Branding on Instagram

Published April 8, 2014 at 6:38 am

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. For this reason, brands have been turning to Instagram ads to extend their reach.

In today’s ever-changing landscape of social media platforms, marketers are constantly striving to come up with ways to connect with Millennials. Some brands are looking beyond Facebook and Twitter to accomplish this. The photo-sharing social network, Instagram, is popular with Millennials, a demographic that is more easily reached on the Internet than by other traditional channels.

Instagram uses data about its users to determine which ads they might be interested in, in order to make the ads seem more natural when they appear in a user’s feed. Instagram featured its first sponsored ad last fall, from designer Michael Kors, and has been working with an handful of brands as they expand the ad program. It seems that some brands are receiving mixed results from advertising on the service, as Michael Kors reportedly received a slew of negative comments from users, but ultimately gained in followers and likes, according to Adweek.

Taco Bell is another brand that is leveraging Instagram to reach the millennial audience. With products like waffle tacos and a new breakfast menu targeted to millennial customers, Taco Bell is trying to reach Instagram’s 2 million and growing user base.

Planning your marketing campaign to use other channels has the potential to reach a wider audience. However, when it comes to social media, it’s wise to choose the platform that works best for you. If you have a visually-appealing product, or a lot of creativity, a photo-sharing site like Instagram might be a good channel to explore. Review the options and decide what works best for your marketing campaign.