Promotional Posts: Amachi

I chose to use Instagram as my social media platform because I want young adults, specifically college students close to graduation, to be exposed to the content. Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms among this group (Solis, 2019). The platform gives the user a variety of ways to post including stories, actual posts, and the ability to repost others. I wanted to be able to advertise the creative work through stories and posts to make them on-trend and appealing.

Instagram will work for my overall plan because young adults are checking Instagram on average of “28 minutes per day on the platform” and “is the most popular traditional social network among U.S. teens” (Newberry, 2019). This generation grew up with technology making them extremely technologically advanced and involved with electronics. People among the target audience enjoy sharing things that they find interesting or care strongly about (Newberry, 2019). Meaning, if the user finds the creative work is emotionally appealing enough, there is the chance they will share it on their personal page for their followers to see. This would result in the spread of awareness about Amachi, my main goal for this overall project.

The body copy is short and to the point for all promotional Instagram posts. This generation has short attention spans making it essential to create a compelling post with strong visuals and limited text (Solis, 3019). The text makes the user curious to learn more about the nonprofit organization and find out what is in it for them. All posts have a call to action that leads the user to the blog posts and the Amachi website. I will make the posts trendy and aesthetically pleasing while keeping a professional tone. Young adults are more likely to react and engage in posts that are trendy and never seen before (Solis, 2019). The photos following a collage theme in order to make a cohesive ad campaign, I found this beneficial because it is visually appealing and helps show Harley’s story. If I were to focus on a single aspect for each post, I would not be able to effectively portray the message.

To promote the photo series, I created an Instagram story, posted by Amachi, that encourages consumers to visit, the main character of my story, Harleys Instagram page. The story will be a collage of photos from the blog post with the text “learn more about my life on my Instagram: @amachiharley”.  Users will be able to scroll through the photos and the captions will tell her story. There is also a link to the actual blog post giving the consumer the option viewing platforms. This was an effective way to make Harleys’ story come to life by creating a theoretical Instagram page for her that shows her realistic struggles. This will appeal to the target audience because they scroll through multiple Instagram accounts a day, but this is creative strategy is unique from the rest.

To promote the video, I created an Instagram post by Amachi with the caption “In at least one hour per week a child, the community, and yourself will experience growth. Click the link to see how.” clearly stating WIIFM for the consumer. Followed by the hashtags, #Build #Benefit to increase awareness and user engagement. When the “Watch Video” (call to action) button is pressed the consumer is redirected to the video. It was essential to include it is a small-time commitment because people among this age group claim that the biggest reason why they don’t donate more time is that they are extremely busy (Sparks, 2018). I hinted at community service because volunteering positively impacts a resume, “employers are 85% more likely to overlook resume flaws when the candidate’s resume includes volunteer experience” (Galaxy Digital, n.d., para. 8).

The post includes two photos of Harley, visually showing her transformation before and after Amachi. I applied a cool-toned filter to the top photo of Harley sitting alone to portray sadness and loneliness. The bottom photo of Harley hugging her mentee is bright and cheerful showing how much it makes a difference to have someone to look up to. The photos are placed in a template that looks as the photos have been printed out and posted on the wall. The design is appealing to the target audience because of its eye-catching, trendy design. The post fits with the overall theme of Instagram and Amachi’s current brand tone. By showing Harleys before and end results, viewers will be interested in her story/ transformation.

Lastly, to promote the interview video, I created an Instagram post by the Amachi account. Most of the followers on this account are young adults that are already apart of the program or have participated in it in the past. The caption of the post reads “Watch Kim explain her viewpoint, as a college student, regarding Amachi’s missions and goals.” with the hashtags, #StudentLife#Relate that promote interaction among the target audience. There will be a call to action under the photo saying “Watch Video” that takes the consumer directly to the video. The title of the video is intriguing lead by an informational caption that gives a background of the video. This will spark curiosity among the target audience because the interviewee has a similar lifestyle to them making it easy to relate to.

The visual includes a screenshot from the interview video placed on an internet screen. There is a headline that reads “How does Amachi relate to you?”. The second set of text is in the bottom right corner in black Andale Mono font saying “student viewpoint”.  The design is trendy because it looks as if she was on a desktop screen. It catches the target audience’s attention because they are interested in things advertised that are related to them and is to the point  (Newberry, 2019).

I learned about many things regarding photography and videography editing throughout the process of the project. I will be able to use these skills in future classes/ jobs. I also learned how to effectively target an audience to create a compelling story with an emotional appeal that encourages consumers to learn more. In order to do so, I tweaked small aspects of the project to ensure it fits consumers’ interests and is visually appealing. I also learned a lot about the non-profit organization, Amachi, and how its mission to better the lives of young kids adds to building the community to become more united.