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Social Media Guide

ENGAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Social change happens with social media. Read below for tips and tricks to make your voice heard on social media!

KNOW YOUR HASHTAGS

Using hashtags makes sure your content is seen by more than just your followers.

  • Keyword hashtags
    • People follow these hashtags for content and community building. Using these can help your content reach more people.
    • Examples: #ReproRights #FamilyPlanning
  • Campaign hashtags
    • These are hashtags specific to campaigns, such as #Fight4HER for opposing the Global Gag Rule, #GlobalHERAct for supporting the Global HER Act, and #EndHelms for opposing the Helms Amendment. The more they are used, the more visibility they bring to an issue.
    • During local or national events, look out for the event hashtag (e.g. #PeoplesMarch #BansOffOurBodies) to use in your posts.

KNOW YOUR TARGETS

There are plenty of people we can pressure via social media by tagging them in posts. In the body of a post, type the @ symbol and then start typing the name of the person you want to tag. When their name pops up, select it. Their name should appear in a different color now—if it doesn’t, then it hasn’t been successfully tagged. You could tag individual members of Congress, @POTUS, @SCOTUS, or anyone else you want to reach with your message.

EXPLORE AND ENGAGE

Never stop exploring! The communities and conversations on reproductive rights are always growing online.

THE ART OF AMAZING CONTENT

Killer visuals
  • Whether you’re a beginner or a professional content creator, you can take great images and videos with your phone. Strong visuals are key on social media.
    • VIDEO: Can you stream your video live while an event or action is happening? If not, make sure videos are short so you’re not testing people’s attention spans and risking losing them to competing social media content.
    • PHOTO: Do you find the image fascinating? If you’re overlaying text, is it large enough to be legible on mobile devices?
​​ Emotions
  • Great content makes us feel something. When people connect with your social media post on an emotional level, they’re more likely to engage with it. Emotions to get you started: excitement, anger, sadness, nostalgia, optimism, indignation.
  • ​​Your perspective: Social media is all about YOU. That’s why we love it, right? It’s your place to express your views and stay in touch with your community. We want to hear YOUR voice on social media. Be yourself.
Your community
  • Being an advocate for reproductive rights on social media means being part of an active online community and adding your own unique perspective to the issue.
  • It is important to engage with others online because people are more inclined to interact with you on social media if you show interest in them.
Post, rinse, repeat
  •  Whether it’s a day of action or an ongoing campaign, repetition is key. Let decision-makers hear you! Want to make an impact? Make sure they see a steady stream of social media content taking a stand for reproductive rights. Use your voice!

BEST PRACTICES BY NETWORK

Facebook
  • Ask and you shall receive! Asking your feeds to engage with you is part of being an active online advocate. Directly asking your friends to share an event, or sharing your story and asking folks to comment with theirs, is a great way to get people to engage.
  • Post or share native video (aka uploaded directly to Facebook and not shared as a link to YouTube, for example) or stream your video live. Currently, Facebook’s algorithm values native video content over all others.
Instagram
  • Photos and videos of real people are the way to go here. Pictures and video clips from marches, rallies, and meetings with members of Congress are primo for this platform. When you don’t have this type of media available, graphics produced using free design platforms like Canva can be eye-catching and informative.
  • Don’t forget to tag relevant people, politicians, and organizations, and use appropriate hashtags so your post gets viewed by people besides your followers!
Bluesky
  • We, like everyone, are new to Bluesky, but we’re excited to become more familiar with this platform that feels like Twitter back in its early days. Here’s hoping it doesn’t go down the tubes the way Twitter did!
Twitter
  • We archived our Twitter account in January 2025, along with most of our peer organizations, in protest of Elon Musk’s enormous support of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and his constant and ridiculous claims that we are experiencing a population collapse and need women to have more babies, regardless of whether they want them.

LET’S GO MAKE HISTORY

You’ve got all the tools you need (the phone in your pocket and, yep, you!) to be an advocate for reproductive rights. Now, let’s go make it happen!