Instagram took a step towards making the world a better place and helping those in need when they announced the launch of their newest campaign on Good Morning America this week, which addresses mental health issues.
The campaign uses the hashtag #HereForYou to motivate users to open up about their own struggles with mental health and to join in on a worldwide conversation.
“People use Instagram to share their stories visually. With just one image or video, they can express their feelings and share their activities,” said Instagram’s Chief Operating Officer Marne Levine in an interview with ABC News. “That’s why we chose to launch a video campaign that showcases these supportive communities on Instagram.”
For this campaign, Instagram turned to influencer marketing by teaming up with influencers and celebrities such as Troian Bellisario, the star of “Pretty Little Liars”, who in the past has spoken out about her own struggles with eating disorders in the hope of helping others who are dealing with similar issues.
“Once you have an eating disorder, it is something that you are always sort of in touch with,” Bellisario said in an interview. “It’s something that you’re always … not necessarily always struggling with, or struggling under … but it is always something that is present.”
The actress included that this campaign will help motivate people to be more open about their own struggles on social media, as opposed to only posting about the positive aspects of their lives and drifting away from topics such as mental health issues.
“I have a lot of friends … and fans, who feel sometimes like Instagram is the place in which you have to make your life perfect,” Bellisario said. “You have to show only the best version of your life. Only the happy moments. Only the highlights. And it leaves a huge part of your life that is hidden and in the dark.”
“Instagram is offering tools and a connection to speak to people, to speak to professionals, to review online literature,” Bellisario added about the new campaign, saying that it can also supply tools “to connect you to a community that can get you the help you need.”
There is already an existing community of people on Instagram who support one another, but the hope is that through this campaign more people will be able to help each other.
The hashtag #HereForYou is something that is already commonly used by Instagram users and the goal of this campaign is to engage social media influencers to put the spotlight on individuals while providing examples of people in the community to whom other individuals can relate.
Instagram is adamant about opening up the conversation on #MentalHealth and enabling people to share their experiences globally with the hopes of building a world wide support system, something everyone could benefit from every now and then.