CDHI Praxis Workshop: Instascholar: Social Media Strategies for Academics on Instagram

Can you start building an effective, growing social media presence that could eventually reach millions? Scholars can and should play an active role in combatting bias and disinformation campaigns in social media. Yet, we often shy from using Instagram, one of the world’s largest social media platforms where audiences are hungry for quality, reliable content. Embedded bias and trolling on the platform are a big deterrent for many scholars and continue to impede public access to reliable, critical data and scholarship. How can you build a social media strategy that gets good data to public while prioritizing wellness, safety, and equity? Social media specialists, Tanya and LK, offer hands-on insider tips, guidance, and examples on how you can build effective data-driven content for big audiences. Workshop attendees will receive an introduction to:  

• Getting started right. Build (or revamp) a data or research-focused Instagram account that is more likely to attract followers   
• Creating clickable content. How do we translate dense research into a single Instagram post? Check out samples of amazing posts and accounts that are reaching millions. 
• Building a social media strategy that works. How often should you post? What should you do if you have a bad experience? This workshop provides an introduction into the limitations of these platforms and pressing concerns about bias and censorship. It discusses hacks for getting around common problems and tips for building a social media strategy that prioritizes safety, wellness, and equity for female, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC content developers.    

This workshop is facilitated by Dr. LK Bertram (Assoc. Professor, Department of History, University of Toronto) and Tanya Rohrmoser (Communications Officer, CDHI).

Tech requirements: Before the workshop, participants should create Instagram and Canva accounts. Both tools are free.

The workshop is free and open to all. It will be held on zoom. Pre-registration for the workshop is required.