The post you are reporting:
Courtesy of the Times.
Conservative MPs are being encouraged to show that they are “real people” on Instagram as the party tries to use social media to attract young voters. Its efforts during last year’s general election were widely mocked, but a presentation given by Tory officials to MPs this year made clear that the photo-sharing platform was central to its strategy.
The first slide, which was leaked to the BBC, told MPs that through Instagram they could “speak directly to a younger audience”, because most users were between 18 and 24. It added that only 15 per cent of Instagram’s 17.2 million users were over 45. The slide concluded that Instagram was, “a chance to show you are a real person who people can relate to or be inspired by — the goal is to do both”. Later slides encouraged “human shots” and “action shots”.
Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, has become an enthusiastic user of Instagram since his first post last August. In a slide headed “Good examples: people”, two of his posts were used as examples. Sam Gyimah, the universities minister, was also commended. Not all the MPs praised were young ministers climbing the ladder. Sir Peter Bottomley, 73, was lauded for his modish use of hashtags.
Conservative MPs’ Instagram rules
DOs
• Pose with people
• Offer “unique content” which is “playful”
• Show “work being planned”
• Take advantage of personal stories
• To show issues that you care about use own images; add emojis
• Use hashtags but only if it’s the correct one that is used most commonly
• Post peak times: 8-9pm
DON’Ts
• Post one picture of you or a person
• Post a list of press releases; it must feel real