Follow How Other Brands are Using Instagram to Click with Consumers

Instagram has become the picture of social e-commerce. With its greatly enhanced targeting and new advertising features, it’s better for brands than ever. Now that Instagram has shifted from a solely social media channel to a driver of e-commerce, creating compelling content is the link to awareness and action. But in order to earn new business, marketers first need to earn engagement. And creating great content is the key to that engagement. Yet too many marketers new to the channel don’t use it wisely or well. They get caught up in the concept and fail to develop good content. Some simply post repackaged content from their prior campaigns, while others try to fill their feeds with user-generated content. They start spending without strategy and promote instead of engage, which results in a lack of results. To see how socially savvy brands are getting creative with Instagram content, The Wall Street Journal shared their inspired social media marketing strategies.

1. Innovation Leads to Content Creation
Today, social media platforms are adding innovative features at a very rapid rate. Yet some marketers are wary of trying something new and wait to see how it works for others. But being the first to try new innovations can help a brand gain attention. For instance, Airbnb was one of the first brands to use Instagram’s carousel feature and it helped their campaign make an impact. Along with trying new innovations, brands also need to be innovative. Airbnb showed its ingenuity by enabling users to book a listing directly from its Instagram feed through its like2b.uy integration. These efforts inspired ideas for content that resonated with users.

2. Crowdsourcing Draws a Crowd of Content
Since marketers use Instagram to connect with consumers, their feeds should reflect consumers’ interests by featuring their content submissions. This will provide an abundance of content and help a brand engage with users. Lenovo used this approach with its #ihackedlife campaign. The brand opened up its Instagram feed for videos from consumers. Lenovo carefully curated its video submissions to ensure that they adhered to the brand image. When they posted the user videos, they increased consumers’ interest in the brand and its campaign.

3. Planning Provides Perfect Content
While Instagram content may seem spontaneous, the savviest brands have a solid plan for their Instagram feeds. Some of those plans include planning events that generate a wealth of content. For example, Bacardi Limon promoted its “Turn Up Your Summer” #Limonade program by creating a pool party video for TV. During pre-production, the brand decided to use this opportunity to collect additional content for other platforms, especially Instagram. Bacardi posted the videos on Instagram, which increased engagement with the brand.

Use these ideas for inspiration on creating Instagram content that brings consumers closer to brands.

Discover successful social media marketing strategies. Contact MDG today at 561-338-7797 or visit www.mdgsolutions.com.

MDG is a full-service advertising agency and one of Florida’s top branding firms. With offices in Boca Raton and New York City, MDG’s core capabilities include branding, logo design, print advertising, digital marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, media planning and buying, TV and radio, outdoor advertising, newspaper, video marketing, website design and development, content marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. To discover the latest trends in branding and advertising, contact MDG today at 561-338-7797.