Everyone knows that sororities are a big deal at Alabama, and now with social media playing a huge role in our everyday lives, there is a lot of pressure on those who are in charge of it. I am fortunate to know firsthand how stressful it is to do so. I oversee my sorority’s Instagram, VSCO, and TikTok. Thankfully, I don’t have to do it alone. It may seem like a glamorous job, but there are a lot of downsides that people may not realize. I have tons of highs and lows running a Greek organization’s social media, and I am here to tell you about some of the main things that you should know if you are considering this job:
You are Constantly Working
In this position, I am constantly busy, whether I am making a graphic for a percentage day, searching for a cute picture to post, or coming up with a creative caption. I am always tasked with ideating how to post on Instagram in a way that keeps it fun and pushes lots of content out there. Sometimes I will realize the next day is a holiday, and I need to make a post about it. In circumstances like these, I have to create and submit the post before I can go to bed! Social media management is a fast-paced, time-sensitive job, so oftentimes, I feel like I am putting off my personal or academic life in order to work and make something for my sorority.
You Have to Ask People for Pictures/Content
Some people take such cute pictures but don’t send them into the sorority for posting. That makes life as a social media manager more difficult because it takes more time to search postable content. Sometimes the sorority will have a specific ideas for what to post that I have to find pictures for. For example, if I wanted pictures for, like National Coffee Day, I would have to ask sorority members for pictures of them holding coffee. Specific requests like these are tough because they aren’t always easy to find!
There Are So Many Pictures in Your Camera Roll
From date parties to game days, I have more pictures of girls in my sorority than I have of myself. When it comes to editing photos, you have to make sure that they look perfect, so you may end up downloading each picture a few times. After posting the pictures on Instagram, a new copy of each picture is added to your camera roll. Sometimes for just one posted photo, I will end up with 3-4 copies of one picture in my camera roll.
It’s Impossible to Please Everyone
I may think a picture is cute and going to perform well, but some people may think that the picture doesn’t look good on the feed. It’s also hard to post everybody in your sorority. In my sorority, we have tons of members, so it’s almost impossible to post all of them. Other people also submit more pictures than others, so some people get posted much less frequently. So many pictures are cute, but not every picture is perfect for a sorority’s Instagram. Sororities are held to a higher standard when it comes to social media, and everything needs to be perfect.
This means there are times when overall cute pictures don’t get posted because of small things like the lighting being a little off or it not editing well.
While there may be a lot of difficulties in the role of social media manager, there are so many positives to running a Greek organization’s Instagram.
You Get to Learn Your Sisters’ Names and Faces
Although there may be some downsides to running Instagram, I love being able to know lots of my sisters because I get to see their faces and names when I post them. Sometimes for captions I need more information about why they joined this sorority, how they met their big, or what their advice is for new girls who are rushing. This means I get to interview my sisters and am constantly learning new things about them. This helps build relationships that I wouldn’t have otherwise had!
You Can Exercise Your Creative Abilities
I personally love being able to make graphics and show off my creativity. I love bringing out my personality and making graphics for all different reasons. For example, during recrutiment work week, the sisters dress up every day for a different theme. During this time I would make graphics every day my sorority sisters to post and show of their outfits. I am always keeping up with trends, specific styles of graphics, and ideas Instagram captions.
You Get to Interact with Companies
All year long sorority’s gets tons of direct messages about various things like companies wanting to send products or information about their mission. Over the summer, I got a DM from Tarte Cosmetics. They wanted to send every member in my sorority some makeup goodies. So, I sent them the information and shipping address and patiently waited until I was back to receive these products. I was so happy to pass out all the lipstick and mascara to my sorority sisters and I loved seeing them so happy about it.
Overall, I love creating all the content for my sorority. It has pros and cons, but so does everything else. I would not trade this experience for the world, and I have learned so much about myself and my abilities throughout my tenure. Without running my sorority’s Instagram, I wouldn’t have found my true love for Instagram and social media both in my free time, and hopefully as a career one day. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to run my sorority’s social media.