Case Study

 01

The Task

In February 2024, Instagram’s chief, Adam Mosseri, announced that both Instagram and Threads would make political content opt-in by default. According to the platform, this included any content “likely to mention governments, elections, or social topics that affect a group of people and/or society at large.” By default, such content would be restricted for all users unless they manually adjusted their settings.

To continue seeing politics-related posts, users would need to navigate a multi-step process to enable them.

The update caught even the most online users off guard, sparking widespread criticism of Meta for limiting political content during a critical election year in the U.S. and several other countries—especially with little to no warning.

On March 22, the updates began rolling out. As a political news account, this change wasn’t just a setback to our growth—it was a direct threat to democracy itself.

My mission was clear: create a step-by-step tutorial on how to “opt-in” that was so straightforward even the most tech-challenged grandmother could follow it. Because when it comes to voting, there’s no age limit—every voice matters. I had to make sure no one got left behind.

The Checklist

01 - Did we join the conversation in a timely, relevant way that aligns with Reckon’s audience?

02 - Did we offer a new or different perspective?

03 - Did we present the story in an engaging and digestible way?

04 - Is it aesthetically captivating? Does the content follow company & platform best practices?

05 - If the goal is “reach,” does it have a CTA to ensure that happens?

06 - Have you used proper trending hashtags and SEO? Is the caption utilized as an additional opportunity for engagement?

07 - Did our audience leave feeling more informed? Was it memorable?

08 - Is the content “shareable?” Does the content resonate enough to like it, share it with a friend, or save it for later?

The Results

  • Engagement

    A total of 7,032 engagements, including 2,430 likes, 1,251 saves, and 43 comments, highlights the quality of the post and its usefulness to audiences beyond our immediate followers.

    The 1,251 saves indicate that a significant portion of users wanted to revisit the post later, signaling the post featured timely, thought-provoking, and highly valuable content, making it a powerful tool for spreading awareness and engaging new audiences.

  • Shareability

    The content was shared 3,304 times, almost double the amount of likes, highlighting the content’s strong viral appeal.

    The outstanding sharability played a key role in expanding reach, as users actively circulated the content to their followers, extending its visibility beyond Reckon’s immediate audience.

  • Reach

    The post reached 24,250 users and generated 26,663 organic impressions, showcasing the success of our primary goal to reach as many unique users as possible.

    It’s likely that Reckon’s audience actively engaged with the content, causing Instagram’s algorithm to push it to more explore pages, home feeds, and suggested posts, further amplifying its organic visibility.

    With a 37.84% engagement rate, the post significantly outperformed industry standards and effectively captured and maintained user’s attention.