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Social media has become fundamental in the creation of any successful e-commerce campaign. And when Instagram officially rolled out shoppable posts in 2018 – the game totally changed. Now consumers can buy straight from Instagram. And e-commerce brands are raising the bar on shoppable campaigns.
Social media has become fundamental in the creation of any successful e-commerce campaign. And when Instagram officially rolled out shoppable posts in 2018 – the game totally changed.Now consumers can buy straight from Instagram. And e-commerce brands are raising the bar on shoppable campaigns. So, if you're tagging products in your content, there are a few things you ought to know.
- 60% of Instagrammers say they discover new products on Instagram
- 80% of Instagram users follow a business
In light of such huge statistics, we’ve compiled the best e-commerce campaigns on Instagram in 2018 and 2019. Here we'll take you through why they worked, and what you can learn from them. This way, your brand's next shoppable e-commerce campaign can soar with success!
E-commerce campaigns mentioned in this post:
- Wholesome Culture: World Ocean Day
- ShowPo: Valentine’s Day
- Frank Body: Green Tease
- Everlane: Denim Drop
- Go-To Skincare: Tiny Stuff
1. Wholesome Culture’s: World Ocean Day
How do you empower people to spread your brand’s mission on social media? Create products they are proud to use. Because Wholesome Culture does this so well, we had to feature them.Wholesome Culture launched in November 2016. This initiative aimed to:
- Create a movement where plant-based products were more easily available
- Make cruelty-free living accessible to thousands of people across the globe
[caption id="attachment_10842" align="aligncenter" width="491"]
Wholesome Culture’s social media content strategy includes empowering, eco-friendly posts[/caption]Wholesome Culture created a shirt, right in time for World Ocean Day.For the apparel to be added to their collection? A post of it needed 300 likes. [caption id="attachment_10846" align="aligncenter" width="903"]
Wholesome Culture’s Instagram post surpassed it’s 300 like goal[/caption]The campaign blew their initial goal out of the park. Instead, landing a whopping 10,000+ likes for the tee pic. Success factors of this campaign can come back to:
- Relevant hashtags
- Engaging with their audience
- Scheduling content at an optimal time
- Knowing their audience's interests and style
- Creating sharable imagery
Users also tagged their friends in the post. This generated excitement amongst the brand’s online community. As a result, the t-shirt launched before World Ocean Day on June 8th. This meant the brand's audience could then share their shirts on the day tagging Wholesome Culture and generating more buzz. A carefully thought out and successful e-commerce campaign.
The Takeaway
Above all, involving your audience is an effective strategy. This is particularly powerful in the decision-making process. This:
- Draws an audience in
- Makes them feel a part of the product's story
- Gives your audience an added incentive to make a purchase
Try this out for yourself by posting a sneak preview on Instagram Stories. Or poll your audience about which colour or fabric they prefer your product in. Use this information for product development. This way you'll have greater launches and products your customers love.
2. Showpo: Valentine’s Day
If you're worried you need to launch a new product to have a successful campaign – Think again. Showpo is the prime example. The Sydney-based online fashion retailer used Instagram to harness the power of storytelling. Conveniently, right in time for Valentine's Day. Sharing different couples wearing outfits from Showpo's collection before a romantic night out.[caption id="attachment_10848" align="aligncenter" width="805"]
A European-inspired date night was part of Showpo's Valentine’s Day e-commerce campaign[/caption]The campaign launched on Showpo’s Instagram feed and Instagram Stories. Content featured a diverse range of couples in different locations. These included:
- Having breakfast in bed
- Nibbling at a beach-side dinner
- During a cozy night in
In each image, the couple wore Showpo clothing and accessories.
Through creative storytelling, the brand gave its audience date inspiration. By featuring a range of couples, the content also encouraged the viewer to imagine themselves in the clothing. Each outfit was perfectly curated for Valentine's Day. Though, none of the pieces were new. This is the perfect example of an e-commerce campaign revamping what they've already got.
The Takeaway
Use a content calendar to map out key dates. This way, you'll be able to plan campaigns in advance. Scheduling your campaigns weeks or even months in advance means you'll have a clear plan of attack. Brainstorm events that align with your brand. Also, think about how your customer avatar would engage with a campaign. In this case, romantic relationships resonate closely with Showpo's audience of 19-25-year-old females.
3. Frank Bod: Green Tease Launch
Ever wondered how beauty brand Frank Bod launches a new product to market? The Australian e-commerce brand leveraged shoppable posts early on Instagram. By crafting an incredible social media presence, Frank had a loyal following from the get-go.But a particularly noteworthy e-commerce campaign was their Green Tease launch.In October 2018, Frank Bod added a new body scrub to their range. Made with green tea, honey & avocado oil, this was a bold move for the brand who usually used coffee-based ingredients.
Cleverly, social media posts directed followers to a waitlist. In exchange for their place on the list, beauty gurus handed over their email address. When you have a collective following of over 80,000 people – That's kind of amazing.Throughout the campaign, the brand posted aqua green curated content. This reflected the new product's packaging and strengthened product awareness in the leadup to launch. [caption id="attachment_10853" align="aligncenter" width="687"]
The brand’s social media aesthetic emulated the Green Tease body scrub[/caption]
Takeaways
Increase buzz about your e-commerce campaign by building an email list. Email list building is a win-win situation. Your audience is the first to know, and you're able to continue marketing to them post-launch. Frank Bod's sleek reinvented aesthetic was also impressive. Consider matching your brand's Instagram aesthetic to your latest product. Specifically, consider the different touchpoints your audience interacts with. Educate and build familiarity – ultimately leading them further down the sales funnel.
4. Everlane: Denim Drop
Everlane’s social media strategy is a great example of an e-commerce brand that's:
- Transparent
- Authentic
- Honest with its audience
In January 2019 they added two new items of denim to their e-commerce site. These consisted of a jacket and jeans. The new additions came in two colours. You may be thinking, that sounds pretty basic. Yep, it was. But guess what? They sold out in a flash. [caption id="attachment_10854" align="aligncenter" width="927"]
The first social media post about the launch directed traffic to the waitlist[/caption]The ‘drop’ was only available to those on the brand’s mailing list. Opting in was available exclusively through the brand's Instagram bio. And the biggest shocker of all? News broke to their email list before social media. So if you were only a socials follower, you found out once you'd missed out. [caption id="attachment_10855" align="aligncenter" width="654"]
A taster of the next 'drop'[/caption]This strategy created serious FOMO for its audience. And new signups to their email list exploded. Fans eagerly awaited the next launch with their newly submitted email opt-in.
Takeaways
Everlane upped the ante on email opt-ins by:
- Releasing products exclusively to their email subscribers
- Sharing their announcement on social media once it was too late
- Reinforcing the importance of being on their list with news about another release on the way
While some brands see announcements on socials as the only way to go. This might not be the case. Have you tried dropping an announcement to a gated audience?
5. Go-To Skincare: Tiny Stuff Launch
If there’s a brand that’s nailed their copywriting it’s Go-To Skincare. Fun fact, Go-To is headed by former Harpers Bazaar beauty editor, Zoe Foster Blake. While some might put the brand's success down to Zoe, this is definitely not the only contributing factor.Go-To Skincare quickly gained traction online for its:
- Witty copywriting
- Clever social media
- Cheeky packaging
- Inviting e-commerce site
In January this year, Go-To launched 'tiny stuff.' AKA smaller-sized versions of each of their products. Why were the products a hit? Because they were perfect for travelling. As a result, this nifty idea removed the hassle of transferring products when leaving for trips.Their launch strategy included a pre-launch teaser GIF the night before. Then, this was followed by content showcasing their adorable skincare products. Go-To Skincare chose to make their announcement to their 30k+ Facebook following and 150k+ Instagram following.What could have been a risky move, went off without a hitch.[caption id="attachment_10859" align="alignnone" width="741"]
The launch on Go-To’s Instagram which has 150,000+ followers[/caption]
Takeaways
The relaxed conversations that occur on a brand’s social media accounts are one of the most crucial to engage with and keep note of. Your social media audience consists of either raving fans/ambassadors, current customers, or people who are new to your brand. Through active social media listening, you can understand what your customers are after from your brand. And deliver an e-commerce campaign that inspires them to take action.It's obvious that Go-To was keeping a close eye on the products their audience was loving. So once they were packaged together, the product's success was almost guaranteed.Ask your marketing and customer service teams to compile communication from social media content. Whether that’s conversations from direct messager. Or comments on a published post. Every little bit of feedback adds up. An easy way to actively seek feedback is to use the ‘Question’ sticker on Instagram stories. This allows you to directly receive feedback from your audience.
What we've learned
- Involve your audience in the product development process
- Know your goals for every e-commerce campaign. Are they to grow your list, create sharable posts or something else?
- Have a content calendar with key dates aligned with your brand
- Design an Instagram aesthetic that represents your new campaign
- Seek opportunities and insights from conversations happening online
- Gather feedback from your audience
- Don’t be afraid to show your brand personality
Over to you
E-commerce campaigns are powerful additions to any social media strategy. Therefore, shoppable posts make promoting your new (or reinvented) product campaigns even easier.Use Sked Social to get organised for your next e-commerce campaign.Through Sked Social, you can:
- Plan, organise and upload creative content to Instagram in one go
- Tag products during the scheduling phase
- Plan all your campaign posts in advance for a clear plan of attack
Want more time up your sleeve to craft creative e-commerce campaigns? Sked Social helps you organise, curate and plan Instagram content in advance. Save your hours for more important things. Start a 7-day free trial of Sked Social today!
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