Research-driven social content that explores new ways to advocate for freelancers.
TEAM
Rafael Espinal (President of Freelancers Union)
Lana Schwartz (Marketing Director)
GOAL
To increase social media engagement by creating case studies of successful companies, designing graphics and illustrations, and filming and editing reels.
CONTEXT
Freelancers Union is is a nonprofit organization with over 500,000 members that has served freelancers across the U.S. since 1995 by passing monumental laws (such as Freelance Isn’t Free), operating a free co-working space in Brooklyn, and helping independent workers with legal troubles.
Our Instagram has over 30k active followers, and content can be broken down into three key categories: Instagram reels, memes, and informational graphics.
Different social formats drive different kinds of engagement, and each one requires a different research approach. Below are three examples that walk through my process of creating content across formats.
Reels increases reach because the format is designed for audiences who are not actively seeking out advocacy content.
Reels that frame information as surprising, specific, or exclusive perform well.
I started by researching reels outside of advocacy spaces, looking into successful formats used to promote restaurants and businesses. These videos are used for marketing, so are optimized for attention and engagement.
I landed on a common reel format that shows a video montage of the business with text in the middle that highlights a unique quality that makes users want to visit.
I adapted this format to highlight how our Freelancers Hub is the only free co-working space in NYC, positioning it as a unique resource for freelancers.
Framing content around a clear, singular claim such as the only immediately communicates why something is worth attention and reduces the cognitive load required to understand advocacy resources.
2. Familiar formats lower the barrier to entry
Using a widely recognized reel structure helps viewers quickly understand the content.
RESULTS
- 30.5k views, majority from non-followers
- Gained 612 followers from this reel alone
Memes increase engagement by leading with humor.
Memes use shared experience to spark engagement.
I begin my research by exploring how humor is used on social media to talk about complex topics. Rather than explaining policy directly, memes can rely on emotional alignment, making them especially effective for content meant to be shared organically.
I found a trend involving pairing cute animals with the text when ur mean to me this is really who ur being mean to. These posts would get hundreds of thousands of likes, and I noticed that many of them used the character Nanalan (from a Canadian TV show).
I created a carousel of different close-up photos of Nanalan looking cute paired with freelancer-themed ‘This is who you’re asking’ captions, making difficult tasks (such as creating invoices) feel cute.
Memes that mirror common freelancer experiences are more likely to be shared privately or to stories, extending reach beyond our followers.
2. Humor helps engage with advocacy
Leading with humor makes advocacy content feel less intimidating
RESULTS
- 37.9% of views were from stories, meaning shareability was high
Creating graphics presents ideas in a focused, concise format.
Bold graphics communicate advocacy messages confidently.
We wanted to make a post highlighting how ACA subsidies expiring could increase health insurance prices, especially for self-employed people.
I focused on creating a punchy graphic that would quickly spark conversation, so I looked to the social media accounts of advocacy organizations like Planned Parenthood for inspiration. I noticed they used high-contrast colors and bold statements.
My team and I brainstormed a catchphrase and landed on Seeing a Doctor Shouldn’t be Political. Next, I experimented with different graphic design formats (which adhered to our brand color palette) to discover the punchiest one.
Minimizing text and visual clutter helped viewers understand the message quickly without needing prior policy knowledge.
2. Bold design strengthens engagement.
Using strong typography and high-contrast colors made the message stand out in fast-scrolling feeds and encouraged discussion.