of infographics adheres to this theory , as the text on the infographic provides an outline to the context of the image as well as the accompanying caption . McGregor ’ s ( 2019 ) theory that public opinion can be both represented and informed on social media , can be translated to Greenpeace ’ s use of the Instagram story feature . Since Instagram stories are only present for a 24-hour period , previous stories are presented in saved highlights on Greenpeace ’ s Instagram profile ; shown in Figure 5 . As displayed , there are nine story highlights , each with a short , engaging , and informative title . Within these , there are stories which contain a range of Instagram ’ s interactive story features . Having only been introduced one year after Instagram stories themselves surfaced , these interactive additions are said to be “ a fun , free and easy way to increase engagement with your followers ” ( Chacon , 2019 ). The ‘ poll ’ feature , which was introduced in “ October 2017 ”, enables users to collect opinions from followers ( Instagram Blog , 2017 ). As displayed in Figure 6 , Greenpeace have used polls to determine their follower ’ s stance on strike action , air quality , and city facilities ; ultimately beneficial to gather public opinion and increase follower interactivity . Greenpeace also frequently utilise the ‘ quiz ’ story feature , examples of this are shown in Figure 7 . Through this , Greenpeace are providing factual information , in an alternative and engaging way to regular posting . From evaluating the successful quiz answers , Greenpeace can determine topics their followers are less educated
COMM313 on and tailor their content accordingly . The final story feature , ‘ questions ’, allows followers to provide original thoughts , which are not limited to set options provided by the account holder . As seen in Figure 8 , Greenpeace use this feature to invite followers to share personal thoughts and opinions , and these answers can then be shared , demonstrated in Figure 9 . Ultimately , interactive story features improve communication with existing and potential followers , by making an Instagram profile more engaging , helping to influence and represent public opinion ( McGregor , 2019 , P . 1073 ).
It is evident that Greenpeace run a successful Instagram page , which is favourable to them over , text-reliant , social media platforms . Their page educates , engages , and interacts with ‘ 3.6 million ’ followers ; utilising infographics , story features , and a cohesive profile aesthetic @ greenpeace , Instagram , 2020 ). Through discussion of academic and other relevant sources , it can be concluded that Greenpeace rely on the “ image first , text second ” format of Instagram to ‘ transfer affect ’ from photographed images onto their educational accompanying captions ( Lee et al , 2015 , P . 552 ; Huddy and Gunnthorsdottir , 2000 ). Ultimately , Greenpeace ’ s strong Instagram presence and profile which represents their offline identity supports their unique stance of relying on “ campaigning and ordinary members ” for funding ( Eden , 2004 , P . 595 ).
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