At an Instagram event, the strangeness of social media comes to light

As head of audience at The Independent, my job involves tracking what’s popular with our current readers and investigating what other potential readers might want from the publication, as well as looking into global trends. Little wonder, then, that I’m often invited to events with social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.

This week, it was Instagram who extended an invitation, welcoming me and a handful of others to the impressive Ham Yard Hotel in central London. The setting had been carefully chosen for its edgy, photogenic nature, which makes sense considering sharing imagery which stands out is Instagram’s bread and butter. Just in case we uploaded pictures to our own accounts, everything had been carefully branded with the company’s logo.

Often such events follow a similar pattern: the company tries to convince you that its way is the best way in terms of disseminating information; they remain studiously vague when giving answers to difficult questions; and then they send you away. But this one offered some interesting insights.

It started with a chat about best practises for publishers, including things like “shoot on mobile phones because that’s how people watch Instagram and professionally shot content actually doesn’t do as well”. That may sound counterintuitive but it makes sense when you think of the user. Another tip was to “use a personality in your stories” rather than just focusing on the abstract – which is why we always put someone from The Independent team at the front of videos rather than merely reading from a script while hiding behind the camera.

Of course The Independent is a business which focuses mainly on the written word rather than broadcast media, but that doesn’t mean that video and imagery isn’t often central to our business. We’ll soon be experimenting with putting our foreign correspondents in Instagram Stories, for instance, to showcase a snippet of where they are when they travel to inaccessible places and allows followers a quick insight into the landscape behind the story.

Facebook has famously been rolling out efforts to stop “fake news” and sometimes penalise publishers, while Instagram is seen by people like me as its friendlier arm. It’s bigger than Snapchat and everyone loves to use it but the question remains how such a platform makes its money. It still doesn’t appear to have a coherent commercial plan – and that was the elephant in the room during its event.

Ultimately, hearing from those who work in social media gives us the chance to see The Independent from a fresh viewpoint, and allows us to work out what “the next big thing” might be for our readers. So long as we stay ahead of the curve, we can keep offering different ways of accessing news and maintain relevance and convenience for our readers, whether they prefer to read The Independent on their smartphone during the commute, on their tablet at the kitchen table, or in 20-second bursts while they’re catching up on current affairs on an app like Instagram.

Yours,

Ibrahim Salha

Head of audience