The wonders of Instagram

Which leading Austrian Instagramer features photographs of a figure in a yellow sou’wester?

I was pleased to welcome to the Embassy recently a group of mostly young Austrians with leading accounts on the social media, like Instagram. In instagramese, this would read: Great to welcome @igersvienna to #BritishEmbassy #grambassador.

One of the challenges of social media engagement is that different tools work well in different countries.  As Ambassador in Kyiv from 2008-2012 I found blogging the best way to reach a wide and influential audience.  In Turkey as Consul-General 2012-2016 I focused on Twitter, with the handle @LeighTurnerFCO.

Now, in Vienna, social media experts tell me Twitter is relatively little-used; and that we should focus on Instagram, where I again use the handle @LeighTurnerFCO.

About those blogs, by the way – I’m still writing them.

The @igersvienna Instagramers were an inspiring bunch, with a combined followership in the hundreds of thousands. They suggested several good ways to generate high-quality content:

1. Make it as personal as possible (e.g. with a photo of oneself and more text). Interestingly, it is possible to use longer texts on Instagram than on Twitter, with its 140 character limit.
2. Provide access to places followers might not usually see – e.g. from inside the UN.
3. Ask questions to initiate discussion.
4. Respond – if someone comments on your picture, let them know you’ve read it;
5. Use clichés, but judiciously – British or Austrian stereotypical scenes may seem predictable to you but your followers may like them.
6. Photo composition – really good photos make a difference.  Symmetry often works well on Instagram.
7. Popular motifs – these include staircases and, for some reason, food photographed from above
8. Hashtags – these can lead people to your content or generate interest. The @igersvienna suggested the rather cool #grambassador

I would welcome thoughts on all this. Are the experts I have been speaking with right, or do you have better ideas? Feel free to answer on Instagram via @leighturnerFCO or with #grambassador.