BackThe Fed Seeks to Up Its Influencer Status
The central bank known for its careful language has joined Instagram and Threads.
Premium“Hi, I’m Jay Powell."
Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and one of the most influential people in the country, launched the central bank’s new Instagram account with a video, known as a reel, announcing its newest social-media outreach.
In the video, the first post on @federalreserveboard, Powell said the Fed, a bastion of careful language whose words are pored over by investors trying to predict its interest-rate decisions that influence the U.S. economy, is “working to promote a healthy economy and strong financial system. That mission starts with you."
Instagram is known less for its role in monetary policy and more for its influencers-turned-celebrities. It has helped further the careers of people such as Kylie Jenner, the youngest Kardashian-Jenner sibling, who used it to grow a lip-kit empire. Celebrities hawk their products with an array of Instagram visuals and music alongside users’ curated glimpses of their lives.
The Fed also joined Threads, Meta Platforms’ answer to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. Joining Threads requires an Instagram account. Threads is one of several alternatives to X that have gotten attention since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022.
Meta, which owns Instagram, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
When Powell speaks, the world takes notice. The Fed’s mandate is to promote stable prices and maximum employment, and markets scour every word for clues as they carefully watch any changes in language that could signal a policy shift.
The Federal Reserve declined to elaborate from its press release.
Apart from the introductory video by Powell, there were two more posts Monday about his visit to York, Pa., to meet with small-business owners and hear about efforts to grow the local economy.
The Fed is no stranger to social media. Before Instagram and Threads, the most recent addition was its Facebook page, created in 2016. (Facebook is also owned by Meta Platforms.) It also has accounts on X, YouTube, LinkedIn and Flickr, an early-Internet photo-sharing site.
Many of the regional Federal Reserve banks, such as the San Francisco Fed, already have Instagram accounts.
Some other central banks have long had Instagram accounts. The European Central Bank joined Instagram in November 2018. Its first post pictured what appears to be a child in front of the central bank. The caption says: “Hi 👋 We’re thrilled to be on Instagram!" along with a string of hashtags including “happy," “firstpost," euro" and “ecb."
There have been more than 1,000 posts since the European Central Bank joined, including short-video explainers to questions like, “What does the ECB do?" and “Can I still pay with a €500 banknote?"
Write to Suryatapa Bhattacharya at Suryatapa.Bhattacharya@wsj.com
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.
