The more visual the better
Instagram is a great tool for visual activism. Use it to share:
Use more than one hashtag
You can use hashtags on Instagram to share emotions, victories, messaging and more. A top tip is to turn your key message into a hashtag.
Use the Geotag feature
Instagram has a feature which allows you to tag your location. Using this when posting will help boost the number of locals discovering your posts.
Add to your story
Stories sit at the top of your Instagram page. Adding posts to your story means that when someone opens their home screen they will see your story come up, making it easier to access.
Make use of reels
Using Instagram reels is a simple way to create short, engaging videos without needing editing knowledge and skills! You can use reels to convey your key messages, create short campaign explainers and more.
Make the most of carousel posts
Carousel posts are when multiple images are posted together. You can use this to share photos of your events, but you can also use it to tell a story. For example, share a series of graphics containing key points in your story of fighting for housing change.
Make it fun
TikTok is where you can make really fun, creative videos to capture viewers’ attention. For example, you could:
post funny videos of campaign group meetings
make short clips of your protests with relevant music in the background
film lots of people holding a sign
use a fun voiceover and more!
Follow current trends
It's a really useful and simple way to engage a wide range of people. Any current trends you notice, try and recreate them with a campaign spin. For example, if a trend is to show videos of cute dogs, do any of your group members have dogs they can bring to your next protest?
Use #ForYou in all your posts
This means that you are essentially putting your posts on people's home pages and in turn getting more attention. And like Instagram, you can use more than one hashtag to ensure the widest reach possible.
Keep your videos short and snappy
You're best to keep your videos to around 30 seconds or less to ensure that people coming across them watch to the end.
Avoid using hashtags
Unlike other social media platforms, hashtags are not widely used on Facebook. Posts on Facebook with hashtags do not get as much engagement as posts without.
Delete your links
If you are posting a link to an event, a campaign action or a website, Facebook will automatically generate a 'preview link' for you. This will include images for the link and a short description. Once your preview link appears, delete the link in your text. That way people can click the link without seeing it written as a long link in the text.
If you are posting an image then you will need to include the link in the text. This is because Facebook can't include a preview link for image posts.
Keep your text short
Try as much as possible to keep your post short and to the point. That way you will avoid people needing to click ‘read more’, which can lose people’s attention.
Use Facebook groups
If you're a regular Facebook user, you might be part of your local area's community groups or support groups. You can set up your own campaign group to encourage your group to share ideas, post updates and recruit new members.
Be visual
For example, you could have a date, time, and location of your next campaign meeting displayed on a graphic to help catch your audience's attention. Similarly, if you have a call to action, make that into a graphic. You can make graphics on Canva.
Your local community organiser can provide guidance for using Canva.
Create event pages
You can use the event pages for your campaign actions, whether you're holding a letter writing session or a mass rally. Event pages can help your event gain momentum and you can use them to post updates about your event.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are common practice on Twitter. You can be strategic with what hashtags you use. For example, instead of just typing in your city name, make it a hashtag. This way you can reach more people in your area. Local news outlets can search relevant location hashtags to try and find stories, so you could attract local media attention without any extra effort.
Keep your message short
Twitter only allows you to use 280 characters per post, so you need to be short and to the point.
If you need to get across a longer comment on your own post then turn it into a thread. It's good practice to post your tweets in order. It can also help to add the sequence to the end of your tweet by writing ‘1/3' and so on.
Tag your targets
Use the @ button to find your target on Twitter. You can do this to ask your target a question or invite them to an event. Tagging people is a great way to get your message directly to the people who have the power to address your housing issue.
Shorten links
You can use Bitly to shorten your links. This helps avoid having to use a long link that uses up lots of characters.
