How to Get the Most Out of Your Social Media Takeover

Sigma Tau Delta offers an awesome opportunity for members hosting chapter events—a social media takeover. I hosted a Sigma Takeover for my chapter’s annual Christmas party last December, and our chapter really enjoyed the opportunity. It was a great way to draw attention to the event, get followers and engagement on social media, spread the love for English language and literature, and interact with members worldwide.

So, if you have a chapter event coming up that you’d like to share with Sigma Tau Delta members, follow these steps to get the most out of your Sigma Takeover.

Plan Ahead

Before you contact Sigma Tau Delta with your idea, do some preliminary planning. When and where is the event? What kind of posts would best capture the event—photos, videos, text posts? Which social media platforms would be best suited for these types of posts? How many social media platforms do you want to be responsible for updating throughout the event? Don’t overwhelm yourself! Write out your plan, including ideas for staging photos and capturing candids, and draft any text posts that you can before the event.

Create a Hashtag

Write a hashtag that communicates the event you will be posting about and who is running the event by referencing either your chapter’s name or Sigma Tau Delta. (Don’t refer to Sigma Tau Delta with the acronym STD—that’s in the Society style guide!) Before you finalize your hashtag, check if it’s been used before on Instagram and Twitter, and if so, consider creating a unique hashtag.

Apply for a Social Media Takeover

Fill out the EnglishMatters Takeover Request form at least two week before your event and be ready to communicate further with the Central Office about the opportunity over email.

Let People Know

Tell the other members of your chapter that you will be posting about the event to Sigma Tau Delta’s social media so they are 1) emotionally ready to be photographed—some English major types aren’t always comfortable with this!—and 2) engaging with your posts during and after the event.

Brush Up on Your Social Media Skills

Review articles about what type of content to post and how best to engage with followers. Use hashtags on Instagram, don’t use too many hashtags on Twitter, post (focused and clear) photos, etc. Be sure to use Sigma Tau Delta’s hashtags #EnglishMatters and #SigmaTakeover on your posts and look at past Sigma Takeovers for inspiration.

Post during the Event

Posting during the event can be difficult, especially if you’re running it, but it’s more fun for followers to see a story unfolding over an hour or two rather than being bombarded with a bunch of photos an hour after the event.

Repost on Your Personal or Chapter Account

This is how you’ll get people to engage with the content you’re posting on Sigma Tau Delta’s accounts and let people know about the Sigma Tau Delta social media accounts! Repost, retweet, and share the posts you create on Sigma Tau Delta’s accounts so that your chapter members, friends, and family know you’re posting on another account.

Keep a Record of Your Posts

I recommend using Storify to make a story of your social media takeover. Storify is easy to use to create a digital file of your posts that you can link to as part of your online portfolio. It’s also a great way to reminisce about your chapter’s event—just post a link to the story every once in a while to remind your chapter members how much fun Sigma Tau Delta is.

Now, go sign up your chapter for a Sigma Takeover this year!

Carolina VonKampen
Rho Omicron Chapter, President
Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, NE