BuzzFeed @world Instagram
As an Audience Development Editor at BuzzFeed News, I single-handedly ran the fastest growing news account on Instagram in 2018 – BuzzFeed @world. I oversaw the strategy, as well as created every piece of content on the account. This involved identifying and curating stories, doing original reporting, writing and editing headlines and captions, sourcing visuals, editing and creating photos and carousels, developing, scripting, shooting, hosting, directing, editing and producing original videos and creating Instagram Stories and new formats.
Fastest growing news account on Instagram in 2018
After I took over @world in December 2017, the account grew by more than 1,500%, from 50,000 to more than 785,000 followers in just over a year.
#WCW
“#WCW: Badass Women You Should Know About This Week” is the flagship story series on the BuzzFeed @world Instagram. It was developed to highlight inspirational women who are making headlines around the world and as an unconventional way to summarise the week’s news for young audiences. The series won a Silver and People’s Choice Lovie Award for Best Use of Stories in 2019.
I scripted, shot, hosted, directed, edited, produced and distributed the show from London every Wednesday.
“Humans of the World meets Teen Vogue”
With a heavily woman audience, 80% of the followers on @world spoke another language other than English.
Explainers
Hosted by BuzzFeed News reporters around the world, the explainer video series were developed and produced around major global news stories. The videos combine breaking and in-depth reporting to break down complex news events and explain their significance for audiences. Previous video topics include Brexit, Tokyo Medical University lowering women students’ exam scores, the 2019 revolts in Sudan, the concept of “honour killings,” and the 2018 road-safety protests in Bangladesh. I coordinated with BuzzFeed News reporters in international offices, including Australia, India, Japan, Brazil, Canada and the UK, to shoot, script, edit and produce the videos.
Double digit interaction rate
@world had a double digit average interaction rate and story completion rates that were ~20% higher than the industry average.
Source: CrowdTangle
Audience Engagement
For Ramadan 2019, I produced a special Instagram Q&A story series on the BuzzFeed @world Instagram, where BuzzFeed News reporter Ikran Dahir answered audience questions about Ramadan.
I developed, edited the script, directed, edited, produced and distributed the story from London.
“We don’t talk down to our audience, even if they are mostly all young people.”
— As seen in The Drum
On-the-ground social-native reporting
Unprecedented percentage of followers under the age of 18
@world had an unprecedented number of followers under the age of 18 for a news account on Instagram, a platform not particularly known for tackling hard news.
Shows
Co-hosted by BuzzFeed News reporters Rachael Krishna and Rose Buchanan, the 2018 In Review series appeared daily on the BuzzFeed @world Instagram’s Story over the last two weeks of the 2018. The series recapped the year’s major global news events, breaking them down into daily themed segments. These included historic events, cute animals, amazing women, heartwarming news, LGBT gains, civil rights gains, funny moments, as well as a #WCW special.
I developed, edited the script, shot, directed, edited, produced, and distributed the show from London.
Adapted story on buzzfeednews.com
“One of the most widespread assumption about Instagram is that it should only feature positive content. But BuzzFeed World proved that hard news is highly valued – and shared – by younger audiences.”
— as seen in Journalism.co.uk
Cross-Platform Distribution
After breaking and delivering news on Instagram first, I adapted the story for other social and O&O platforms, translating Instagram posts to articles on buzzfeednews.com and cross-promoting the posts to drive millions of views onto the BuzzFeed News sites and engagement to the @world Instagram. Here are a selection of @world stories I adapted for buzzfeednews.com:
