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Over the last three years, visual social media platforms, Instagram and Pinterest, have doubled their number of users. As an avid user of both, this definitely doesn’t surprise me.
As 84% of Pinterest users are women, and over 90% of Instagram users are under 35, I am exactly the type of user that both apps seem to target. Both rely on striking visuals, stunning photography and exciting, engaging content to draw in users. But what does this growth mean for those in the B2C and B2B markets?
Take FedEx, for example. Working across both B2C and B2B markets, FedEx has over 26,000 followers on Instagram, and nearly 6,000 on Pinterest. By creating visual content that inspires followers to respond, repin, or be redirected to the FedEx website, it has successfully utilised apps that many have dismissed as being unsuitable for direct marketing.
The posts often say very little in the form of, “Ship via us! Pick us!” but allow the brand to tell a story that many day-to-day business or end users may not realise exists, such as extraordinary customer service stories, and the history of FedEx aviation.
Those in consumer markets also garner a particularly large following, with super brands such as Nike being the 22nd most followed account on Instagram (currently between Demi Lovato, former Disney teen warbler, and the famously bushy-browed Cara Delevingne, in case you were wondering). Their posts go beyond the famous swoosh; they make followers feel like they’re engrained in the Nike lifestyle and its subcultures.
Marketers should be careful to ensure the content they pin or post is based on informing and educating, rather than selling. One variation, the 40-40-20 principle suggests that:
– 40% of posts should contain fun, engaging and motivational content
– 40% should contain educational, informative content
– 20% should be information about your company’s products and services
Has Instagram and Pinterest helped your business? Does that variation ring true to you? Please let us know below.