How Societies Can Use Instagram for Visibility

By Olivia Butze

Although the social media landscape is always evolving, one constant is that the platforms continue to grow, adding to how useful they can be for building a brand or company and communicating to an audience. As of 2019, Facebook boasts over 2.41 billion monthly active users, Twitter 145 million active daily users, LinkedIn over 660 million users, and Instagram one billion monthly users.

These numbers are absurd.

More absurd is how underused these platforms are across many industries, particularly our own. Many academic organizations are on Facebook and Twitter, but how actively (and how intelligently) do they use them? And how many have considered creating Instagram accounts?

Last year, SAGE launched its own corporate Instagram channel. “Isn’t the platform made up of teenagers?” was one of the first questions we received. Well, our followers range from18 to 64 and are from London, Dehli, Los Angeles, and more. And getting the attention of younger followers – i.e. potential future researchers – is never a bad idea. Instagram is a great space for us to share not only a different side to our company, but also resources and content that celebrate our audience’s successes.

There are so many accounts on Instagram that users need to stand out, so hone in on your journal’s expertise. For example, one of our societies, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, has an Instagram with (at the time of this post) over 900 followers and strong engagement. There really is an audience for everyone on Instagram.

If you do set up an Instagram for your society, here are a few tips:

1.      Come up with a relevant and detailed plan of what you want to share on the page. Consider what content not only makes sense for your brand, but also what works for a visually driven platform. Infographics? Images of authors with their published articles? Other things to think about are editing/formatting and tone of voice. Whether sharing a holiday post or a journal update, make sure you do so in a way that fits with this plan.

2.      Sign up with a business account. To do so, you need a business Facebook page. (If you don’t have one already, it looks like you’re really breaking into the social world now!)

3.      Commit to the account. Accounts can double their growth rate by posting more than once a week. That means double the amount of people are exposed to your organization, potentially driving submissions. At SAGE, we aim for 2-3 posts a week.

4.      Don’t share images if they aren’t good quality. Instagram is visual and the first thing people see are photos. Bad photos lead to people unfollowing and less engagement, meaning less visibility.

5.      Use Stories or Instagram Live, both of which are available directly on the Instagram app. These tools allow you to interact with your audience on a more personal, casual level, such as by asking for feedback, sharing videos from events, or answering questions from your audience.

Launching an Instagram account may feel daunting, time consuming, and unnecessary for your society. But there really are perks, particularly reaching a new audience. Keep these tips in mind and make sure to message us at @sage_publishing—we’d love to be your first follower.

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