Instagram As Journalism - #TRT

Once upon a time, Instagram was simple. When we thought of the photo-sharing platform, one thing came to mind: the feed. It was all about the feed, or a cohesive profile with a super-defined aesthetic. There once was a time when we simply posted, double-tapped and occasionally attempted a bold slide into someone's DMs. Now, users are starting to be more thoughtful with the messaging behind their content. From brands to personal accounts, long-form posts are making their way into your feed.

Now let's get one thing straight: long captions are nothing new. Users have been developing creative and new ways to use the platform since the beginning. Long-form posts told compelling stories and introduced a new form of legitimate journalism. One well-known, very early adopter of Instagram journalism is Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York. He uses social media platforms to tell the stories of people he meets throughout his travels.

Wired uses their Insta account to flex writing skills through storytelling. This is similar to their usual stories, except this time, it's a long-form social media caption. This strategy is a success for brands and publications because it proves they are forward-thinking. It proves that they take the digital space seriously enough to create authentic, thoughtful content worthy of their glossy pages.

Clique Media Group has taken things a step further with Obsessee, their social-only outlet. That's right, it's a media outlet hosted 100% on social media. The account creates a community around female-empowerment, brand highlights and social/political activism. Editors highlight brand discoveries, old favorites and even the occasional TBT (like a shoutout to Princess Diaries.) Obsessee totally operates with and within its community, reposting from artists and Instagram users. Their #happyscrolling hashtag can be used to attract their attention to a particular image, story or art piece you'd like them to feature.

Final thoughts? When it comes to long-form Instagrams, (you guessed it) we're obsessed.