Sophia Bush: A famous actress turned online activist, engaging nearly 5 million social media users
Sophia Bush made her way into people’s hearts and screens long before she became a social media role model. When Bush left USC to join the now notorious One Tree Hill cast, her career was just beginning. Before departing in her junior year, she studied journalism, learning how to research and engage an audience — skills that proved evergreen in her constantly evolving career.
Bush now advocates for human rights, voter participation, among many other topics to her nearly 5 million users on her Instagram and Twitter combined.
The transition from actress to activist allowed her to build on the platform acting established, just now for a deeper purpose.
While her activism extends offline, as she is actively involved in organizations like Time’s Up and Rock the Vote, her consistent posting and audience-centric approach online make her a modern media role model.
A typical post for Sophia Bush includes a captivating visual and lengthy caption that is loudly infused with her voice. She uses that voice to call her audience to action. She writes conversationally to read as if she is speaking directly with her followers, less like a fan base, and more like a community.
Whether the topic is Black Lives Matter, the Election, DACA or just a picture with friends, Sophia Bush always furthers a message when posting. She covers a wide array of issues and topics, not beat down by just one. While the muscles of her messages may look different each time, the bones, or core, of the message is the same: inform followers to care about the world around them.
In an interview with Jay Shetty on his podcast, “On Purpose,” Bush outlined how she views her content.
“The more causes I highlight, the more likely I am to turn a lightbulb on for somebody,” said Bush. “My entire audience isn’t going to care about the environment… but they are going to care about something.”
Additionally, she noted how much research, or in other words reporting, goes into her posts.
That reporting is on display during one of the many Instagram live conversations she holds with elected officials.
In these Instagram live conversations, Bush uniquely brings on guests who do not typically engage with her media realm. For example, in conversation with George Gascon, he refers to her as Kate. The two laugh and move on to the important matters: Justice Reform.
Beyond her personal content, Bush continues the conversation by producing and hosting her own podcast called, “Work in Progress.” The series highlights the journey of people who inspire her, with an emphasis on the work still to come. Each episode — published on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and RSS feed — is promoted on the series’ Instagram account with a well-branded graphic. Further, Bush posts follow up resources to the “Work in Progress” Instagram story that supplements the conversation in an episode.
Sophia Bush shows up thoughtfully for her audience, bringing intellect and vulnerability that makes her content ever consumable.
