Social media is becoming an integral part of business growth and another strand to a company’s marketing strategy. But which social strategies are most effective? Harry Sanders investigates
As social media develops, it’s becoming a vital marketing tool for companies wanting to grow, and Instagram is arguably the most significant of them all. That’s because it’s more visual – the main communication is posting pictures. When asked what KBB retailers should focus on amid hundreds of platforms, Jon Bonnar, MD of The Shaker Kitchen Company advised, “anything with pictures”.
Instagram is a free, online photo and video sharing application and social network platform that was acquired by Facebook in 2012. Each post by a user appears on their followers’ Instagram feeds and can also be viewed by the public when tagged using hashtags or geotags.
Instagram has developed from a mainly personal profile application into a good business tool, with the introduction of business accounts. These enable companies to check statistics, including user demographics.
Tom Howley Kitchens
In terms of showrooms, there are a number of accounts doing well on Instagram currently. Firstly, Tom Howley Kitchens (@tomhowleykitchens) has a well-organised, and above all professional, account that showcases the kitchens it produces.
The most important engagement strategy for Instagram is regularly updating and posting to keep followers coming back and gain more of them, with some posts having the potential to become a feature on the explore page. Not posting would mean not getting the opportunity to be shared by the platform itself.
This is one reason Tom Howley Kitchens currently has 11,800 followers. Its account has more than 200 posts, and rarely goes two days without posting content. Not only it does it post regularly, but it also interacts via Instagram Stories. And Tom Howley Kitchens remains continuously professional throughout, which helps with customer engagement.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkQejmRDzW3/?taken-by=tomhowleykitchens
With its simplistic logo and bio, visitors to the profile instantly gain the impression the company is professional and trustworthy and wants to follow an account that gives good information as well as legitimate images. Tom Howley Kitchens also makes the most of the maximum of 30 hashtags available by using both unique and general hashtags to increase engagement.
Giveaways are another big way to increase engagement, however in the kitchen industry that can be expensive.
Naked Kitchens
Naked Kitchens (@nakedkitchens) has an impressive following of over 5,000. As with Tom Howley Kitchens, Naked Kitchens updates the account regularly, has a professional look to it, including the logo and bio, and is using relevant hashtags to boost chances of improved engagement.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkhcRwdjC7P/?taken-by=nakedkitchens
Poggenpohl Kitchens
Poggenpohl Kitchens (@poggenpohlkitchens) is 14,400 followers strong. The German kitchen company has more than 1,000 posts, posts regularly, but what is different about this account is its varied content. Poggenpohl has well-edited videos as well as quote images instead of tedious pictures of kitchens in every post. Variation in the content helps keep hold of current followers and draws new ones to a profile.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkkvDsOA6lf/?taken-by=poggenpohlkitchens
It is not a problem for showrooms to have a high follower count, as long as they can target the right people – the people who are most likely to purchase kitchens.
Using the business account tools and the promotions options, businesses can advertise showrooms to accounts within a certain area and age group. This can be an effective way of specifically getting to the target audience, however very few showrooms appear to be using this feature.
So if you’re a KBB retailer and you’re not on Instagram, what are you waiting for?
- Read more about marketing in the July issue of kbbreivew and look out for more social media tips in the future.