We are always looking to get students to just KNOW who we are and getting them engaged, and that first steps leads to getting students who want to become a bigger part of our community later (student leaders, facilitators, etc.)
On our instagram page, we try to use polls, upcoming events, and interactive posts to get students to engage with us and to know what's going on.
The more involved an instructor becomes in the online activities of students, the more these students will feel validated for the learning they are demonstrating.
Maybe if we were to showcase what students were sending us (photos of events, ideas they had for our community, etc.) they would be more inclined to get involved and share with us and each other.
We need students to not only be engaged with their classes (which is important), but with their learning communities as well. They are supposed to be learning where they are living, so how can we get them engaged in what we are trying to introduce into the community?
Students are often changing and wanting/needing different things at different times. If we are to create things centered around them, we also have to be willing to change our roles and plans to work in conjuncture with theirs.