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Social Media Challenges

MIPA’s Social Media Challenges are designed to help media programs develop and grow their social media presence on major platforms. All MIPA member programs are invited to participate. There is no entry free, although MIPA may limit the number of entries from each program. (See rules.) Participants receive feedback from our team of challenge coaches.

Each challenge pushes a staff to focus on a different social media platform. Staffs create multiple posts during the challenge period on the designated platform and submit a selection for review.

Each participating staff will earn a MIPA Social Media Challenge badge. MIPA’s Social Media Challenge are not traditional contests with placed winners. However, our coaches may select outstanding examples of work for Special Recognition.

Follow the directions of each challenge carefully. Each challenge has it own, unique instructions. Staffs may participate in any single challenge or all of them.

Jump to the instructions for these Social Media Challenges:

Advice

  • Set some goals for your staff. By the end of each challenge period, what do you want to have accomplished?
  • Follow some of your favorite news sources on various social media platforms. Make observations about what they are doing and use your observations to improve your posts!
  • Think critically about how to use each social media platform differently to match the features, characteristics and audience of each platform.
  • Look at what other student media programs are doing. Here is a link to a National Scholastic Press Association “Best Use of Social Media” contest with lots of great examples.
  • Social media tips from the experts:
  • What other tips can you find for how student media programs are successfully using social media? What can you learn from the ways that students use this platform personally?
Screen shot of a MIPAMSU instagram post featuring a dog staring at Michigan Interscholastic Press Association button pin held in a hand.

Instagram

  • Challenge period: Oct. 15-Nov. 15, 2021
  • Entry deadline: 11:59 p.m. Nov. 15

Showcase how your staff is using Instagram to advance the mission of your media program. Create at least 15 Instagram posts on 15 different days during the challenge period. Utilize the different types of post content allowed on Instagram. Posts should primarily be on the media program’s Instagram account.

How to Enter

  • Make a Google Slides presentation with all of your Instagram posts during the challenge period. Make sure your Google Slides share settings allow anyone with the link to view your presentation.
  • Pick your five best posts and explain what makes them the best in a few sentences.
  • Submit a link to your slides to the entry form.

Instagram Entry Form

Submit Your Entry

Instagram Challenge Rules

  • Limit 1 entry per MIPA member student media program Renew or Join
  • Entries must be submitted to the contest entry form as a link to a web-based Google Slides slide deck.
  • Entries may be published by MIPA in its newsletter, online or via social media.
  • Entries that cannot be accessed by the judges will be disqualified. Make sure your entry is not locked behind a password.
  • Entries that violate MIPA’s Copyright & Plagiarism Policy are not eligible for special recognition.
Screen shot of a MIPAMSU Twitter post featuring a dog staring at Michigan Interscholastic Press Association button pin held in a hand.

Twitter

  • Challenge period: Nov. 15-Dec. 15, 2021
  • Entry deadline: 11:59 p.m. Dec. 15

Showcase how your staff is using Twitter to advance the mission of your media program. Create at least 15 Twitter posts on 15 different days during the challenge period. Utilize the different types of post content allowed on Twitter. Posts should primarily be on the media program’s Twitter account, but tweets from individual staff members may also be included. (Relevant retweets and quoted tweets also may be among your posts.)

How to Enter

  • Make a Google Slides presentation with all of your Twitter posts during the challenge period. Make sure your Google Slides share settings allow anyone with the link to view your presentation.
  • Pick your five best posts and explain what makes them the best in a few sentences.
  • Submit a link to your slides to the entry form.

Twitter Entry Form

Submit Your Entry

Twitter Challenge Rules

  • Limit 1 entry per MIPA member student media program Renew or Join
  • Entries must be submitted to the contest entry form as a link to a web-based Google Slides slide deck.
  • Entries may be published by MIPA in its newsletter, online or via social media.
  • Entries that cannot be accessed by the judges will be disqualified. Make sure your entry is not locked behind a password.
  • Entries that violate MIPA’s Copyright & Plagiarism Policy are not eligible for special recognition.

Facebook

Participate in the Facebook Challenge from Jan. 1-Jan. 31. More details coming soon.