Posted by A platform that offers you 1 billion active users and a chance to connect with your target audience using social media marketing. Yes, that’s Instagram for you.
As a brand, you need to reach out to your target audience and Instagram can work as a bridge to fill the gap. All you need to do is create content that can grab the attention of your target audience.
However, just like Facebook, the organic reach of Instagram is on the verge of dying. And reaching your target audience organically is no piece of cake. You need to work harder on your content. So what to do?
Check out the most popular Instagram brands who know how to do it right and learn from them.
And this article is all about that.
In this article, we’ll be exploring some of the best Instagram marketing ideas from famous brands. Check out the ideas and get some inspiration for your next campaign.
Starbucks: #TheUnicornFrappuccino
[Image Source: https://time.com/4754989/starbucks-unicorn-frappuccino-trend/]
When someone thinks of a coffee chain, Starbucks is most likely to pop-up in their mind. But how did Starbucks become this successful?
There is apparently a lot of hard work, determination, and of course, marketing strategies to help them stand out. And one of such marketing strategies was their famous Instagram campaign #starbucksunicornfrappuccino. A few years back Starbucks launched a one-week campaign around three popular things: unicorns, magic, and fantasy.
Why did it work?
Starbucks knew that people are talking about coffee and all they need to do is convince people to talk about their coffee. And so they created a limited time offer that wasn’t only tasteful but also creative and different.
Result?
A great success that you can still check using #starbucksunicornfrappuccino on Instagram.
Airbnb: #WeAccept
[Image Source: https://www.airbnb.co.in/weaccept?locale=en]
Campaigns related to politics stuff can be a hit or a miss but what Airbnb did was a big hit. Airbnb created an Instagram campaign to show their support for the acceptance of people from around the world regardless of location, background, or race. Although they never admitted it, it was clear that the campaign was made around the #WeAccept.
It was a great example of how brands can leverage the current trends and take a bold step to promote themselves. Such campaigns can help brands to have their own voice and lead the people who believe in the same ideologies. After all social media is all about having huge and loyal fanbases.
Why did it work?
It was created around an already trending topic and showed the human side of the brand.
Dove, Girlgaze & Getty Images: #ShowUs
[Image Source: https://www.dove.com/uk/stories/campaigns/showus.html]
In 2019, Dove in association with Getty Images and Girlgaze started a social media campaign #ShowUs. The goal of the campaign was to collect feedback, increase engagement, and improve overall brand engagement.
Dove discovered that 70% of women don’t feel represented by advertisements and so they can’t relate to it. So Dove decided to take a step forward and do something. Dove along with Getty Images and Girlgaze started a campaign “Project #ShowUs”, which is a huge library of photos created by women and non-binary individuals to break the stereotypes.
Why did it work?
The objective of this campaign was to provide a more inclusive vision of beauty to the world. It was not just a campaign but an approach to break the stereotypical idea of “perfect”. Through this campaign, Dove reached the untouched part of its audience. And this made it a big hit.
Amazon: The Thank You Campaign
[Image Source: https://www.instagram.com/amazon/?hl=en]
The idea was simple: to thank the users which proved to be a big hit campaign.
Amazon ran a simple Instagram marketing campaign to thank all its users for helping them become #1 in their industry. And to do so Amazon posted a simple image showing their new ranking with a caption saying “Thank You” and telling people about a discount they’re offering for celebrating their win with their customers.
As a result, people not only joined the celebration but also made the campaign a big hit.
Why did it work?
Who doesn’t love discounts? Amazon had news to celebrate and they offered something that people would love. And this turned out to be a super hit despite being a simple idea.
Apple: Share Your Gift 2018 Campaign
[Image Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6422557/Apple-implores-creatives-Share-Gifts-heartfelt-Pixar-esque-animated-ad.html]
Apple is widely known for its holiday campaigns. Its holiday campaigns celebrate the power of creativity and motivate creators to share their precious gifts with the world.
In 2018, it launched a campaign called “Share Your Gifts”. The campaign didn’t only represent Apple as a human-brand but also sent a strong message to be creative.
To promote their campaign, Apple released a short animated video featuring a young woman who shies away from showcasing her talent in front of the world until a day when it all comes out. And to her surprise, everyone rejoices in the beauty of her work which in turn gives her self-confidence.
Why did it work?
The reason why this campaign worked was it gave a strong brand message. The message to overcome the fear of failure and sharing the special gift we all have.
Adidas: #MyNeoShoot
[Image Source: https://digitalmarketing.temple.edu/kreid/2017/04/17/adidas-influencers-a-powerful-duo/]
There are basically two ways to promote your products on social media: to promote yourself or to let your customers promote it. And Adidas was smart enough to use the second option.
To make this happen, Adidas started a campaign #MyNeoShoot. For the campaign, Adidas asked its followers to share Adidas-inspired posts on Instagram and use the hashtag #MyNeoShoot. And the ones with the best posts will be invited to model in a professional photoshoot. The result for the best content creator will be out on the Adidas Official Page.
To promote the campaign, Adidas collaborated with a popular celebrity, Selena Gomez.
The campaign resulted in 71K mentions of the hashtag #MyNeoShoot and 41k new followers for Adidas’s page.
Why did it work?
Two reasons: competition with a lucrative prize and influencer marketing.
Chanel: #NewChanel5 and #ChanelGrasse
[Image Source: https://jumpermedia.co/8-reasons-instagram-is-the-ultimate-ecommerce-tool-for-2017/]
The reason why brands use social media is to reach their target audience and when they can’t, they use unique campaign ideas. This is what even Chanel did.
In order to reach their target audience, Chanel created its own army of people who had followers from their target audience. The army constituted of top fashion and beauty bloggers.
The aim was to promote Chanel’s new launch No. 5 L’Eau perfume. For the campaign, Chanel offered the bloggers a tour of their production facilities in the Riviera town of Grasse and showed them the flower fields and how their fragrances were made using real flowers.
In return, the influencers shared the entire experience with their followers on Instagram with the hashtags #NewChanel5 and #ChanelGrasse.
As a result of the campaign more than 1.6k pieces were shared with the hashtag that generated over 900k likes in just the first month.
Why did it work?
The brand showed its uniqueness and authenticity using the power of influencer marketing.
Conclusion
So these were some of the best Instagram marketing campaigns created by famous brands that made a difference. Now if you want to start a campaign that could become a massive success, you can get some inspiration from these ideas and create your own unique idea.
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