2 of 20

What is Instagram?

A visual-focused social network that is mobile-device based.

Instagram is based on loose connections between users (e.g. following based on common interests) who tell visual “stories” and share updates using images and video.

More reading: What is Instagram, anyway?

3 of 20

Why Use Instagram to Share Science?

Instagram is a popular social network among US adults and teens.

Online and mobile photo and video are rapidly growing in popularity for science communication.

32% of internet users (28% of all U.S. adults) use Instagram

% of online adults who use ...

4 of 20

Instagram Vocabulary

Instagram Feed = a series of recent images shared by the people you are following.

Post = a photo or video with a caption posted to an Instagram feed.

Story = a photo or video posted to the new “story” area of Instagram that will disappear within 24 hours of posting. Stories appear as colored circles around people’s avatars at the top of the iPhone Instagram app.

“Go Live” = start a live-stream via an Instagram video Story.

5 of 20

Instagram Vocabulary

Hashtag = a word or phrase preceded by a pound sign (#) (e.g. #scienceselfie) that organizes Instagram photos and acts as a hyperlinked keyword. Clicking on or searching for a hashtag reveals all posts that mention that hashtag. Relevant hashtags increase searchability/visibility of your posts.

Tag/Mention = someone’s Instagram user-name preceded by the @symbol (like @lsuscience)

6 of 20

Getting Started with Instagram

Start an account: https://help.instagram.com/1642053262784201/

Tips:

You can create several accounts (Link: Guide to adding multiple accounts) and manage them from the same Instagram app on your phone. You could keep a “private” personal account and start a public account for sharing your science. With a public account, by default, anyone can view your profile and posts.
Think about your immediate & overarching goals & the content you’d like to share with the intended audience (i.e., Educate about your area of science, Attract students to your lab, Find science job opportunities)

7 of 20

Practice!

Start an account and play with settings:

Set your account to public (recommended). With private accounts, people have to get your approval to follow you.
Create an avatar image. We recommend a close / action shot of just you. Science selfies work too!
Create a bio. Be specific - people will tend to follow users with clear credentials, or with a bio that gives a clear guide to what the account is about.
Create your first post! Feel free to start with a #scienceselfie - a selfie depicting some aspect / event of your life as a scientist

Instagram iPhone app

Settings

8 of 20

Find your way around

Create a “story” you can post publicly or send to individual users. These are photos or videos that disappear within 24 hours when posted publicly or disappear after viewing if sent to an individual or group via Instagram direct. (Snapchat-like)

Instagram direct (direct messages can be text or image/video).

Your stories and other people’s stories appear here.

“News feed” - the traditional feed of photos and videos posted by you and others. This is your default “home” feed. Most recent posts are at the top.

Post a video or picture to your feed. Take it within the app or upload one from your phone library.

Your own profile and feed

Share this post & other options

Explore - go here for suggested posts, or search for a topic, person, hashtag etc.

9 of 20

Stories

Through the “story” feature, you can post quick and dirty visual stories or updates where you can share your work, your science, your life as a scientist, your hobbies, funny or informational photos and videos, boomerangs (short videos that play forward and backwards repeatedly several times) etc.

Go “LIVE” - start a live video feed that disappears when you end it. People can tune in live and comment.

Story settings - select who can see.

10 of 20

Learn more about Instagram stories

http://blog.instagram.com/post/153474421572/161121-launches

More Instagram tutorial videos: https://vimeo.com/instagram

11 of 20

The profile...

Your feed…

Mix it up with photos and videos!

You can bookmark/save others’ posts that you want to view later (like tutorial videos or interesting ideas!)

Access your different accounts here...

Photos of you (that you’ve been tagged in).

A link to your website or other landing “home” page for your science...

Name and bio

Your handle (try to make it catchy / memorable!)

Discover people

12 of 20

Creating Instagram Posts!

Consider sharing photos/videos that are visually appealing and engaging.

Great visuals might be awe-inspiring, curious, funny, striking, practical, or show an aspect of science life people don’t normally see.

13 of 20

Creating Instagram Posts!

Selfies are effective scicomm? Yes! Human faces make images more engaging and shareable.

Timely, informative caption. You can also include something motivational or engaging like a question or call to action.

Hashtags (up to 20 per post). Include these at the bottom or in a comment so that they don’t overwhelm the post.

Add a location if desired - helps people search & find posts by location.

14 of 20

Creating Instagram Posts!

Mention other Instagram users - can help you gain more followers and the users you mention may re-post your images/videos.

[Link: How to tag and mention people in your posts.]

Add emojis for fun!

Authentic human action images often evoke emotion and are more engaging to viewers.

You can’t hyperlink in Instagram posts, but you can provide short-links (like custom bit.ly links) for more information.

15 of 20

Use Bit.ly to create simple shortlinks for Instagram Posts

https://app.bitly.com

Have a link to an article or other resource you want to put into an Instagram post caption?

Use bit.ly to create a simple shortlink that people can easily enter into their browsers (because Instagram post captions don’t support clickable hyperlinks.

16 of 20

Hashtags

You can use different hashtags for different purposes. Mix up your hashtags and use at least 5 per post to reach varied audiences.

Find hashtags that others in your area of science or people with similar interests as you use!

But don’t go hashtag crazy… :)

Choose hashtags that are meaningful to your area of science. Search hashtags on Insta before you use them to make sure they are being used in the way you think they are and include mostly quality content.

17 of 20

Why Use Hashtags

Hashtags serve many purposes.

Unique hashtags you create can serve to organize your photos for later (e.g. using #FridayScientistFeature to tag Instagram posts you create every Friday to feature a different scientist or fellow student you know).
Hashtags allow others to find your posts based on common interests, techniques, or methodologies. If you use #snake #herpetology, other herpetologists and snake lovers might find your posts.
Hashtags can add context to your photos and videos. You might add funny hashtags, hashtags that relate an emotion, or hashtags that provided other added information to your image or video.

18 of 20

A hashtag that adds context in the form of something we can all relate to (failure at science experiments or projects!)

Who feels her frustration?

19 of 20

Types of Hashtags

Content Specific Hashtags - relevant to the post or picture (#science, #chemistry, #pipette, #dinosaur #sciart)

Branding Hashtags - used to connect with people searching the brand/organization (#amnh #LSUscifund #lsuscience #lsu #Instagram)

Generic Hashtags - not always necessary but should relate to the post still in some way (#ScienceSelfie #ScienceSunday #undergradinthelab #PhotoOfTheDay, #MotivationalMonday, #tbh [throwback thursday] #WildlifeWednesday)

Emotive Hashtags - relevant to feelings evoked in post (#Love, #Cute, #Happy)

Locational Hashtags - used to connect with people search the posts relevant to the area (#BatonRouge, #NewYork, #OxfordStreet)

20 of 20

Creating Instagram Posts!

Try Repost app to re-share posts you like from other users.

Visually striking close-ups are always a winner on Instagram!

The caption can add a lot of context to an Instagram image or video and make it much more engaging and informative. Don’t skimp on captions! A short paragraph is often great.