Instagraming The Facts
Instagram, the social media giant has quickly become something that is more than just a place to share a quick, filtered photo of your lunch with a caption of: #Yummy! :).
Democracy Now!, the well known, critically acclaimed independent news program uses Instagram to connect with their viewers while at the same informing them.
DemocracyNow! began their social media presence on Instagram only about 3.5 years, ago; so the fact that an independent news source already has that sort of following is impressive for me.
What I found to be the most impressive with their use of their Instagram account; is their most recent Instagram stories.
^^^This is a screengrab of their first two Insta stories, and I was immediately intrigued. They put the captions over video of Ragbir telling his story, which made me as a viewer even more curious. Another clever thing they did was include the ‘See More’ tab at the bottom. If a viewer, such as myself was intrigued by this story and swiped up; it automatically loads the DemocracyNow! Website with their latest content.
The story that is exactly eye view, dead center is the one seen on the stories and highlighted being the last two posts on their Instagram page. I think this is an amazing move on the part of Democracy now because they are encouraging more viewer involvement with their social media and their webpage-if you actually think about it, it’s a genius, strategic move.
Today was a great day on their social media account because based on the subject of their story; they left a lot of viewers wondering ‘what is going to happen to this man they all just met but already feel a connection with?’. Democracy Now! a short time later, posts a follow up Instagram Story, making sure to keep viewers constantly informed.
Choosing a gripping story like this one, I believe is the best way to use Instagram story. It’s called a ‘story’ and DemocracyNow! genuinely made it feel like one; it had the viewer eagerly waiting for the next story, constantly checking to see what happened.
However, while I genuinely believe they did an incredible job covering this story from a journalistic standpoint, but also from a social media standpoint; I can’t help but wonder, why was there now Instagram Live video? I am happy they posted the Update so that everyone who was following the story has 24 hours to check back in. Yet, I think this update validated both a follow-up on their story as well as a Live Instagram video. If they went live, it would alert all followers and if on the live video they also refer back to their stories, “Check our story to get caught up”, then they would be increasing their viewer involvement on all aspects of their Instagram account.
While I only have one critique on DemocracyNow!’s Instagram account, I have plenty of compliments. Taking a broad look at their Instagram account, it’s quickly obvious that they do not use any sort of filter on their pictures and videos. I personally deeply respect this because I think that filters create and unprofessional vibe. What I personally believe is that filters on photos and videos help to create an emotional effect. For instance, filters with warmer tones give off a happier vibe while colder tones gives the opposite; black and white can give the appearance of a more serious, intellectual tone. I think that in cases of news stories, the audience shouldn’t be told how to feel; they should be able to form their own opinions and I think that as a follower of DemocracyNow! that they allow me to do so.
On a final note, DemocracyNow!’s audience has increased tremendously. To give a visual perspective here is their first ever Instagram post:
Followed by a middle post and a more recent one:
Just visually seeing the dramatic difference in these posts; how the pictures become more visually appealing, viewers are liking them more and commenting more is incredible.
As an avid social media user and someone who checks her Instagram at least once a day, I am blown away at the little things DemocracyNow! does to increase their viewer involvement. If I wasn’t looking for them, I wouldn’t notice it because of how they smooth they incorporate it.
If I was in the habit of making bets I would say DemocracyNow!’s social media presence is only going to grow and become more stronger, and personally I am excited to see it happen.
On a quick side note; I decided to test out how hard it is to create a good video for Instagram (it can’t be that hard right?) WRONG! Take a look at my attempt here and take my advice and don’t be too critical of the professionals until you attempt it.
