In the short space of five years, Instagram has grown to dominate the social media landscape and has dramatically shaped the nature of brand engagement. By creating an environment where users exist with very little distinction between brands and people, the platform has paved the way for a new style of communication, giving rise to the power of Instabrands.
Instabrands are, simply put, the brands that truly get Instagram. They know it’s not a place to push a sales message, but an opportunity to share their human side. Facebook may have been first to the table in giving brands this opportunity, but reach on this platform has dramatically reduced in the last few years. Nike, for example, can post to its 13.1 million followers on Instagram and essentially reach them all. However if they post to their 23 millions likers on Facebook they’d reach less than 2 million users without paid advertising.
Now that Facebook owns Instagram, they can potentially introduce the same advertising restrictions at any time. So the opportunity to make the most of Instagram has never been better than right now.
Thanks to social powerhouses Nike and Adidas, athleticwear brands have the most followers on Instagram, with fashion and beauty brands a close step behind. They offer a world of insight and inspiration if you take the time to review them in detail, but here’s a glimpse into what they’re doing.
Goals
Be active, set goals, and as a general rule of thumb try getting about 20 likes and comments per every 500 followers . This is a standard of most of the Fortune 500 companies.
Hashtags
When it comes to growing your audience through organic reach, hashtags are your best friend. Be sure to keep on top of relevant hashtag trends to maximize brand discovery, and also look at implementing a hashtag that you can (attempt to) keep uniquely your own.
Ted Baker recently launched their new season for 2015 under the teaser campaign “#Pinch_Me” which invited users to take various Ted Baker images, apply filters to reveal a message, then post responses to win prizes such as a holiday to Portmierion in Wales, where the spring campaign was shot.
The brand seeks to further capitalise on user-generated content by enabling shoppers to tweet and gram images of themselves dressed in the retailer’s clothing using the hashtag #Tedtotoe, appearing on screens in stores.
Authenticity
Remember, this is not a sales push – users smell a fake from a mile away.
When Estée Lauder announced Kendall Jenner as the new face of their brand, it took only 24 hours for the beauty line’s Instagram following to jump over 18 percent (bravo indeed). But when Jenner posted the branded video announcement on her account it was her least popular video to date.
Using a personality with an impressive following can be very effective for brands, but consumers are wary of brand endorsements, so be subtle.
There are plenty of opportunities for brands to achieve Instabrand success and a lot of it comes down to getting the basics right. Communicating the human side of your brand, whether it’s your tone of voice, personality or image style, all starts with first understanding your brand. So why not get in touch and let us show you how we can help.