As research on how to use Instagram effectively in a company and to get some ideas on how I wanted to develop the Bath Chronicle's Instagram account I created a mood board of ideas an concepts.
My research showed that Starbucks are one of the most successful brands that use Instagram. They post arty pictures of there products and the theme of the photo always relates to the season we're in, for example their photos at the moment are vibrant and colourful to reflect Summer. In the Winter they post warming images, it works in a way that provokes your senses to want to buy their products.
I got my idea for an Instagram competition from Starbucks from their 'White Cup Challenge'. To enter the competition you had to decorate your plain, white Starbucks takeaway cup and post a picture of the end product onto Instagram using the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. The contest was VERY successful with over 4000 entrants, I think this is because it was so simple to enter.
Oreo are another brand that use Instagram very successfully. What I like about their account is that you can tell each picture they post is part of the Oreo brand, they all follow a similar theme of being simplistic with a lot of use of primary colours.
An interactive aspect of their account is that they regularly use the hashtag #PlaywithOreo where they post pictures of someone doing a simple activity with an Oreo covering their face, they encourage their audience to post similar pictures using the hashtag as similar to Starbucks, they know that it's super easy to do.
I wanted to see whether any other news companies were using Instagram as a platform for their company, I couldn't find any British newspapers that are using Instagram which means the Bath Chronicle would be one step ahead at reaching out to the younger demographic!
I did find some American news companies that are using Instagram, such as USA Today where they post photographs of notable things that are going on the USA such as sports games, music events, extreme weather and even cute animals! Most of the topics are fairly soft news which I feel will attract a younger audience.
The Bath Chronicle's Instagram account could be used similarly to the USA Today account but just on a smaller scale, posting photographs of news, events and any interesting topics that are happening in Bath. The topics should be kept light to attract the younger demographic that I want to engage.
Companies such as American Apparel, Calvin Klein and Lancome have created their own hashtag trends so people can discuss and share their brands products all in one place. There are also more generic hashtags that can be used on Instagram such as things like #Summer, the Bath Chronicle should use both custom and trending hashtags so that their account is reaching out to the widest possible audience.
By using trending hashtags, people that aren't following you can stumble across your photos without meaning to, this can help the account to gain new followers and get more likes on their pictures. Without using hashtags it is likely that only original followers will see the posts, leaving the account at a bit of a standstill.
Aesthetically, it looks good if all of your photo's follow a basic theme. For example, it looks best to stick with just one style whether that be uploading all of your photos as the square shape that Instagram offers or using a border on every picture.
I intend to use the square option for the Bath Chronicle's Instagram account as I feel it looks more constant than different width borders. A key point to remember is to take the photographs using the 'square' mode on your phone or making sure you use a picture with enough background space so that you still include the main feature of the image. It doesn't look well thought out and professional to obviously cut away parts of an image.
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