What if we told you the secret to authentic, engaging school content isn’t hiring more staff; it’s empowering the students you already have?

We’re seeing an amazing trend: Schools across the country are discovering that their students are natural-born storytellers who can’t wait to share what makes their school special. 

I absolutely love it! Student voices add authenticity that adult-created content simply can’t match.

But if you’re new to getting students involved, you might be scratching your head over specific content ideas that they can handle. Never fear, #SocialSchool4EDU is here! Today’s article is packed with a ton of real-life content ideas to inspire your team.

Before we get into the specific examples, consider my best advice: Start by chatting with your students. What do they want to create? While assignments have their place, discovering what your students are genuinely excited to share will give you the best starting point.

With that caveat, let’s dig in. We’ll start with simple ideas and then move toward more complex posts. Note that while each of these examples links to Facebook or Instagram, you should post to both platforms. Grab the ideas that you think your squad can run with!

Capture Classroom Moments

Simply ask your student contributors to highlight something happening in one of their classes, twice a month. You’ll get authentic glimpses into real-life learning, without overwhelming students because they’re already in those classes.

Of course, you’ll need to comply with phone policies. If your school has a cell phone ban, check out this blog for creative workarounds.

Here’s a great example from my middle school internship at New Auburn School District in Wisconsin:

“Stock” Photos for Special Recognition Days

Photo assignments for special recognition days are perfect starter projects for student content creators! 

At New Auburn, we needed photos of our custodial crew, lunch staff, and bus drivers for October recognition posts, and these were easy to assign to one of our interns. It would be just as simple for the intern to create the entire post as well, giving them ownership of the whole process. Click here for a list of special recognition days to fill up your content calendar.

Videos to Promote Upcoming Events

Did you know that simple videos promoting upcoming events perform much better than static flyers? Students can apply their creativity skills to making engaging, shareable content! Let them showcase your school’s events by shooting and posting videos like these from my New Auburn interns: 

This video only features students talking, but it’s fun and high-energy – and earned tons of engagement:

You can encourage your contributors to have fun with a dance or trend, and just drop in the announcement details with text on screen, like these super short examples:

I love the way my interns got creative with words and “text” to make this blood drive video stand out:

Curate Athletics Highlights

Sports highlights and content from athletic events give students amazing material to work with! Your students are already likely passionate about the hard work that student-athletes are doing (and may also be participating in these sports, themselves), so let them share their excitement. This content practically creates itself when you put it in the right hands!

My student interns edited athletic photos in CapCut, then added music once in the Instagram app (make sure you check out the lyrics for your song choices before posting; here’s why):

Claremore Public Schools in Oklahoma shared this school-pride-inducing example with the following explanation from Jamie Brace, its Director of Communications:

We do this after every football game, but it doesn’t matter how many times we do it; we always get great engagement, and now people expect it. It’s our Zebra Fight Song! The interns go into the field and record it. If they are not available, our principal steps in to help us. Our goal is to combine all of them into a single, longer one at some point.

Check out this fun “pass the phone” challenge that Claremore organized! It takes some coordination between teams, but the concept is still super simple. 

Here’s the fall sports version (reached over 60,000 people!)

And here’s the spring sports version (reached nearly 40,000 people!)

We passed the phone and included all our sports. We did one for fall, then did it again in the spring for spring sports, since we have so many. – Fall 60.4K – Spring 38K

Finally, don’t be afraid to match your content with your students’ interests. If they’re really into a particular sports team, lean into that and let them take the lead with creating content. This text and photo example from Mahtomedi Public Schools in Minnesota showcases the girls’ flag football team:

Create Student and Staff Features

Ongoing features highlight students and staff and drive positive engagement from your followers! These are powerful stories that deserve to be shared. 

Your students can select the people they want to highlight, work off a list that you approve, or, if you’re a small enough school, they can feature everyone. Check out these great examples!

Featuring seniors is a no-brainer! This soccer team from New Life Academy in Minnesota created carousel photos and graphics to celebrate its senior players. Notice how the text offers a mini “interview” with each student:

Let your students flex their writing skills by coming up with a creative “getting to know you” caption for a staff member, pairing it with a quick photo, like this example from New Life Academy in Minnesota:

Here’s another text-and-photo example from Mahtomedi Public Schools in Minnesota! Alice Seuffert, the Director of Communications, shared:

I work with my student interns on brand-specific stories that are part of our monthly storytelling content themes. For example, this Facebook post written by one of my interns highlights staff expertise by spotlighting a teacher and the real-world skills she teaches.

“Rapid Question” Student Interviews

Let your students come up with fun, silly questions to ask classmates in a “rapid question” video! This format gives your student contributors experience writing questions, filming the interviews, creating cover images, adding transitions, and including animated elements that match the interviewee’s answers. 

In other words, it’s a perfect blend of creativity and structure for developing your content creators! See it in action in New Auburn:

Videos with Multiple Students Interviewed

Have you seen “Question of the Week” or “Hallway Hot Takes” videos? These require your students to interview multiple people, taking the last example up a notch! 

While it’s a little more challenging to coordinate multiple people for interviews, the payoff is huge. These compilation-style videos show the diversity of voices and opinions in your school community.

My interns in New Auburn got quotes from students in multiple grade levels to create this video:

Pick a theme (this one was “National Women in Sports Day”) and have your content creators ask questions and/or pick interviewees that relate to it:

Serra Catholic High School in Pennsylvania featured students answering “Which teachers would you vote as Homecoming King and Queen?” during Homecoming week:

Here’s a cute St. Patrick’s Day compilation from Northeastern Local School District in Ohio! I love how the student interviewer got down on the same level as the younger students and asked different questions for variety:

Mahtomedi Public Schools in Minnesota is back with two more heart-warming examples. Having younger students offer advice to graduating seniors is always a hit!

And this one is Thanksgiving themed; I love the creative two-question format:

Instagram Story Takeovers

Not all student takeovers are created equal, and the best ones are truly worth checking out! I’m obsessed with this award-winning Homecoming content, done via Instagram Stories and then saved as an Instagram Highlight, from Walled Lake Consolidated Schools in Michigan. 

The student took followers on a journey into what a Friday during Homecoming Week looks like. She provided frequent updates throughout the day – from morning practice to pep rally excitement to Homecoming Court at the football game – and used a combination of photos, boomerangs, and videos. She also made sure to include other students in her story!

And the results reflected the success of her storytelling! Throughout the takeover, the school added 500 new followers and reached more than 500 non-followers. The content strategy was definitely noticed by the community, with several local businesses reaching out to see if they could implement something similar with their own marketing strategy!

Here’s the 2025 Homecoming takeover from WLCS:

And this takeover featured the student drama program at the high school:

Learn more about how Jason Lewis, the Communications Specialist at WLCS, empowers such thoughtful student-generated content in our podcast interview, and read this blog to learn exactly how to implement an Instagram takeover at your school!

“Day in the Life” Stories

Give your followers a glimpse into a “day in the life” of one of your students with this engaging alternative to Instagram takeovers! This approach assembles content into a continuous video shared as a Reel, rather than posting live as the day progresses. 

If you’re not ready to hand over complete control with a story takeover, this is a perfect alternative that still gives your community the behind-the-scenes content they love. Check out this example from New Life Academy in Minnesota:

Highlight Special Programs and Milestones

Let students help you celebrate special programs and milestones like retirements, board member introductions, and senior celebrations! These meaningful moments deserve thoughtful documentation, and students bring a fresh perspective to the table. Let them help you celebrate the people who make your school special.

Over in New Auburn, my interns put together this thoughtful post for a longtime kindergarten teacher who was retiring. They featured many students throughout elementary, middle, and high school who had Mrs. McFaul as a teacher, sharing what they wished they could do one more time with her in her classroom. The teacher loved it!

Next up is a student-created feature from Northeastern Local School District in Ohio. Steffanie Stratton, Communications Representative, assigned a summer intern to create a video series. The goal was to show the community that work continues in the board office over the summer, despite school being out.

Here’s another great example from Claremore: “Senior Sign-off”! It’s a creative idea with a tinge of emotion, going over so well in the community that they created a second part:

Here’s a TikTok tutorial on how to achieve this effect.

Student-Generated Games

What about a fun game? This type of content can be incredibly engaging! Students love creating and participating in these interactive ideas. Click on each of these examples from New Life Academy to see what I mean: 

First up is “Guess That Senior Baby.” This takes some more editing work, but when the students are enthusiastic about the idea, it’s pretty easy!

Next is a trivia-based video:

“Open Mic” Videos

Easy questions make participation soar when you set up a microphone in high-traffic areas! We recommend doing this weekly so students start recognizing what to do and feel comfortable participating. 

You can have a student hit record when someone starts talking, or leave the camera running (which takes more editing, later). Either way, you’ll capture authentic student voices and opinions.

See this idea in action, at New Life Academy:

Getting Your Student Contributors Set Up for Success

Beyond the extraordinary content and online engagement, your student contributors will gain confidence, marketable skillsets, and valuable resume experience. Don’t believe me? Check out this Facebook post that highlights the student interns at Mahtomedi Public Schools and their feedback on what they learned!

Side note: Your students will need portable microphones to capture a lot of this content. Here are a couple of recommendations: 

• Smerkrod – $29.99: It’s not outstanding quality, but it works if you’re on a limited budget.
• Rode – $279: This is a higher-end product and produces much better sound!

If you need more ideas for how to involve students, this helpful download will get your creative juices flowing. I also recommend this podcast episode, this podcast episode, and this case study.

One more piece of advice: Many students learn by example, so if you want to empower your contributors, send them this blog so they can get inspired by their peers. 

So, did you enjoy these content ideas for student contributors? I bet there are tons of other social media posts that you’ve already seen or created at your own school! 

Email me at andrea@socialschool4edu.com so I can check them out. I often feature different social media post examples on my social channels and in my biweekly newsletter. You just might see your suggestion shared!