When we sketch a campaign for the galleries, the first thing we write is the pinned post. Not the hashtag, not the graphics, not the schedule. The pinned post forces every decision that matters into a few lines, and if it can't be written yet, the campaign isn't ready.
Why it comes first
A pinned post is what people see when they tap through to your profile after seeing the hashtag somewhere else. For many of them it is the only post of yours they will read. If it doesn't say what the campaign is, how to take part and when it ends, those people leave.
Writing it early also exposes gaps. You can't write "entries close Sunday at 8 p.m." until someone has decided the time zone. You can't write "one photo per person" until you've decided how many entries are allowed. Every blank you hit is a decision that would otherwise surface on launch day, in public, in someone's reply.
What goes in it
Most good pinned posts contain the same parts, in roughly this order:
- What it is, in one sentence a stranger understands.
- The hashtag, written in CamelCase.
- What to do: post a photo, ask a question, share a story.
- Whether to mention your account.
- When it ends, with a time zone if it matters.
- A link to rules or details, if there are any.
Add one image if it helps. For a photo contest, use an example you took yourself, so nobody wonders whose photo it is.
A template
Our spring photo week is on. Post a photo of your garden with #GardenGlowUp and tag @ourhandle. One photo per person. Ends Sunday 8 p.m. ET. Rules: [link]
That's under 200 characters, and it answers the questions people usually ask in replies. Replace each part with your own, and if the result runs much longer, the campaign may be trying to do too much.
After launch
Keep the pinned post up until the campaign is over, then replace it with the result: the winners, the total or the recap thread. Leaving an old campaign pinned for months suggests nobody is looking after the account.
The planner puts "pin the post" on every timeline for this reason. If you're starting from scratch, choosing a hashtag covers the first decision the post depends on.