Misty Dawn Seidel

To elaborate further on my previous post about marketing within the Instagram social media platform, we will now take a look at some of the different types of, and options of, marketing available within Instagram.  Instagram marketing initially was limited to a single image post with caption and the ability to include a link within that caption.  However, Instagram marketing options have evolved, especially since the social media platform was purchased by Facebook.

In addition to the aforementioned picture ad, marketing abilities within Instagram have expanded to now include, multi-photo carousel ads, picture and interactive navigation, video ads, and the Instagram Marquee (Mirzaian, 2015).  Further, unique hashtag development, which I mentioned in my previous post, and user generated content have also become popular components in brands' Instagram marketing strategies.

To highlight some examples of Instagram marketing techniques which I believe to be effective, I will use one of my favorite brands, Chatbooks.  Chatbooks uses a few of the aforementioned marketing techniques on Instagram.

They often use user generated content of posts by their followers showcasing their large collection of Chatbooks.  They also utilize UGC by featuring on their Instagram page posts made by their followers as part of various contests, as can be seen here.  This technique uses a unique hashtag, call to action, and contest/giveaway.  Those who win are obviously excited to win Chatbooks credits, but they are also excited to be featured on the brand's page.  As a result, they share the post on their own page, which provides Chatbooks with marketing to that follower's entire Instagram following.

Here is an example of a call to action for people to collaborate with the brand.  This post also encourages viewers to tag others who may be interested. (I need to go click on this link as soon as I finish this post!)

The Co-Founder of Chatbooks also does FB/Instagram live posts often.

Another example of user generated content in the form of a featured post of one of Chatbooks' followers.

I'll wrap it up with another example of a post using user generated content, unique hashtag, call to action, and a weekly contest.

As you can see from these Chatbooks examples, there are numerous ways to utilize Instagram in your marketing strategy.  These are just examples of one of my favorite brands utilizing Instagram's marketing options.  With creativity and marketing knowledge, Instagram can be a powerful tool in any brand's marketing campaign.

References:

Chatbooks. (n.d.). Beyond Easy $8 Photo Books (@chatbooks) • Instagram photos and videos.                    Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://www.instagram.com/chatbooks/

Mirzaian, C. (2016, August 29). What Are The Different Types Of Instagram Ads? Retrieved July 12,          2017, from https://www.techwyse.com/blog/social-media-marketing/what-are-the-different-                types-of-instagram-ads/