Executive Summary

Down Syndrome Indiana is looking to increase awareness of its organization to IUPUI students and improve their social media engagement from a younger generation, specifically on Instagram. In order to accomplish this, we have researched the most effective practices for generating interest on their Instagram page and how to best partner with local students.

Key Findings:

• Authenticity increases the credibility of an organization and leads to improved customer loyalty

• Dynamic social media posts enhance user attitudes 

• Social media posts with visuals have 120% more engagement than posts without

• Hashtags can better connect a post with its target audience

• Instagram carousels have a higher average engagement rate than images or videos alone

• Emotional advertisements advance support through volunteering, fundraising, and donations

• Over half of the survey respondents prefer to look at the stories section of Instagram

• The majority of survey respondents would like to see the everyday life and behind the scenes content from a non-profit organization’s Instagram

Our recommendations are focused on increasing emotional response through visuals and best utilizing multiple Instagram tools. The reasoning for these recommendations can be found through the multiple sections of this recommendation report which include: methodology, analysis, recommendations, review of literature, and appendices. 

Condensed Recommendations:

• Increase the use of visuals to enhance emotional connection with an audience

• Utilize Instagram stories to create dynamic content which increases interest

• Create authentic Instagram stories to improve credibility and audience attitude

• Use photo carousels to provide a mix of content and increase engagement

• Incorporate specific hashtags to reach a wider audience