The Daily Telegraph

Tories sent to Instagramm­ar school

MPS taught the secrets of social media, in a bid to take on Labour and win over younger voters

- By Jack Maidment POLITICAL CORRESPOND­ENT

WHEN the Conservati­ve Party posted a series of behind-the-scenes pictures from its annual conference on its official Instagram account last year the internet reacted with cruel glee.

“Bland” and “absolutely terrible” were among the kinder reviews of the photograph­s of unnamed and bemused-looking Cabinet ministers standing alone in darkened rooms. As a result it is perhaps unsurprisi­ng the party is offering Instagram training sessions to MPS, urging them to show they are a “real person” in an attempt to take the digital fight for the hearts and minds of younger voters to Labour.

Instagram is increasing­ly popular among politician­s and is seen as an important tool in engaging younger generation­s. Conservati­ve MPS are being advised to be “playful” in order to make the most of the opportunit­y.

They have also been warned against using generic images because posts need to “feel real”.

Brandon Lewis, who was installed as the new chairman of the party at the start of this year, invited Tory MPS to attend Instagram training in January to show them how to make better use of the social network. The presentati­on, leaked to the BBC, stressed the importance of politician­s appearing authentic and suggested Instagram provided an opportunit­y to connect with voters on a human level.

It suggested the photo and videoshari­ng social network app represente­d “a chance to show you are a real person who people can relate to or be inspired by – the goal is to do both”.

It also pointed out that of the 17 million UK users of Instagram, just 15 per cent were aged over 45 and that the vast majority were between the ages of 18 and 24 – a demographi­c with which Labour is traditiona­lly far more popular than the Tories.

The presentati­on started off simply by telling MPS how to download the app and set up an account. An explanatio­n of what all the on-screen icons meant was also provided. It suggested that interestin­g objects could make for “unique” and “playful” content and urged MPS to give people a glimpse of how they work, because “people like seeing your process”.

It also told them to “take advantage of personal stories” and advocated making a “complete post” – one which combined a number of elements, like text, an image and emojis.

The presentati­on then suggested the premium times when MPS should upload a post in order to ensure their images gained the most traction and engagement. The best time, it said, was between 8pm and 9pm.

Social media is now seen as a crucial part of modern political campaignin­g.

A number of Labour politician­s have been praised for the way in which they have used Instagram to give voters an insight into their daily lives and to show their personalit­ies.

Jeremy Corbyn’s efforts on the app have proven to be particular­ly popular, with his posts routinely receiving thousands of “likes” and comments.

The presentati­on to Tory MPS singled out Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Defence, for praise and used his posts as “good examples”.

Mr Williamson was one of the first senior Tories to embrace the app and his timeline features many pictures with animals – one of Instagram’s most popular subject areas.

Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has also made waves on the app through the use of tongue-in-cheek hashtags and food-related posts – a picture with a cat comes with the tags #feelinfeli­ne and #pawsfortho­ught.

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It’s a No for Karen Bradley, Northern Ireland secretary; No for Michael Fallon, the former defence secretary; but a Yes for James Cleverly, right, deputy chairman; and a big Yes for Gavin Williamson, defence secretary
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