At A Gazeta, a prominent Brazilian news outlet based in Espírito Santo and part of the media company Rede Gazeta, social media was mainly seen as a channel to drive traffic to the main Web site prior to the pandemic.

But now, its Instagram profile is treated as a product in itself, said Danilo Ribeiro Meirelles, a distribution editor at A Gazeta.

That strategy has paid off: A Gazeta recently topped one million Instagram followers in a region of just over four million people.

“Our strategy centers on delivering high-quality information and journalism that is recognised for its credibility by the people of Espírito Santo,” Meirelles said. “Fortunately, A Gazeta has a newsroom capable of producing the best local content in our state.”

A few aspects of their strategy (and ideas for other newsrooms to consider!):

• Ask for photos: A Gazeta invites followers to send in photos of Espírito Santo’s landscapes. Every day, they share daily landscape photos from the state to strengthen local identity and community engagement. “We believe this helps foster a sense of belonging and community,” Meirelles said.

• Reply to story tips: They receive more than 250 story suggestions via DMs every day, respond to all of them privately, and forward the best ones to their editorial team. “This aligns with our goal of being more attentive and responsive on social media,” Meirelles said. “The newsroom investigates the tips, and then we adapt the content for Instagram.”

• Be relevant: In general, their Instagram profile is fed with news produced by the newsroom, which is then curated for the feed and Stories. “We prioritise what’s most relevant to the residents of Espírito Santo, especially in the feed,” Meirelles said.

Story formats are key to the Instagram strategy, Meirelles said.  

“Formats are essential — and so is alternating between them. A big part of our job on social media is adapting Web site content into the most effective format,” he said.

They’ve learned that:

• Stories work best for driving traffic to links.

• Carousels are ideal for explaining complex issues.

• Reels are great for reaching new audiences outside the follower base. Reels also are used when the footage is strong.

• Headline cards work well with a strong, relevant headline.

• Photo galleries are effective when the visuals are a key part of the story.

“We tell real stories that happen close to our followers — and the more recent or immediate, the better. Our journalism is recognised for in-depth reporting on local politics and economics, but posts about heavy traffic, accidents, rain, crime, or even curious facts consistently perform above average,” Meirelles said. “Our followers value us for the practical, service-driven news we provide.” 

A Gazeta’s Instagram feed is quite active: They publish around 45 feed posts and about 60 Stories every day. It’s common to make three to five different posts about a single news item using different formats (Reels, carousels, or headline cards), as long as the story justifies it, Meirelles said. 

“Over the years, I’ve learned there’s no real limit if people want the content. Content is king,” he said. “On the other hand, if there’s not enough relevant content on a given day, we scale back. We don’t aim for a specific number of daily posts. Our goal is always to deliver what matters most to the people of Espírito Santo. If there’s nothing relevant, we don’t post. If something major happens, we post more.”

When there isn’t breaking news, A Gazeta brings in lighter, lifestyle content, especially on weekends. To make space for it, they’ve created dedicated profiles like Se Cuida (health tips) and Estúdio Gazeta (covering lifestyle, decor, etc.).

Other highlights of my conversation with Meirelles:

• What metrics are they paying attention to? Follower count is important because it reflects a large number of people trusting our content and our brand. However, what we truly focus on is reach. We aim to get our posts in front of as many local residents as possible, especially those who don’t follow us yet.

• Do they monetise Instagram? We’ve implemented a model for paid partnerships, making the Instagram page financially relevant to the company.

• How big is the social media team? Our social media team includes 10 people, four of whom are interns. We produce most of our videos in-house because they need to be tailored for social platforms. We rely heavily on interns — young professionals in training who are also native users of digital media.

• Do they use tools to schedule posts? We use Meta Business Suite for scheduling and sometimes the Instagram app itself. Since we deal with real-time news, most of our scheduled posts are for weekends and usually involve lifestyle or softer content.

• How do they handle misinformation or moderation in the comments? In general, we don’t moderate comments … . When it comes to misinformation, we try to respond and clarify in the comments. But we’ve noticed that our readers often take on this role, correcting misinformation and calling out falsehoods posted by others. 

I also asked Meirelles if there was a turning point in A Gazeta’s growth. He pointed to significant news events where their feed gained momentum, including the Espírito Santo Military Police strike in 2017 and the pandemic in 2020. 

In the case of the pandemic, A Gazeta focused heavily on providing service-oriented content in Portuguese, offering basic guidance on how to stay safe. “At a time when people were seeking reliable news, our engagement surged, and we gained many new followers,” he said.

Instagram is A Gazeta’s main platform for brand presence, especially because most Espírito Santo residents use it, Meirelles said. But the brand also is active on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

“We prioritise platforms that our readers prefer and that yield better results,” Meirelles said. 

Each platform has its own tailored strategy:

• Facebook and WhatsApp are great for driving traffic to the Web site, so they focus on links.

• TikTok helps them reach a younger audience, so they post lighter content and experiment more with videos and photo galleries.

Finally, what advice would Meirelles offer to other newsrooms trying to grow their Instagram presence today?

“You can’t grow on Instagram without original content. Credible information is the key to performing well on social media,” he said. “Beyond that, I’d suggest starting with simpler formats — headline cards in the feed and Reels using raw footage (sent by users or from security cameras). Contrary to popular belief, investing in your Instagram feed is one of the best ways to grow your presence.”

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