- The Federal Council is communicating on Instagram for the first time in order to specifically address young users.
- The federal government has created a total of ten positions so that communication can be expanded.
If you look around abroad, it is now considered good manners for the government to try to be close to the citizens with its own channel on Instagram.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have had their own channels on Instagram for some time.
Federal councilors completely private?
The Federal Council is therefore not taking on a pioneering role in this regard. He wants to go where the young audience is with his information.
On the channel you will not see photos of Minister of Sport Viola Amherd in the gym or Foreign Minister Cassis reading on the sofa. But maybe there will be pictures that explain the federal government’s energy strategy.
Legend:
What content will the Federal Council soon be presenting on Instagram?
Keystone/Stefano Spinelli
On Instagram, the focus is on photos and short videos, says Urs Bruderer from the Federal Chancellery. He gives an example of what users will be able to see in the future: “For example, there will be quiz formats on Federal Council topics. There will always be a connection to the Federal Council’s topics in these entertainment formats. We don’t make cat videos or content about the federal councilors in private.”
We do not make cat videos or content about the federal councilors in private.
So the entertainment medium Instagram should also be about information. The Federal Council members themselves do not operate the Instagram channel, but rather the Federal Chancellery. The Federal Councilors have increased their communications departments by ten positions to manage Instagram and other social media channels.
It is planned that the followers will learn something new from the Federal Palace at least three times a week. Traditionally, it is the newspapers, radio and television that bring the government’s policies closer to the population.
Legend:
The Instagram channel is used to inform more young people about Swiss politics.
Keystone/Anthony Anex
But Urs Bruderer from the Federal Chancellery says that there is now an expectation “that political actors will also present themselves and address users and the population directly. You want to live up to that expectation.”
There is an expectation that political actors will present themselves and address the population directly.
The Federal Council wants to address the population directly on Instagram and thus address in particular the 15 to 30-year-olds, i.e. a population group that moves mainly on the online channels. The goal is to reach those who hardly read the newspaper or watch TV.