Survey of Use of Instagram in Higher Education Marketing, 2017-18 Edition

This 98-page special report presents data and commentary on how colleges and universities are using Instagram in their marketing and enrollment efforts. The study looks at both paid and gratis use of Instagram, imparting critical hard numbers on the amount of staff time higher ed marketers are spending now and plan to spend on Instagram marketing, what features on Instagram that they are using, if they are using paid Instagram ads and, if so, how much are they spending and with what results? The study also presents data on Instagram followers, both within and outside the college, Instagram comments and much more. Other issues discussed include model college Instagram sites, use of consultants, use of Instagram vs. other digital marketing options, and how Instagram stacks up vis-a -vis Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SnapChat, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other digital marketing options. Just a few of the report’s many findings are that: • Nearly 49% of those sampled used Boomerang in their Instagram marketing efforts. • 9.3% of those sampled had used carousel ads in their paid Instagram marketing efforts. • Colleges in the highest tuition range, more than $41,000 per year, spent the most staff time on Instagram, a mean of 1,350.4 hours per year. • Survey participants with work titles suggesting a specialization in web or digital marketing such as director of digital strategies or social media marketing specialist tended to have many more Instagram followers for their college sites than those run by those with general marketing titles such as director of marketing, or general admissions department titles such as director of admissions. • A few of the institutions named as particularly noteworthy for their Instagram marketing efforts were; Vanderbilt University, the University of Michigan, the US Naval Academy and Indiana State University.