---
title: President Obama Newsjacks Iowa Caucus by joining Instagram
image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605311075-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e5022731970c-320wi.jpg
---

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# President Obama Newsjacks Iowa Caucus by joining Instagram

 January 4th, 2012

 1 min read

 By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott)

![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605311075-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e5022731970c-320wi.jpg?width=320&height=425&name=6a00d83451f23a69e20168e5022731970c-320wi.jpg)

[![Obama Instagram](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605311075-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e5022731970c-320wi.jpg "Obama Instagram")](http://freshspot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e5022731970c-popup)On Tuesday, the Obama campaign joined [Instagram](https://www.webinknow.com/2011/11/why-i-love-instagram.html), using the [@BarackObama](http://web.stagram.com/n/barackobama) ID. The account will be managed by his campaign staff.

As I wrote about yesterday when I talked about the Jon Huntsman for President campaign and the use of social media in a post called [Marketing advice to Jon Huntsman and his daughters](https://www.webinknow.com/2012/01/marketing-advice-to-jon-huntsman-and-his-daughters.html), I totally geek out about the marketing and PR aspects of the US presidential campaign season. I'm convinced that all marketers can learn from presidential campaign strategies.

The timing of Obama's joining Instagram is fascinating because it was the same day as the Iowa Caucus.

**Newsjacking.**

By attracting the attention of some of the world's media as they are intensely focused on the results of the Republican contest, President Obama shines a small amount of light on himself and his campaign. Read more about the marketing and PR technique of [Newsjacking](https://www.webinknow.com/2011/11/newsjacking.html).

**Advice for the Obama campaign on using Instagram:** I hope the president shoots some photos himself. Here’s a suggested first shot. I *really* want to see a photo of his view from the podium while delivering the State of the Union speech, which is currently scheduled for the evening of January 24, 2012. Now *that* would be a historic photograph. *The first President to photograph his own State of the Union would generate tons of buzz and energize the many millions of young voters who use photo sharing like Instagram every day. *

We’re in for a fun ride this campaign season. I’ll report from time to time about the interesting marketing aspects.

**Remember, this is not a political blog. **I write about marketing and PR. I am not endorsing candidates like the President or Jon Huntsman by writing about their marketing strategies and tactics.

[![Instagram newsjack](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605311090-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20162ff0c22ce970d-500wi.jpg "Instagram newsjack")](http://freshspot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451f23a69e20162ff0c22ce970d-pi)

<https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott>

[ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott)

David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire.

 Connect: 

<https://www.facebook.com/dmscott> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott/> <https://twitter.com/dmscott> [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com)

 Topics:

[ Case Studies ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/case-studies)

[ Marketing ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/marketing)

[ US Presidential Campaign Marketing & PR ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/us-presidential-campaign-marketing-pr)

[ Newsjacking ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/newsjacking)

[ Brand Journalism ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/brand-journalism)

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