With over 1 billion active users and counting, Instagram gives marketing teams the unique opportunity to reach a vast number of highly-engaged users for pennies-on-the-dollar. With the overall usage of Instagram doubling over the last two years, the importance of this unique social media platform will only increase.
Instagram makes it possible for brands to easily engage with customers.
Yet, for whatever reason, many brands fail to capitalize on Instagram’s nearly limitless marketing potential. Instead of working to curate meaningful content and engage their loyal fanbases, many brands simply opt to post bland marketing materials that are better suited for static mediums such as magazines.
Ranging from Chipotle to BarkBox, companies have mastered the art of careful content curation. They strive to create content that is both engaging and meaningful to their core customers. It is our hope that a quick analysis of these star-players will help inspire your Instagram marketing campaigns.
Brand #1: Lego
Believe it or not, this timeless toymaker has managed to develop one of the most effective marketing campaigns on Instagram. Their posts accurately capture the whimsical and imaginative nature of their products and have created a feed of quality content. Traditional products are featured in tandem with their STEM-based line of toys, which helps to further communicate Lego’s natural fit throughout all aspects of childhood. In short, their content is relatable yet modern, serving to increase the brand’s notoriety while simultaneously driving high levels of user engagement with their 3.2 million followers.
Lego’s Instagram is a hit with its customers.
Brand #2: Chipotle
Simply saying that Chipotle has developed an engaging social media presence doesn’t do their Instagram justice. This iconic brand developed a feed that organically markets their delicious offerings while still paying homage to their indie roots. Quality photos are consistently combined with witty captions, making for an enjoyable and engaging social media experience for each and every one of Chipotle’s fans.
Brand #3: GoPro
GoPro’s versatile cameras have transformed how content creators capture memorable moments ranging from the extreme to the mundane. GoPro is well aware of this fact and emphasizes the feedback loop between adventure, social media, and the content created by their cameras throughout their Instagram feed. This unique strategy not only drives an extremely high level of engagement between GoPro and their 14+ million followers, but it also manages to present the company as a lifestyle brand—which is an extremely dynamic marketing approach for a company once viewed as a Silicon Valley tech darling.
GoPro showcases the capabilities of its products on Instagram.
Brand #4: BarkBox
A quick scroll through BarkBox’s Instagram feed will show you dozens of adorable dogs in almost every imaginable situation. This laugh-out-loud content has aided BarkBox in developing their social media brand, as reflected by their 1.4 million Instagram followers. The genius of this approach is the combination of enjoyable content and brand promotion. While there are dozens of accounts that post funny dog-based content, BarkBox is the only place you can go to find great content and enticing promotions. Better yet, this approach makes their content feel more like a meme and less like marketing—which in turn allows social networking to naturally run its course.
Brand #5: Oreo
The Instagram feed of Oreo is full of truly enjoyable content, which naturally drives some level of engagement with fans. However, the secret of Oreo’s marketing lies in the fact that they take care to place their products at the heart of every single Instagram post, all while managing to do so in a genuinely fun and engaging manner. Entertaining copy and captions combine with vibrant images, videos, and animations to accurately reflect the fun-loving aura that surrounds their product offerings.
Oreo’s fan following is dedicated thanks to its classic design and flavors.
As you see, there are numerous different ways to build an engaging presence on Instagram. Whether it be for your personal brand, or for that of your company, we strongly suggest using the brands above as a guide when working to develop your own unique Instagram marketing strategy.