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3 Instagram Growth Lessons from Smarties
Smarties is a delicious candy. Don’t agree with us? We’ll fight you.
Not only are Smarties delicious, the candy brand also has an k-i-l-l-e-r Instagram. Look at it. Look. The colors (the image above is taken from their IG)! The puppies! The people! The colors!
Did we mention the colors?
Anyway, if you’re like us, you’re probably wondering how a candy for old folks redesigned their image to grow a following on the ‘gram. Well, Becky Brooks decided to find out. Here’s what they do so well on the platform:
Relish your color scheme
Instagram is visual (duh). Smarties leaned into their own colors by pretty much only posting images that match their brand. Bright and colorful are two words that come to mind right away.
They also prompt followers to create their own eye-poppin’ images and share them by tagging #smartART. The brand then uses those posts for some quality user-generated content.
This approach shows that Smarties is on Instagram to give colorful, cheery vibes to their audience…not sell. IG users like that.
Becky (the author of this piece) recommends that you embrace your own brand colors on a macro level for Instagram posting.
Campaigns can unlock new worlds of fresh content
Smarties also used Instagram influencers to create killer content. They designed and timed these posts to work with other popular “hashtag holidays” like #NationalSkyScraperDay.
Combining influencers and holidays allows the brand to take advantage of two popular things happening on Instagram at one time. That’s just smart(ies).
Categorize and Highlight the Stories Your Brand Tells
IG allows you to categorize and pin stories to your profile. Do that.
Smarties understands that most people who are visiting their profile aren’t followers (yet). So, they take advantage of that by pinning Stories that summarize what the brand is about on the ‘gram. These aren’t literal summaries. They’re just popular Stories. Confused? Then jump to Smarties’ profile to see what we’re talking about.
There’s still plenty to learn (and a buncha examples) 👇
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7 Reasons Why Content Needs Amazing Images, Videos & Visuals
Tell us if you’ve done this…
You’re searching on Google, click a link, and get sent to a giant, long block of text. As soon as you see it, you’re like, “Lol, nope.” Then you smash the ⬅️button and look elsewhere.
Blocks of text are overwhelming and hard to read. So, what gets you to read something? The creative elements, of course.
Photos of a scrumptious chocolate cake. Videos of a yoga session. Graphics showing website traffic improvements. Each of those is an example of visuals giving the inspiration to take action.
Search Engine Journal is here to make 7 points on why visuals are just too dang important to leave out of your content.
1. People enjoy a little eye candy. When it’s relevant, of course. Ya can’t really throw a pic of Channing Tatum in a blog centered around cleaning tips just because you know your target audience will like looking at him. But adding a graph that supports a statistic you use is a great place to start. Although if it’s a pic of Channing Tatum cleaning something…well that’s another story…
Adding images make things easy to digest, increase memory, and is consumed faster.
3. Jumpstart organic visibility. SEJ says, “visuals stand a better chance to be seen since their surface area has increased across multiple search verticals as well.” Think about how your message can be best displayed through your website, social media, and search.
4. Capture those goldfish people. No, don’t go to the pet store and tell the clerk we told you to swipe a goldfish. We’re talking about those who have shorter attention spans than our fishy friend.
Since distractions and boredom consume us, visuals are needed. Go the extra mile with UGC too. It’ll help make a better connection.
6. Visuals encourage engagement. And we all know engagement means more leads. Whether you are sharing a photo, graphic, or video, get your branding on it. As it’s shared, people will know who credit belongs to.
Keep reading, just keep reading…
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The Truth Stinks
Who’s ready for a fight!? (Wow there’s a lot of fighting in today’s newsletter.)
All-natural beauty company, Kopari, is going after traditional deodorant brands in their latest ad campaign called “The Truth Stinks.” The brand is specifically tackling the dangerous chemicals that other companies put into their deodorants. And they’re doing it with some serious attitude.
Take this line for example, “[traditional deodorant is] strong enough for a man, but made to slowly poison a woman too.”
Daaaang Kopari is spitting fire. We love it. And if we know you guys like we know we know you guys (what did we just type?), you’ll love it to.
“The most important part of a newsletter is not the news, but the letter.”
Ann Handley
Ads from the Past
Ads from the Past
The French soft drink company came up with this ad back in the ’50s. The headline, “La Joie de Boire” translates to “The Joy of Drinking.” (Thanks Duolingo!)
