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Instagram Is a Strategic Communication Channel

In times of a public health crisis, the numbers show that Instagram can play a significant role in strategic communication for governments.
By Richard Kuchta • Jul 02, 2020
Sebastian Kurz, Angela Merkel, Austrian chancellor, Slovakia, Austria news, Germany news, Instagram, Instagram news, Coronavirus, Richard Kuchta

© Ink Drop / Shutterstock

Communication between governments and citizens has changed over the years. The digital era has provided state actors with new channels to spread their messages. Different channels offer different types of outreach. Nevertheless, successful communication requires consistency and coordination.

This is even more important in the current crisis we have witnessed with the coronavirus pandemic. In order to stay in touch with citizens, politicians and state authorities must adapt and use popular digital platforms. Social media networks that focus on sharing photos and videos — particularly Instagram and Snapchat — are the most popular form among the youth. Through a thorough analysis of Instagram accounts of selected state institutions and elected representatives in some Western and Central Eastern Europe, the following trends have been identified.

Following Austria and Germany

This study shows that Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have favored Instagram stories over regular posts when informing the public about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Kurz has shared stories containing Q&As about the virus and state restrictions to curb its spread, which has meant information is easily accessible to younger citizens. Special attention has been given to reliable sources, from where users can find further details. This is crucial in helping to direct people to trustworthy information and limit the spread of disinformation online.

From February to April, Kurz’s followers doubled, making his Instagram account the most popular among leaders in Central Europe. A higher number of followers correlates with greater support of leaders in polls observed in March and April by Politico.

Figure 1: A percentile increase of followers since February 22

In both Austria and Germany, there has been a shift in voter preferences. In May, 44% of voters favored the Austrian People’s Party, which was a rise of 4% from before the coronavirus lockdown was announced in March. In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union saw an increase from 27% to 38% during the same period. While there has also been a significant change in the case of Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic, he only joined Instagram on March 5 and, therefore, it is too soon to examine his performance on the platform and the subsequent impact on his popularity with voters.

While Merkel’s account represents the whole chancellery office, in Austria, the chancellery office and the chancellor use separate accounts. The Austrian chancellery office has used the Instagram account to help public institutions promote the measures introduced to slow the spread of COVID-19. The campaign has used pictures to remind people of hygienic standards and videos featuring Austrian personalities explaining how to behave in the current crisis. Out of all monitored accounts in this study, the Austrian chancellery office has published posts with the highest frequency during the pandemic.

Public personalities urging people to stay at home were also featured in videos shared by the German Federal Ministry of Health. The campaign used the hashtag #schauaufdich, which translates to #LookAfterYourself.

Figure 2: A comparison of the average number of posts per day between March-May and December-January
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CategoriesCoronavirus, Culture, Europe, Europe News, European politics news, Politics, Quick read, World Leaders News, World News TagsAngela Merkel, Austria news, Austrian chancellor, Coronavirus, Germany news, Instagram, Instagram news, Richard Kuchta, Sebastian Kurz, Slovakia
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