The Power of Great Content on Instagram
Brands carry weight with customers. The power of a brand can be so impactful that, just because a brand name is on a product, consumers will buy without hesitation. Customers who trust a brand, know their product lineup and quality standards won’t need to do any research, price shopping or delay purchasing decisions. When a brand has that trust with a customer it’s tough to break that relationship. And with social being such an active part of our daily lives, branded entertainment on Instagram is becoming of huge importance for brands everywhere.
For example, many families only purchase cars from one brand, be it Ford, Toyota or sometimes even a category of cars- such as ultra-luxury or exotic sports cars. This translates to incredible ROI (return on investment) for years to come.
Fans (the best customers) will also do a ton of marketing, or remarketing for a brand. Social media has quickly become the de facto advertising platform for brands because their reach is seemingly limitless. When fans Like, retweet or repost a message from a brand they do it because it makes them feel good. They want to reciprocate the feeling they get from a brand among their peers. This is why influencers have become an integral part of marketing.
When this connection is made among brands and fans the impact cannot be denied. Brands can leverage this in many ways. Instagram is great because there is focus on one image at a time. And the evolution of the platform has only made it more social and allow for greater impact, such as direct messages and video.
Instagram has quickly become one of the best social networks out there for brands. It’s perfect for messaging since a picture is worth a thousand words. The engagement of Instagram over other social networks is outstanding and it seems to be the network of choice these days- and as social media matures, it looks like it could stay this way for a while. No wonder Facebook bought it for $1B).
As Instagram has grown and it’s product matured, the company has been slow to roll out and refine the platform. Recently, there was some backlash when the company revealed a new, modern logo and when it started displaying content that was not in chronological order.
While many longtime users (read: fans) did not like the changes it makes sense and there are ways brands can take advantage of this to gain more followers, likes and traction on the platform.
Instagram has always taken a slow path to product- meaning the way it’s users interact. It has always put engagement first, which pays dividends to brands to who treat the platform this way and approach it with care and enthusiasm.
Instagram wasn’t the first to adopt video. YouTube is certainly the king, and Facebook has had it for many years. Vine launched before Instagram’s ability to play video, too. But Instagram does it really great for the platform that it is.
The recent upgrade of 60-second video means that brands now have more time to tell a story. This means we can now tell a story of greater impact, one that connects with the audience in a more meaningful and complete manner. 60 seconds sounds short on the surface, but believe me, you can tell a lot of story in a very little time. Think about all the Superbowl commercials you’ve seen over the years that have been incredibly thought provoking and memorable. The big difference here is that the audience’s face is only inches away from the screen, and often times they have headphones in giving sound design even more importance.
Direct Messages
Brands can get creative with their campaigns using direct messages. One of the key ways Direct Messages are underutilized is sending top fans (likers, commenters, earliest followers, etc.) custom video messages. Direct messages are almost always read and when it’s a brand responding to fans, the impact of this can go beyond a campaign that is sent out to millions of followers.
Giving these custom media clips to fans to repost with hashtags can increase your hashtag’s performance, brand reach and when people catch on, followers and likes can increase dramatically. There are many strategies and ways to do this properly and brands that are creative have the opportunity to take their social media campaigns to the next level in terms of reach and ROI.
Campaign Synergy, Preview and Drip
When brands launch campaigns Instagram can be versatile with the media since it lends itself great to photos and video. Below, Aston Martin used three posts to creatively deliver a big message. While sometimes the multi-post blasts can clog followers feed, they were sure to keep this one to three post. Effective, yet not annoying.
Following high quality images with video gives the fans a dynamic angle and information they crave.
The objective here is to reinforce the message with little hits from time to time. This is why we encourage the brands we work with to approach projects with the goal of getting more assets and creating a more complete campaign, rather than a one-off.
PREVIEW
Some brands are using social media as a preview or drip campaign. When taking the preview route, brands will show the first several seconds of a video or series and then direct audiences to a micro-site or page on their website to see what happens next.
One of the greatest parts of the preview method is that you have a totally engaged audience on the microsite. If the only way your audience will end up on this microsite if through the profile link on your Instagram account you know that they were intrigued and took action to see the remaining of the video or campaign. This means your audience is already hooked and actively wants to know more!
Other digital marketing tactics can be initiated after the view is done such as post-play call-to-action, unique discount codes or early product info. The results of campaigns like this are incredibly powerful, although you’ll have a smaller market (which, in this case, is a good thing).
Below, we worked with Penny Skateboards on a global campaign for the launch of their Painted Fades line of skateboards. While they took advantage of using high-quality stills from the video campaign, they also were careful to display their product imagery and video in a specific order. This is also know as a Drip Campaign in social media.
DRIP
The drip method is also gaining in popularity. While drip campaigns have been around for many decadesand re-popularized with email campaigns recently, they are also incredibly effective on social media and are perfectly suited for video.
Sixty seconds is plenty of time to pack a story, but sometimes a brand’s objective in targeting the truest fans. To do this, brands can launch a drip campaign where they tell a story over a series of videos on Instagram with the payoff at the end.
Asking your fans to watch a series of video is more work, and you can expect that the more videos in the series the less will see the complete campaign. At first, this might seem counter-intuitive but it can actually be an advantage. This is a direct path for brands finding out who their truest fans are. The truest fans are the ones who absolutely love everything the brand puts out and seeks out this content.
At the end of the campaign, brands can reward their truest fans with special product, discounts, or other brand assets.
Drip campaigns allow for various touchpoints among customers and fans on a continual basis. The mix of video and still imagery provides ground for perfect A/B testing. Brands can easily see what works best and figure out why- the long term benefit to this marketing ROI is huge and one that has never been available before in the past. Some of this has will have to do what time you post to your social media account, but brands can fine-tune their messaging based on real-time feedback.
The real value arrives when brands decide to do a follow-up campaign, and since many brands have seasonal campaigns, this means they are producing 4-5 campaigns a year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and sometimes Holiday). Brands who approach agencies, marketing partners or video production companies- anyone who will tell your brand story- will know exactly what type of media fans react to the most, only furthering the ROI potential. We put business results ahead of everything at TAR Productions, and ROI is something we talk about a lot.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGh376MNQ-8/
Pitfalls
With Instagram being a mobile-only format, it’s easy to shoot and edit videos directly on the phone. While this is tempting and ideal from Instagram’s perspective, it might not be the best move for brands. When your aunt goes to the zoo and wants to share her home video of lions, it’s perfect.
As I said earlier, when a brand carries weight with fans it can go a long way. Turning a customer (or even a nobody) into a fan is a lot of work, it is earned. The trust comes with a standard built and established by the brand itself. And in turn, fans expect a certain level of quality of content.
The ability to constantly put out content for content’s sake is generally a bad idea for brands. This can greatly affect a fan’s perception of the brand. Why would a brand want take a chance on this? And, as you know, when video is done right it can be far more effective.
Brands that care about the invaluable connection they have with fans cannot take chances and put out quality of work that is on par with your aunt going to the zoo. Fans have and expectation for quality content that continues to raise the bar in terms of the true connection they have with their favorite brands. This is why brands must take time with their strategy and execution.
If you think about a brand you like, such as Clae Shoes or Aston Martin cars as mention above, and you’re used to seeing great products and imagery from these brands, it’s easy to have a connection and expectation from them. Branding in it’s truest form is subliminal, you know you like but an explanation as to why you like the brand is neither relevant nor required.
Fans interact with brands on Instagram 58x more than on Facebook, and 120x than on Twitter.
Brands that quickly put out content that is low quality, shaky and not polished risk losing this connection or lowering a fan’s expectation of what a brand stands for. When it’s on par with something that you can do yourself or your friends are doing, the distance between yourself and the brand diminishes greatly. The long term effect of this is that brands that should be top of mind won’t be.
When this happens brands will start to lose fans (the best customers), in fact, fans will hemorrhage. First the quasi-fans will go, followed by the truest fans. While the truest fans will hang on the longest, psychologically they will stop recommending product or solutions to peers.
Brand Opportunity on Instagram
Video gives brands the chance to have their story stick if they invest in it. When time, energy and commitment to story are not invested in the opposite effect occurs. The recent developments of Instagram as a platform provides greater opportunity than it ever has.
This is why I stress that brands be specific and strategic with content on Instagram. It’s a long-term strategy that can pay off with incredible ROI and benefits beyond what we’ve seen before. Branded Content is sought out by fans on a daily basis. Instagram is a platform that will be around for the considerable future and can be leveraged in many different, unique and inspiring ways. Brands that put in the effort and execute a strategy will be the brands that win. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Brands must continue to elevate their brand with new creative, messaging and further making that connection with consumers. New campaigns, new product and new opportunity must be cared for in a manner that matches the brand’s direction and elevation. In an age where media content is oversaturated, it’s the quality content that makes an impact.
The purpose of Instagram is to create brand recognition and value outside of itself. The way brands leverage the platform and create incredible connections among fans is unique to the brand, industry and fan, but when it’s done right the ROI can be great. The best brands are those that care deeply about their fans, and Instagram is the best platform for this.
1 comment