Publishers who master the popular and addictive social platform
Instagram stands out among social networks as being most FOMO driven (fear of missing out). Its addictive features result in more engagement and more time spent on the app. This is an opportunity for news media – struggling for user attention – to tap into the billion monthly active users.
But as Instagram users become more aware of the time they spend online, many of them are carefully curating their feeds. This means the news media needs to up its game to stay competitive.
We have prepared a list for those who want to get the most important news from European and Middle Eastern countries in their Instagram feed. Here are our choices:
#1 The goalkeeper
Subscribers: 4.4 million
The Guardian Newsfeed posts contain brief facts, updates from the world of economics, ecology and politics. Strong video stories with characteristic accents are often linked to nature or emotional stories.
For example, the most popular post in May was a video about a Red Cross volunteer consoling a Senegalese man moments after he set foot in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta. It has collected over 1.5 million views and 212,000 likes.
The British news site grown up its Instagram followers grew from 860,000 in 2018 to 4.4 million as of June 2021. The publisher’s account saw more than 57% year-over-year growth in 2018. The main goal of the profile is to encourage subscribers to become regular readers of The gardians site and applications (then paying subscribers).
#2 Financial Times
Subscribers: 2.5 million
THE Financial Times The feed is full of images with quotes and infographics related to the latest articles. The hottest topics are covered in detail on IGTV in the form of questions and answers or video posts.
Although the FT has a well-defined profile, it is the only media on our list to have several linked accounts on various subjects: house and home, fashion, way of life, climate, entertainment.
The number of followers has increase almost 300% since 2017. According to then FT American social media publisher Jake Grovum, their Instagram account does not aim to attract paid subscribers, but only provides subscribers with non-payment access. FT content by swiping up Insta Stories.
#3 The Republic
Subscribers: 1.4 million
One of the two largest Italian dailies has a tight publishing schedule on Instagram. Subscribers can view up to 10 The Republic posts per day in their news feeds. The account covers news from around the world, but with a strong focus on Italy.
Local stories are more popular among The Republic IG followers. This is evidenced by the presence of separate accounts from the local editorial offices of the newspaper (and from the management job in May). The photo of a door hanger in a Naples hospital foreshadows the story of a struggle by local female doctors against gender discrimination. The post garnered 147,000 likes and over 3,000 comments in 4 weeks.
#4 The World
Subscribers: 1.4 million
The famous French opinion journal does not renounce large text formats – even on Instagram! Events in France and around the world take the form of dynamic Insta stories, often containing a slideshow of 2-3 photos or a static illustration of the article title on The world website.
To inspire publishers, Facebook job a case study of their cooperation with The world. According to it, over a year and a half, starting in 2018, the use of Custom Audiences on IG and Lookalike Audiences on Facebook provided The world with:
- a 20% increase in digital subscriptions in 2018
- a 30% increase in unique users on the webpage and app
- cost per subscription remained below 33% of lifetime customer value
#5 El País
Subscribers: 1.1 million
The most popular Spanish political daily has IG accounts for its editorial staff in Mexico, BrazilAnd United States.
In 2017, Pilar Millán Galante, then director of audience development at Prisa News (part of the El País conglomerate), describe weekly meetings with social media teams from all international offices. They regularly analyze the best and worst posts of El País and its competitors to maintain their global position.
Unlike previous profiles, El País doesn’t use hashtags in post descriptions, but instead encourages users to click the link in the bio. Additionally, they promote podcasts in highlights and publish survey results from Insta stories.
In terms of stories, the editor tends to focus on “softer” content compared to posts in the feed: a potato tortilla recipe versus the history of the “Greek Alcatraz”.
#6 Meduza
Subscribers: 919,000
Leading independent Russian-language media outlets are known for engaging their readers in tests and games on their website and social media channels. Interaction is now particularly important for the performance of advertising campaigns after Meduza was labeled a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.
Although Meduza is famous for his investigative reports and long analytical readings, his IG profile has a consistent graphic design full of cartoons and text in large fonts. The language of Meduza is very simple, full of jokes and meme-like emojis.
Authors often encourage readers to comment on articles by asking thematic questions.
“Hot” news appears in the form of IGTV films. The profile’s only link leads to the donations page, where users can purchase a regular subscription or “leave tips” for their favorite items.
#7 The Spiegel
Subscribers: 843,000
One of the largest European German weeklies tends to tease its audience with quotes and excerpts from documents which can then be viewed via Insta stories.
The most important news is often covered in IGTV videos. At the top of the profile are a modest number of miscellaneous thematic highlights: ex-Trump fans, Nawalny, alcohol consumption, “Game Of Thrones” and more.
The most popular job of The Spiegel in May, with more than 39,000 likes, concerns an interview on the impact of climate change on health. The speaker, Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen, is best known in Germany as a comedian and television presenter.
Interestingly, subscribers can read articles for free only through insta stories. They will reach the paywall gate by entering the same material from the search engine.
#8 Current time. Asia
Subscribers: 269,000
The Russian-language TV channel’s side project Actual hour is one of the biggest IG profiles covering Central Asian news. The profile is full of versatile human stories in Actual hour. Asia.
Various materials on Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, UzbekistanAnd Turkmenistan are highlighted. Actual hour. Asia is the only TV channel on our list that, although focused on video, publishes mini-articles below the published photos.
The first video in May, he covered the armed conflict between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and garnered 306,000 views, 13,000 likes and more than 2,000 comments. As of June 10, 2021, this is the third most popular post on the profile in Q2 2021. The first two also cover difficult topics: the death And poverty.
#9 Qumash
Subscribers: 245,000
Qumash is the only media outlet on this list without a website. Stories on his IG profile redirect followers to Telegram posts about local Kazakhstan news. Profiles on IG and TG are organized in very informal Russian, new memes are mixed with touching human stories.
The most popular Qumash job last month showed the morning of Oraza Ait Namaz (Eid-al-Fitr in Kazakhstan) near the central Beket-ata mosque in Aktau. The drone images have been viewed 149,000 times and liked 46,000 times.
#10 Looking at the Middle East
Subscribers: 194,000
Looking at the Middle East is one of the largest international media outlets covering the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. Based in London, it is managed by the formerAl Jazeera And The Guardian senior leaders.
It focuses on social and political events, some messages are even vague and labeled as controversial. There are no links in the posts in the thread, only brief descriptions and a few interesting questions. In Highlights, the best articles are separated by topics and available by swiping up.
As of June 10, 2021, the most viral IG 2021 job of Looking at the Middle East was released in May. A 10-year-old Palestinian girl’s heartbreaking speech after Israeli airstrikes destroyed her neighbor’s home has been viewed more than 1.7 million times.
This article was originally published in The Fix and is republished with permission. The Fix is a solutions-driven publication focused on the European media scene. Subscribe to his weekly newsletter here.
