Instagram has come a long way from its original purpose of allowing users to share photos taken on their mobile devices. Now, we can use it to relax by scrolling through videos of impossibly talented break dancers and adorable baby goats wearing pajamas.
Instagram’s evolution has also paved the way for a wealth of informative and educational reels on various topics, such as finance, engineering, and science. As a writer, you can tap into this vast knowledge bank for source material and supporting facts. When you do, you’ll need to know how to cite an Instagram post to give credit where the credit is due.
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How To Cite an Instagram Post Using Style Guides
Fortunately, the academics are way ahead of us and already have guidelines for formatting social media citations. To start, you will need to gather the following information:
- The name (or username) of the account holder.
- The title or a description of the photo or video.
- The names of any contributors.
- The date of publication.
- The URL of the photo or video.
Let’s take a closer look at how two major style guides cite Instagram posts.
How the MLA Cites Instagram Posts
Academic writing, especially in the humanities, is frequently formatted per the Modern Language Association’s style guide. The MLA uses the following structure to format Instagram citations:
- Account holder’s Last name, First name [@Username]. “Full text of post” or “Media Title.” Instagram, other contributors, photo or video publishing date [Date Mon. year], URL
A fictitious example of a citation might look like this:
- The Baby Goat Site [@babygoatsrus]. “Baby Goats Wearing Pajamas.” Instagram, video taken by Billy Goatlover, 31 Dec. 2024, www.instagram.com/12abc3de45fg6
As you can see, if the post author is an organization, use that instead of the last and first name.
What if the publisher didn’t title their work? In this case, replace the title segment with a short post description, and do not use italics or quotation marks. In addition, if the username is the same as the actual author or organization (e.g., @FirstnameLastname), it’s not necessary to include it in the citation.
👉BUY – MLA Handbook (Official)
How the APA Cites Instagram Posts
The American Psychological Association’s style guide also governs the academic writing format. Here’s the basic APA Instagram video post format:
- Last name, First initial or Organization name [@Username]. (Year, Month Date). Video description (first 20 words of the post) [Video]. Instagram. URL
Here’s an example of the above video:
- The Baby Goat Site [@babygoatsrus]. (2024, December 31). Nothing in the world is cuter than baby goats wearing pajamas and jumping up and down and around haystacks and . www.instagram.com/12abc3de45fg6
An in-text citation will look like this:
- The Baby Goat Site (2024)
Note that the APA has specific formatting rules for other types of Instagram posts.
👉BUY – 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
Add Credibility by Properly Citing Instagram Posts
Backing up your information with citations is key to credible content, even if it’s from social media. Keep your work professional by properly citing Instagram posts.
Have you ever cited Instagram in your writing? Or do you think social media isn’t a reliable source? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out our resources on common style guides for more pro writing tips.
Cara developed her writing and editing expertise by working as a teaching assistant at the college Writing Lab and assisting English as a Second Language students to improve their language skills.
Beyond her professional achievements, Cara loves reading, traveling, and directing and acting in local theatrical productions.
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