of their food and beverages. The account has 18.9 thousand followers and averages about 400 likes per post. These post all have different pleasing and attractive aspects to them that has attracted their followers. For example, the first photo above includes a puppy, the second photo has a high definition photo of the coffee and baked goods, and the last photo above has the appealing logo of French Truck with two coffee cups. These three photos are just a few of the several aesthetically pleasing ones on this account. Nowadays, everyone likes a nice artsy picture of coffee which is why they have the large following that they do.

Take Paws Rescue is a nonprofit organization that rescues pets in the New Orleans area and fosters them. The Instagram account does an amazing job at capturing photos of these adorable puppies but I believe they can do even better. Everyone loves puppies, it is simply a fact. In that case, Take Paws Rescue can use this to their advantage and capture pretty photos of the puppies with nice backgrounds and bring more attention to their page. It is all about the aesthetics.

Kayla Martinez is a student in the Digital Civic Engagement class, which is taught by Kelley Crawford and Renee Peck at Tulane University. You can reach her at kmartinez@tulane.edu.