The following best practices are based on the strategy and tone of WashU’s central accounts. The overall aim being to build community, drive engagement and promote thought leadership.
Colon Method
Engaging a catchy lede: Moral of story.
Think about faint cultural references.
Examples:
- Adding flavor, boosting community: Schnuck pavilion….
- Ideas take flight: Architecture students gear up to complete suspended aerial design commissioned by the #STL airport.
- Bridging innovation to collaboration: then info
Question Method
Thought-provoking, attention-grabbing
Examples:
- Counterattacks, evasive maneuvers? @WUSTLmed made a discovery that can aid in the war against antibiotic resistance.
- How do you lead the next generation of entrepreneurs?
Quote method
- Personable
- Focus on the what and the why of the story
- Research- how is it helpful or how does it drive change?
- Think about IMPACT
- Make information highly validating and valuable to the reader
Emoji method
- Eye-catching
- Use emojis as bullet points to outline important details of the article
Pro tip: For all platforms your writing style and content should meet your communication goals and niche within the WashU brand.
Our audience on Facebook is primarily alums, parents and prospective families. Content that commands the greatest response on Facebook is personable and makes an emotional connection. What life-changing research is happening? How are students making an impact beyond campus and in the community? What strides is the university taking to build a better world?
Pride examples
Alum and new director of the CDC Dr. Rochelle Walensky
WashU accepts exceptional students after an exceptional admissions cycle
Research example
COVID-19 vaccine generates immune structures critical for lasting immunity
Our audience on Instagram is primarily students, prospective students and young alums. Prospective students want insight into our campus culture and our current students make up said culture. Therefore, our Instagram presence is grounded in community and authenticity. Since our IG audience is younger we also have more flexibility to show more personality and tap into trends, with a tactical and clever approach. Here are some caption ideas for standout IG posts
Clever cultural references and quotes
Song lyrics
Call-to-action (ex: A trivia question)
Pro tip: Our team shortens all urls to Bitly links for uniformity, aesthetic and to inform data driven decisions. Be aware that linking is not truly an option on instagram, unless you are an account with 10,000+ followers which would allow you to add links to your story.