According to statistica.com, there are about 1 billion active monthly users on Instagram. About 64% of adults age 18-29 are active monthly users on Instagram which is more than half of the adult population.
Does your candidate have an Instagram account that hasn’t had traction, but you really need to get out the vote by any means necessary? You may be missing out on thousands of potential voters.
Using Instagram for the campaign to get out the vote may be the slight nudge the campaign needs. Learn the top five tips for getting out the vote on Instagram.
Going Live
Going live on Instagram allows you to create content for followers to see for 24 hours after it is created. Adding an Instagram story can help cut through the noise of the Instagram algorithm. Followers are automatically updated and receive a notification every time you go live.
Whether you go live on election day at 7:30 a.m. to remind followers to go vote or go live the weekend before and talk about how to find your polling place, there are an unlimited number of ways to get out the vote using Instagram leading up to the election. Find a unique way of reaching your followers and they will remember the candidate’s name in the election booths on November 6.
Sharing Articles and News in Unique Ways
Beto O’Rourke is a candidate who has taken to social media and proven himself highly successful, especially on Instagram. While other candidates are sharing links to news articles and screenshots of endorsements, Beto is becoming an innovator in the way he shares articles written about him.
The post above received over 16,000 likes without the use of hashtags or any fancy marketing or advertising tools. Beto simply quoted what the article said, snapped a photo of the newspaper and posted it.
You don’t need to be completely tech-savvy or have more than 10,000 followers to make posts like these. Just have a quick brainstorm session with the campaign team and think outside of the box. What is most important to the candidate? How can they capture that in a photo and a caption?
Pictures of Candidate in the Field
There are fewer than seven days until the election so you should have an entire arsenal of photos and videos of the candidate. Put them to good use. Photos and videos don’t need to come from a fancy camera or be perfectly posed. Again, Beto’s campaign does an excellent job of this.
No hashtags. No money spent. Just him meeting constituents with a regular caption.
It’s more than likely that the candidate has some last minute events or meet and greets so take that opportunity to try to snap some iconic photos like the example above. Don’t pose; try to capture the organic expressions of the crowd.
To boost the reach of the post itself, consider adding the location of where they were at the time of the photo. If the candidate has spent time on the road talking to constituents, show that by tagging the city.
Tell an Insta Story
If the candidate has a campaign video posted to Facebook or their website, they should (hopefully!) be comfortable on camera. Try out Instagram stories. There are so many free filters, GIFs, and other features available to use.
If your candidate isn’t super comfortable with being in front of the camera, try posting GOTV graphics that are already designed. These can be the same graphics and images you are posting to other social platforms.
Instagram Ads
Create Instagram ads, even if you don’t have an Instagram account. Instagram ads are directly connected to Facebook, so as long as the candidate has a Facebook account, they can run ads on Instagram.
Develop ads with GOTV graphics or any video you already have. Add the link to the campaign website to so when constituents swipe up, viewers can browse the website to learn more about the candidate. In doing this, you create name recognition for people who don’t follow or know of the candidate while persuading others to get out the vote on November 6.