What if you could experience DePaul College Prep in real-time, straight from your phone? With Instagram you can. From the latest athletic victories to a glimpse of classroom moments, DePaul Prep’s Instagram accounts bring the school’s community to life. Whether you’re a current student, prospective family, or alumni these accounts offer a up-close look at everything that makes DePaul Prep unique.
Instagram has become an essential communication tool at DePaul College Prep offering multiple accounts dedicated to different aspects of school life. These accounts serve a variety of purposes, from academic highlights and achievements, to student life and extracurricular activities.
Chris Petersen, Director of Student Activities, shared that each of DePaul Prep’s many clubs have its own individual moderator responsible for posting content. These moderators, often faculty members, help each club establish its own image on Instagram, sharing updates, events, and achievements specific to their group.
Each Instagram account serves a specific purpose and caters to a different audience. In addition to the various club and sports accounts, there are four main DePaul Prep Instagram accounts that highlight different aspects of school life. These core accounts are the “DePaul Prep Student Life, DePaul Prep Athletics, DePaul Prep, and Mission and Ministry,” all of which present different perspectives on school experience.
Although the primary DePaul Prep account functions as the schools official public account, the Student Life account focuses on offering a more personal, inside look at the daily experiences of students. The Athletics account highlights each sports team, while Mission and Ministry focus on DePaul Prep’s spiritual side, promoting community service and faith.
To ensure consistency and coordination across all accounts, DePaul Prep’s Marketing and Activity team meets bi-weekly to plan and discuss communication strategies. These meetings help assure that the accounts are aligned and that content is both engaging and relevant to the right audience.
“We’re very strategic about what we post and where we post it,” said Petersen. Decisions are made carefully, with thought given to even the littlest details, such as if something should be a permanent post, a story, or reel, depending on the message that is trying to be shared.
Although students are not fully in charge of accounts, they are encouraged to contribute ideas, photos, and content that they would like to see. Assistant Director of Student Activities, Britt Parker, explained how it is crucial “to get input from students because they know what they like and what they want to see.” This not only helps keep content up to date, but further empathizes and resonates a message or announcement that is trying to be shared with students.
One memorable moment that highlights the effectiveness of Instagram as a communication tool occurred when specific students were not signing their dance forms. Despite multiple reminders via email and Schoology, many students had not completed the task. To fix this, the names of the students who had not signed them were posted on Instagram. Within hours, every single student had signed the form. “It was such a quick and easy way to get the message across,” said Parker.
With social media already playing a prevalent role in students’ lives, DePaul Prep has integrated the school accounts into playing a major role in what is on their feed. Instagram in some ways has become the platform for communication because it is where the students are most active, making it the perfect way to share updates.
Instagram has truly become more than just a way to share photos, it’s a critical part of DePaul Prep’s communication strategy. Whether it’s for marketing, engaging the students, or spreading the word, Instagram serves as an essential tool for DePaul College Prep. As the student body and faculty continue to grow, Instagram will help bring the DePaul Prep community closer together.
