The Mario Blog

It is not exactly where you would expect to find the type of stories that the Financial Times is known for.  However, Instagram has become a major platform for the Financial Times’ visual content increasing its Instagram followers to 515,000 from 286,000 a year ago.

I admit that I am not a daily visitor of Instagram, but I am there because my grandchildren are, and it is nice to keep up with their activities that way, especially the two who are in college now.

The Financial Times has competition with Instagram: The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider are also there, competing for the same young audience. Coverage is appropriate to the younger set. For example. as we see here, a photo illustration of a dog, “in honour of Frida,” the Mexican Navy rescue dog who came to prominence after the earthquake last month.

Or a story about the 50th year anniversary of Che Guevara’s death.

I like it when a graphic is used to tell a more complex story, such as an explanation of the US making up less than 5 percent of the world population but almost  a third of the world’s mass shootings.  I often wonder why the same simple and direct visual storytelling strategies are not used in the mainstream editions of these publications.

The Economist @ Instagram

The Economist, perhaps the smartest of the financial publications, brings its charming headlines to Instagram, but, again, simplifies the stories, including such complicated ones as the issue of gun control in the US.  I like the images used too, some with animation.

The Wall Street Journal @ Instagram

For the Wall Street Journal, Instagram is an opportunity to sell more lifestyle related stories, such as the examples we see here.

The New York Times

The Times has secured a presence in Instagram, as well as in Snapchat Discover, and I found that its texts are longer than those of the other publications shown here.

The selection of Times stories runs from newsy to features, some with great animation, too.