Government bodies and politicians are no strangers to using social media to connect with their constituents, but they may not be using the best platform. Instagram is a far more personal and engaging form of social media than the likes of Facebook or Twitter. It may be a new form of social media, but it has become a household name in just three years. Instagram allows politicians to show more personality and engage more people than other platforms as it is a much more visual one. Here are ways to use Instagram for government and political marketing.
Channel / Target Audience
Instagram on its own is not a very effective way of reaching out to your target audience. It is best used in conjunction with other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Firstly, create a Facebook page for your campaign. This way, you can use social media with one hand and email marketing with the other. With Goread, you can buy Instagram followers without having to worry about fake accounts or bots.
Use Hashtags
This is a tool which makes Instagram users aware of your campaign and what you are doing at any given time. Be sure to use relevant hashtags rather than those which are overused or irrelevant to the campaign objectives at hand. Hashtags might include #budget, #budgetcuts and #endcuts for the UK Budget that was announced in 2010.
Use Video
Videos on Instagram are an excellent tool for communicating your message to your audiences quickly, efficiently and in a more personal way than traditional media. They also show how your campaign is going, what it is doing and what changes it will make to daily life etc. So if the UK government decided to use Instagram they could upload videos of the Prime Minister talking about what the coalition will do in terms of industry and education after the 2015 election.
Use Pictures
Some pictures are better than others and it is not always the best pictures that get the most success. Sometimes, it’s the picture that makes no sense, but it’s all in good fun. For example, if your campaign is about a crackdown on tax avoidance then you could always post a picture of an incompetent cross-eyed accountant with a guide book marked ‘Tax Avoidance’. This will relax the viewer and put them at ease. A picture of an angry looking man in a suit may put them off voting for you.
Show Personality
People want to see what your campaign is doing, but they also want to see who is running the campaign and why they should vote for you. People respond better to faces than brands or logos and that doesn’t change on Instagram. If you are running a political campaign, then show your face, show how you think and how you feel about certain issues etc.