Instagram is the new hit among political parties as they try to engage millennials

While all the spotlight has been on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter in India’s ‘like’ wars, Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo-sharing app, has quietly emerged as an important platform for India’s political parties ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Last week, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) “Good Governance Department” or Sushasan Vibhaag, launched an Instagram handle (@goodgovernancereport), that was being aggressively pushed out on the party’s WhatsApp groups, besides those created by its supporters. The handle typically shares infographics highlighting the achievements of the National Democratic Alliance government over its four-and-ahalf-year stint at the Centre.

That’s not all. The party’s official handle, today, boasts of 1.1 million followers. While that might seem like a fraction of the numbers it has on other platforms — Twitter (10.3 million) and Facebook (15 million), Instagram offers the party (and others) a completely different audience to target: the young, urban, millennial first-time voters, a demographic that could become critical for political parties come May next year. Earlier this month, a Twiplomacy study conducted by Burson-Marsteller, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with nearly 16 million users, was the world’s most followed leader on the platform.


The BJP, however, is not alone in its use of Instagram as a channel to woo new voters. Opposition parties like the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have also been active on the platform.

Even regional parties like the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party, the Shiv Sena, also an ally of the BJP, and others have taken to the platform in their bid to attract and engage younger audiences. Instagram did not respond to ET’s detailed questionnaire. The BJP could not be reached for comment.

Instagram, today, is among the fastest growing social media apps from the Facebook stable. According to industry sources, it has over 120 million monthly active users in India, with over half of those (between 60 and 80 million) using the app daily. “Instagram’s user growth has almost doubled post-Jio, with a lot of Tier 2 and Tier 3 users coming on to the platform at a rapid pace. Prior to that, it had users almost exclusively from metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata,” said a Mumbai-based entrepreneur, who runs an agency for Instagram influencers.

An ET report in March this year, stated that as of February 2018, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had managed to register 26 million (2.6 crore) voters aged between 18 and 20, of this, over a half (13.8 million or 1.38 crore) are aged between 18 and 19 years. These numbers will increase closer to the general elections. According to a 2018 UN report on urbanisation prospects, India was projected to have nearly 461 million urban dwellers at the end of this year. This is the Instagram opportunity for political parties.

FOCUS ON LIFESTYLE STORIES
For political parties, Instagram offers a platform, where they could offer differentiated content from what is often found on Twitter and Facebook i.e. less provocative and more engaging, which today, is a move away from the original strategy of cross-posting the same content across various platforms. Instagram, digital strategists with political parties, enables them to “speak the language of the youth”.

“The youth today is not as politically informed as it was in say between 2011 and 2014. Thanks to events that happened earlier, like say India Against Corruption and so on. Today, they’re looking to run away from Facebook and Twitter, because of too much politics and abuse,” says Ankit Lal of the Aam Aadmi Party. He adds, “These platforms are intimidating for younger users. They want to be informed, but not inundated, or not overloaded. Instagram offers that escape.”

The Congress, for instance, has been resorting to an approach, where Instagram offers them a platform to push “positive content”, as opposed to outrightly political content. “We realised that a press conference where our leader attacks PM Modi’s policies doesn’t work there. Whoever wants to consume that content is already going to other platforms,” says a member of the Congress social media department. The Congress has been eyeing Instagram since it offers an open field. “No party is popular on Instagram or has run away with it, unlike Twitter, Facebook or even WhatsApp. Except, Narendra Modi himself, who has over 15 million followers. That is an opportunity,” says a New Delhi-based public policy professional.

The focus is moving away from heavy political content, and instead focus on digestible, consumable content, including “lifestyle stories”, which is what Instagram offers. “We try and use it to showcase the lighter, the more personal, or non-camera side of a political leader, be it Rahul Gandhi or anyone else. The key is to ensure that people’s timelines don’t fill up with Rahul Gandhi. We create and post relatable content,” the member adds. The Congress, party sources say, has seen a substantial increase in following (acquiring over 100,000 followers) over the last two months, owing to general interest around the recently-concluded elections.

Political parties may also be eyeing the influencer marketing bandwagon, an aspect that has become integral to Instagram globally, and in India. Last week, Karishma Mehta, a Mumbai-based influencer who runs “Humans of Bombay”, posted pictures of an interview she conducted with PM Narendra Modi. More such efforts could be on. Sources say that political parties are looking at influencers to push their message in the run-up to the elections. “It will intensify as we get closer to the elections,” says the public policy professional quoted earlier.

AAP’s Lal believes that influencers have to choose between money and “giving away their identity” for a few thousand rupees. “It depends on them. There will be some, who will be okay to do it for money. And others will not be comfortable in giving away their identity for a few rupees,” he says.