CASE STUDY · LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
5.4 million impressions. One legacy, reimagined.
How AP Creatives became Lincoln University’s embedded social media partner, and what a 172-year legacy looks like when it’s told every single day.
Social media partner since August 2025
5.4M
total impressions in year one
15,800+
new followers across Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, all organic
2.2M
Instagram views in a single month, an all-time Lincoln record
THE CHALLENGE
A historic institution needed a voice that matched it.
Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting HBCU, counts Thurgood Marshall and Langston Hughes among its alumni. Its legacy needed no invention. It needed a partner on the ground every week, capturing campus life as it happened and turning it into a consistent presence across every channel.
With HBCUs commanding national attention and the competition for students, donors and visibility tighter than ever, Lincoln made AP Creatives its embedded social media partner in August 2025.
PLATFORM BY PLATFORM
Every platform had a job.
Everything we create for Lincoln is built around people, not announcements. Instagram speaks to students and culture, Facebook to alumni and community, and LinkedIn to professionals and partners. Here’s how each one grew.
Students and culture.
Instagram is Lincoln’s most direct line to current and prospective students, and it became the engine of the partnership. Our Homecoming coverage alone drove 1.8 million views in October 2025.
Then in April 2026, Lincoln’s Instagram content reached 2.2 million views in a single month, an all-time record for the university.
14,300 → 19,607 followers
+37% since August 2025
Alumni and community.
Facebook became Lincoln’s home for heritage content and shareable storytelling, with campaigns like Black History Month and our alumni Love Stories series giving the community a reason to share.
None of that growth came from ad spend. It came from content people wanted to pass along because they could see themselves in Lincoln’s story.
15,118 → 21,059 followers
+39% since August 2025
Professionals and partners.
On LinkedIn, Lincoln’s story reached alumni, employers and institutional peers across the Philadelphia and DC-Baltimore corridor, connecting Lincoln’s programs to real-world outcomes.
It delivered the highest engagement of any platform, peaking at a 15.06% engagement rate.
24,284 → 28,933 followers
+19% in the last 12 months, 100% organic
A PARTNERSHIP SINCE 2020
Lincoln's creative partner long before the feed.
Our work with Lincoln didn’t start with social media. Since 2020, AP Creatives has designed the graphics behind Lincoln’s commencements, produced its biggest events and filmed the stories that define its legacy. Social media is simply the newest chapter.
Design
Six straight Commencements, from the Class of 2020 to the Class of 2025, plus Open House, giving campaigns and Founders’ Day. We design the look of Lincoln’s biggest moments, on screen, in print and across campus.
Live Events & Production
From CIAA host hotel takeovers for 2,500+ students, alumni and guests to concerts, step shows and convocations. We bring the LED walls, sound and crew that make Lincoln’s events feel as big as they are.
Film
LU Impact Stories, a six-part documentary series for Lincoln’s 171st Founders’ Day. We gave alumni, staff and the university’s 14th president the stage to tell Lincoln’s story in their own words.
THE WORK IN MOTION
Watch the stories behind the numbers.
From the six-part LU Impact Stories series to Homecoming’s Renaissance Gala, here’s a look at the work our team produced for Lincoln.
Renaissance Gala 2026
An evening honoring Lincoln’s legacy at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, captured during Homecoming weekend.
Dr. Niara Sudarkasa Naming Ceremony
A symposium and naming ceremony honoring Dr. Niara Sudarkasa, with remarks from President Brenda A. Allen and Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole.
CIAA Weekend Recap
Lincoln’s presence at the CIAA Tournament in Baltimore, from alumni gatherings to game day energy.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Culture moves faster than the calendar.
Year one proved what a partner on the ground can do for a university’s story. The moments that matter rarely wait for a content calendar, and being ready for every one of them is what turned Lincoln’s milestones into record-breaking months.
Everything we learned now shapes what we build next.
“
We are truly excited to partner with AP Creatives. When we talk about contributing your Time, Talents and Treasure, this is what we are referencing, and Anthony and his team are truly stepping up in this way. This partnership is more than a collaboration. It's a catalyst for transformation.
Harry Stinson III, MS-SA
Vice President of Institutional Advancement & Executive Director of the LU Foundation, Lincoln University
WHAT'S NEXT
Year one was the foundation.
Lincoln renewed the partnership after year one, and the work keeps growing: new platforms, deeper storytelling with alumni and a bigger voice for Lincoln in the national HBCU conversation.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
Want results like these?
Book a strategy session with our team and we’ll map out what a partnership could look like for your organization.