Wondering how lawyers, researchers and advocates now use social media as DEPC expands its presence to Instagram

The fact that I have been doing the same basic blog using the same basic technology for nearly 20 years is proof positive that I am no longer (if I ever was) on the cutting edge of communications technology.  But the Center that I help run at Ohio State, the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, recently expanded its social media presence to Instagram, and we are trying to figure out whether that might be a useful additional medium for connecting with our various audiences.

DEPC's plan is to use our Instagram account similarly to how we now use Facebook and Twitter/X: to share research news, event notices, Drugs on the Docket podcast updates, and more.  But we are hoping that Instagram might provide DEPC with the opportunity to break down the center’s research in more visually interesting ways to support continued audience connection and growth.  For an example of the research coverage planned through the platform, consider this post highlighting DEPC’s recent paper on prosecutorial plans to seal and expunge low-level drug offenses in Ohio.

But I am sincerely unsure of whether, especially with Twitter/X evolutions, audiences are looking to Instagram or to other social media sites for this kind of content.  Because I sense a number of (new and old) platforms are used by lawyers, researchers and advocates, and I would be really interested in hearing from readers in the comments about their professional social media uses and preferences (or even about blog technology, if so inclined).