Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube each have their own conventions and strategies. Recently, we launched local Instagram accounts for Nokia in the Netherlands and Belgium and Luxembourg. A new platform means a new approach, strategy and objectives. At Progress Communications, we enjoy that challenge and jumped into this adventure with enthusiasm.
Instagram and PR
After embracing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, PR took a little longer to focus on image-based social media. Now Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat are increasingly used for PR. These channels are ideal for presenting a brand visually and reaching a different audience from, say, Facebook. In 2014, Instagram had more than 200 million active users, ninety per cent of them under 35: a young audience looking for strong imagery and short, powerful messages. Your content needs to reflect that.
Finding the right content
What should you share? An Instagram profile should not become an advertising leaflet, but its pictures should represent the brand well. For Nokia, we aim for youthful, colourful and creative content that inspires people. Nokia makes cheerful-looking smartphones with excellent cameras, and our images should express that. We want current and future users to go out and let their creativity loose with their Nokia smartphones. Colourful, original, local photography is the goal, with full credit to our social media colleague Linda.
#bijnalente
To give the accounts a strong first week and attract followers, we created an Instagram campaign. A successful campaign needs a compelling visual challenge that inspires users to act. We invited people to leave the grey winter days behind and look for sunshine. Their sunny pictures appeared under #bijnalente, meaning “almost spring”, and #bientotprintemps for the French-speaking community. The brightest and most creative photographs won a Nokia Lumia 1020, with a powerful camera for even better pictures.
Image-led Instagram differs greatly from Facebook and Twitter, but interaction still builds engagement. Our campaign required active participation and monitoring. We tracked entries, shared the best pictures on Nokia’s social channels and quickly answered participants’ questions. Twitter and Facebook helped promote the Instagram campaign. Seeing the enthusiastically shared photographs and the growing community made those efforts worthwhile.
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