That oh-so-recognizable move: smartphone in hand, thumb flicking upwards, stop, double tap. It can only mean one thing…Instagram. As the 7th most popular social platform with upwards of one hundred million users, Instagram is a goldmine of social media marketing waiting to be tapped, and we are goin’ in, picks in hand.
In the past quarter, we have started up three Instagram accounts, one for ourselves and two for our clients, Extensis and Mason County Tourism, respectively. Instagram is the third most used social platform used by millenials, and 73% of Instagrammers are between the ages of 15 and 35. As such, our campaigns have been crafted to target a young, vibrant audience. Although the three accounts aim to engage very different people with different interests, we have seen a positive upward trajectory across the board, and have learned quite a few interesting and somewhat unexpected lessons along the way.
The first account we created was for Extensis at the very start of 2015. Extensis is a company based out of Portland, OR that specializes in designing font and digital asset management software for creative professionals, namely graphic designers. Our strategy was to create a colorful, original gallery full of typography and design in varied uses. We have been excited to connect with the energetic and prolific creative community on Instagram, and look forward to becoming a greater part of the artists’ conversation.
In a blog post we created for Extensis last fall, we interviewed designers from across the globe in an attempt to pick some creative brains about their ideas on personal branding and self-promotion. We were interested to learn that many designers, illustrators, and artists not only use Instagram as an important platform for highlighting their own work, but also find it useful in procuring projects and collaborative opportunities. Ultimately, we ended up finding design talent on Instagram whose Fontspiration type-work is now featured in Suitcase Fusion font management software and on Extensis’ most popular Pinterest board.
Instagram is a great resource for locating creative talent, like we did for this Extensis Fontspiration.
While the creative community on Instagram is vast, there are some inherent challenges to overcome when starting off with a big, fat ‘0’ followers. To build some energy, we ran several contests with fabulous designerly prizes like a rad 50th anniversary limited edition 14k gold slinky. Extensis’ current contest, along with engaging our Instagram audience also stretches to Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. We have coined an original hashtag: #AudibleInspiration and encourage all lovers of musically-inspired typographic design to shout out to their favorite musicians and designers. We aim to simply acknowledge good design in the music world, and aspire to engage creatives to design their own ode to musical inspiration while driving an audience back to Extensis’ website and blog pages. We have high hopes for this contest which wraps up at the end of this month.
As an added bonus to Extensis’ new Instagram presence and for this contest in particular, we directed a greater exposure to their Fontspiration app, both as a platform to showcase different features and capabilities of the app, as well as a place for other creatives to get ideas for pieces of their own.
On the flip side of our Instagram coin is Explore Hood Canal’s account, fresh to the game in March 2015. As another spankin’ new gallery, started from nada, we affirmed our prediction that Instagram is an excellent platform for tourism marketing. Our goal for EHC’s account is to create a collection that piques the interests of adventurers, travel buffs, foodies, and the like. The show-don’t-tell nature is ideal in showcasing the jaw-dropping views and gorgeous nooks of the Olympic Peninsula. Combining our custom hashtags, #ExploreHoodCanal and #wildsideWA with well-traveled and widely used hashtags like #OlympicPeninsula and #PacificNorthBest helps each asset earn a customized but widened exposure to a pointed audience while encouraging our followers to repost and engage.
A tool that has been quite useful in gaining insight and tracking progress is Iconosquare. This software allows us to review metrics such as Likes, Comments, Followers, Engagement, Mentions, Best Posting Times, etc. Despite the statistics we’ve seen, the articles we‘ve read, and the methods we’ve tried, the ultimate social media marketing mantra is this: don’t try to harness something that refuses to sit still.
Social media marketing fascinates us because there truly are no rules and the whole dang thing is imbued with change. The playbook is constantly being rewritten and as such, we think there can’t possibly be such a thing as a ‘social media expert.’ Our social team’s M.O. is to be squarely planted in the throes of the conversation on a constant basis, telling stories, and providing thoughtful feedback and insights. We are always staying in the current, chasing our next goals, and having a great time doing it.
For now, keep up with our nearest and dearest account, the Blue Collar Instagram, and check back often—Because we be grammin’.