Media Account Analysis: National Geographic, Research Paper Example

National Geographic is an established Instagram account with over 241 million followers. In all its posts, National Geographic focuses on oceans, land, wildlife, human ingenuity, history, and cultures to inspire its followers to take care of the environment. The goal of National Geographic’s Instagram account is to offer knowledge on conservation programs and document the beauty in the world, such as the mysterious creatures and the threats they face. This is meant to inspire people to be more caring and act positively to protect the planet. The massive following that National Geographic has gathered on Instagram shows the desire many people worldwide have for protecting nature.

National Geographic’s Instagram target audience is people aged between 25 and 35. Most youths are on Instagram, indicating why most National Geographic posts focus on global adventures and discoveries. Most youths have similar interests in exploring new places, and National Geographic meets this demand. For example, three days ago, their Instagram post was about the magical ice caves in Austria and the Tianshan caves in Kyrgyzstan. National Geographic has successfully gained its audience’s attention because the two posts had 300, 984, and 119 450 likes, respectively. While it aims to attract its audience to beautiful places, it also inspires them to spread change by including facts about the places that could be at risk, compelling its audience to act. For example, as National Geographic spoke about the beauty of the caves in Austria, it also added that the ice is at risk of melting due to warm climates. This inspires its audience to preserve beauty by helping manage climate change.

National Geographic has broad content about nature that mostly includes endangered regions of the world. Their posts have quality photography without edits, which helps followers know the true nature of the posts. For example, six days ago, it posted the red-eyed dwarf iguana, including all its fun facts, where it is found, and also explained that it is endangered. After the information, the hashtags included were #vulnerable and #reptiles. The comments had people determined to reverse the situation, saying that when people destroy animals, they destroy themselves. National Geographic also engages its audience by posting engaging content that requires follow-up and communication. For example, last month, it posted that the Gibbon Conservation Center in California, which houses the endangered northern white-cheeked Gibbon, had lost its lease and needed the people’s help. The post, which had over 190 000 reactions, had people willing to help and others seeking help about more conservatories. These posts elicit conversations between National Geographic and its followers, keeping them connected.

National Geographic’s followers and likes show its influence on Instagram. All their posts have over 100 000 likes and over 600 comments. Their likes range between 100 000 and 300 000, and all the comments involve the audience’s love for nature and its willingness to preserve it.

Based on my examination of the National Geographic Instagram handle, what I see working well is how the account has originally photographed pictures from every continent. Posts from the last two weeks have images from different countries in Africa, Asia, and the United States, showing its determination to offer content. The account can realize its goals better by gathering more likes that come close to the number of followers by partnering with more followed people such as brand ambassadors to advocate for climate change.