Instagram and Business
Instagram has grown from being a photo sharing app to something much bigger. With it’s newer features, Instagram allows users to promote themselves and their business. The Instagram business tool gives business owners the option to promote their posts for a very small price, allowing them to reach people they would not have otherwise. The stories and highlights tool on Instagram lets users customize and brand themselves in creative ways. Consumers can also share posts by their favorite business on their story and from there, their followers will also become interested in the post. Since Instagram is so great at sharing posts and reaching a wide audience, the social network has recently become a space for politicians to turn to and promote themselves, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Although Twitter has also been popular among politicians, according to Murphy and Sevastopulo (2019): “…Instagram is gaining popularity among politicians faster than any other social media platform.” Instagram allows politicians to reach out to a new generation, one that relies heavily on social media. Twitter is great for contributing to conversation but Instagram gives viewers an insight on what is going on behind the scenes. This makes Instagram appealing to fans because they get to watch their favorite celebrities or politicians behind the scene stories or live streams. Sophie-Charlotte Moatti stated: “Barack Obama became a two-term president in part by being savvier at the digital side of campaigning than his counterparts” (2016).
Hillary Clinton and Instagram Politics
One of the reasons politicians may be using social media so much is quite simple: it’s free. As stated by Dorie Clark, “That’s why online media has been such a perfect match for the world of political campaigns: though it takes time and strategy, it doesn’t take much money” (2012). So how are politicians, like Hillary Clinton using the Instagram platform? Just a quick scroll through Clinton’s Instagram, you can see a very diverse feed. Her Instagram is mixed with professional photos, photos of her posing with friends and family or even fans, old photos from her childhood, to several motivational quotes. Marvin Heiferman described Hillary’s Instagram as: “Eye-catching logos and typography, clever animations, and selfies with pop-culture royalty like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, interspersed with obligatory meet-and-greet shots, create a lively context”(2015). From her posts you can gather an understanding of where her views may lie. The quotes she very often posts on her Instagram, most of which have to do with women’s rights and encouraging women to take on roles in leadership positions, give a clear insight of her beliefs. On February 22, 2019, Clinton posted a photo of a plain purple background with just the words “#IStandWithPP” on top. Without reading her caption, a viewer can see this post and immediately understand that Hillary Clinton is in support of Planned Parenthood. Since this is a highly debated topic within politics, this post would be important to someone who does not know which politician best aligns with their viewpoints. Someone who is pro-life could see this post and decide then and there that they do not support Clinton. But as said by Elizabeth Nolan Brown, “according to the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a quarter of 18- to 29-year-olds say they have become more supportive of abortion rights in recent years; only nine percent have become less supportive” (2018). Fortunately for Clinton, most of the people spend all their time on Instagram are probably around 18-29 years old, so her pro-choice post most likely attracted more supporters.
Hillary Shows Diversity
Take a quick scroll through President Donald Trump’s Instagram and you’ll notice he posts numerous videos of himself speaking and almost every picture in which there is another person or a group of people, those people are caucasian. Hillary Clinton shows her support to all PoC and minorities through her Instagram posts. Her pictures with her supporters show a mixed group of people, of all colors and features. She frequently shares photos with former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. This a strong way to promote yourself because Barack Obama is a very popular politician among young adults and PoC. Clinton shows off her relationship with the Obama’s through her Instagram to reach this audience.
The post above was posted for Black History Month and likewise, Clinton also shared a post of Martin Luther King Jr around his birthday. She strategically uses social media to reach different audiences and gain supporters. She writes insightful captions and shares photos and stories of black Americans who have made a difference in this country and may not have gotten the recognition they deserved. Posts like these bring a lot of engagement from different crowds and grows Clinton’s popularity on Instagram.
Hillary’s mix of professional and personal posts can attract young supporters because they will see how she is a real person just like them. Her posts with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson and Beyonce shows that she is well loved by celebrities the younger generation looks up to, which will bring Hillary young voters.
Conclusion
Hillary Clinton shows a great display of leadership through her Instagram posts by educating her followers on topics they may not know much about. She shows great leadership by being authentic about her views and expressing them very openly on her social media. Her post about Planned Parenthood was followed by a very detailed caption about what could happen if we lose this resource. She leads by educating and by motivating. She leads by showing support to other groups and standing by the American people and minorities. She uses social media networks, such as Instagram, to her advantage and to further promote herself and her campaign. She uses hashtags she has branded to herself such as “#ImWithHer”, “#LoveTrumpsHate”, and “#StrongerTogether.” These hashtags are simple and help to spread her campaign further and when she engages in them, her supporters will too. She shares posts giving her followers reasons why they should vote for her. This is displayed in the photo above. Hillary Clinton posted a black and white photo of herself with a mother and child, in which she looks fairly young. She uses her slogan “I’m with her” and provides a reasoning, this one being about families. In the caption she provides a link to her website. Clinton has posted many photos similar to this one to encourage voters to support her. She also keeps herself well in the spotlight on social media. May Chatter stated: “As questions continue to swirl about Hillary Clinton’s potential run for the presidency in 2016, her still unpublished book, Hard Choices (Simon & Schuster), was the most buzzed about title on social media in May.”
Reference List
Brown, E. N. (2018). Young People Are Shifting Left on Abortion. Retrieved from https://reason.com/2018/04/18/young-people-shifting-left-on-abortion/
Clark, D. (2012). How Presidential Elections Made Social Media Marketing Banal. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/11/how-presidential-elections-made-social-media-marketing-banal
Heiferman, M. (2015). On the Instagram Presidential Campaign Trail. Retrieved from https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/on-the-instagram-presidential-campaign-trail/?searchResultPosition=3
Moatti, S. (2016). 3 Things to Watch as the Digital Side of the U.S. Presidential Campaigns Unfold. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/07/3-things-to-watch-as-the-digital-side-of-the-us-presidential-campaigns-unfold
Murphy, H., & Sevastopulo, D. (2019). Why US politicians are turning to Instagram ahead of 2020 election | Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/737d2428-2fdf-11e9-ba00-0251022932c8
Swanson, C. (2014). Clinton Wins The Vote on Social Media. Publishers Weekly, 261(22), 12. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=96382231&site=ehost-live
Post by Hareem Ahmed
Who Are Today's Leaders In This Digital Age? 