March 10, 2020
By: Carly Mulvihill
What’s the best social media channel you should use to reach decision makers on Capitol Hill?
For a long time, the answer was clear: Twitter.
However, as Twitter’s new rules banning political advertising and limiting issue advocacy ads have taken effect, many coalitions and causes have found themselves searching for other channels to articulate their priorities to lawmakers.
Our team conducted a review of which popular social media services senators and representatives are using for their official offices. We then looked at the three biggest contenders (sorry TikTok): Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Of the 532 current members of Congress (accounting for members who are recently deceased or have resigned), 529 have Twitter accounts (99 percent). Conversely, 468 of the same group have Instagram accounts (88 percent) and 524 have Facebook accounts (98 percent). While the highest majority of members of Congress have Twitter accounts, a large percentage of these lawmakers are also reachable via Instagram and Facebook. In fact, nearly every member of the House and Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle has an Instagram account.
Instagram is not necessarily the first social media platform that many public affairs professionals consider for their issue advertising, but, if employed effectively, it offers a unique opportunity to target audiences who can no longer be reached effectively on Twitter.
When planning future political and issue advocacy campaigns, don’t hesitate to include Instagram ads in your advertising mix. To learn more about how the PLUS team can help your organization leverage Instagram and digital channels to achieve your goals, give us a shout today.
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