Great Social Media Idea: Doggies!!!

I'm down with Instagram takeovers (and OPP... yeah you know me!). I think they are a fun way to do something fresh and different with an Instagram account while also providing a really neat view of life on your campus from a different perspective.

As such, I've written about Instagram takeovers before, but I couldn't resist writing about it again when I saw this great example today from Ithaca College. What made it so special? Doggies!!!

Who is this cute guy? I'll let Ithaca explain:

Welcome to a very special Takeover Tuesday! This week we're featuring Arthas, a five month old, black lab puppy from the Guiding Eyes for the Blind club at #IthacaCollege. Guiding Eyes dogs are "dedicated to enriching the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, thereby assuring greater independence, dignity and new horizons of opportunity." As for Arthas, he loves nothing more than playing in the snow and with his friends, giving big wet kisses, and snuggling. Get ready to be the first people Arthas will be guiding through the day and prepare yourselves for an infusion of cuteness because this is how Arthas sees #IC.

I mean, we all know that animals rule the internet, but it's not always easy to find ways to feature them in higher ed. (Great examples here and here.) So when you've got an awesome club that is totally worth highlighting that just so happens to involve cute puppies? Well, that's social media GOLD!

Anyway, the main reason I like this is because it shows a good sense of humor. There's nothing worse than stuffiness on social media, and there really isn't much room for institutions that take themselves too seriously. I mean... why not just post a bunch of cute dog photos on your schools Instagram feed every now and then?

Does it do much to "advance the brand" of a school? Mmmm... probably not. (At least, not in the way that some higher ups define things.) But will it make people smile? Absolutely. And making people smile is definitely a worthy endeavor sometimes. Most of the time, really.

So props, Ithaca! I really enjoyed following this today.