One of the topics I am covering this week for my social media class is of course visual communication and social media. One platform of course we are going over extensively is Instagram.
I have written in the past about Instagram and how you can use it personally as well as professionally in terms of best practices, both for brands as well as for professors. I use my Instagram account to showcase updates from what I am doing for my classes, what events I am attending or presenting at, or even announcements to be shared and cross promoted to other social media platforms.
However, we are seeing a shift in how people are using the platform. Compared to Twitter and Facebook, Instagram allows us to share stories visually and it is about starting off with the picture and then providing commentary to explain it just a little bit. It does bring forth new best practices and guides, which this one by Nitrogram is the best one I’ve found on the subject for businesses. Definitely bookmark this one!
With this in mind, are there any particular accounts specific for PR professionals to follow and look at for inspiration and updates? Who are the must follows when it comes to Instagram for PR professionals? There are lots of lists to look at on this subject, but here are some of my recommendations who I follow:
- Mashable: They cover not only what they are doing as a brand on social media, but they also showcase behind the scenes footage of what it is like to work at Mashable along with pictures from events nationally and around the world.
- PRSA: PRSA not only focuses on their events, conferences, and talks, but they share updated news and information relevant to their conference they host every year.
- Oglivy & Mather: Awesome visuals to highlight along with great info graphics to showcase their knowledge base for their followers. Also highlights employees and experiences, which is also key to share here as well.
- Edelman PR: The largest PR firm in the world shares updates not only what is going on at the global headquarters, but also around the world at their various locations. One of the things I think is great about what they are doing is the fact they are showcasing their talent and employees at the firm, which is great to see.
- Golin Harris: One of the best PR firms I have seen not only for their support, encouragement, and features with their employees, but they range their visuals with collages and other forms of photos that mixes it up a bit. Very positive tone to their pictures as well.
- PR News Online: They do a great job in creating visuals not only to promote events and webinars, but they also have a strong enthusiasm for coffee, which of course I appreciate! 🙂 Nice way to add some personality to a brand.
- Hootsuite: Love what they have done with their stuffed owl features. They are creating engaging, relevant, and entertaining content that not only shows a story, but also provides a human side to a brand that we all use in PR and social media practices.
- Nitrogram: Another leader in the social media sphere, especially when analyzing and creating relevant content related to Instagram. They do a nice job in showcasing what they do as a business and brand on the site. Very visual content being shared by the company.
In summary, what we can learn from each of these agencies and brands in the PR and social media sector is that they are doing a combination of things right that we can all learn from. They are creating engaging content that is visual that sparks conversations with their followers. They are practicing effective visual storytelling practices to showcase their employees and put a human face on their brands to the public. In addition, they are thinking beyond videos and regular pictures to share on Instagram. They are actively creating content that is relevant to the community that is housed on this platform.
I am sure we are going to see more brands initiate some of these practices more and especially this year. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this! Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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