What Makes Instagram One of The Best Marketing Tools For Luxury Brands?

What makes Instagram one of the best marketing tools for luxury brands?

Gold is sold by the gram, and luxury? Well, luxury brands are sold by the ‘Gram as well! Check out any device, and there’s a strong chance you’ll find the extremely adorable Polaroid camera icon splashed with strong, dynamic colours dramatically sitting on the favourites tray. Instagram boasts of being one of the most popular social media platforms, with about 1 billion active users visiting the network monthly (Statista, 2018). Its sleek interface with a visually dominating feed can turn passive users into active ones in no time. Especially teens and young adults, who get hooked on easily. Quite easily. So, how do high-end products make their way into the hearts of their audiences? Let’s take a look at these five effective Instagram marketing tips used by luxury brands:

1. Get hooked by the look

Luxury brands get their target audience drooling with arresting visuals. From indulging in the finery, the details, the aesthetics, the simplicity- everything speaks for the brand. Which is why, carefully planned photos, colours, filters and editing play out well for high-end products.

Cartier’s Trinity Collection, unveiled in segments. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/cartier/)

To make the overall feed of the brand’s account enticing, photographs and videos are often broken down. Cartier’s Trinity collection was unveiled in segments, using a mixed approach of moving images and carousels, keeping its audience hooked to the fine jewellery brand’s Instagram handle.

2. Take my word

Copywriting for luxury brands on Instagram lies on a spectrum. Casual, descriptive, fun, informative- the style depends on the brand identity. With an added emphasis on consistency and technicalities, the copy is often what drives users to relate to their taste.

Rolex relies on a strong product description. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/rolex/)

Hashtags are a key aspect of copies written for Instagram. When it comes to marketing luxury brands, the strategy guidebook suggests using minimum hashtags. Since these brands enjoy immense popularity, their name tags are pivotal for garnering the desired attention.

3. Community matters

Engage, engage, engage. Luxury brands make sure they interact with their audiences, and let them know they’re a part of the family. When this leads to UGC (User Generated Content), they know they’ve hit it- nothing works like user-oriented promotion, especially if a campaign’s publicity needs to be elevated. 

BMW sees you, as you look at it. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/bmw/)

Take for instance BMW, the luxury automobile giant. The brand’s Instagram account feed often showcases photographs uploaded by its customers, with #BMWrepost. It’s a brilliant example of the highly evolved trend in promotion tactics, where luxury brands keep their audiences in the spotlight and immediately strike a chord.

4. Influencers and bloggers

To widen their reach, luxury brands often collaborate with influencers and bloggers. This in fact, helps in amplifying the give-out-personalised-content strategy, which helps in strengthening and retaining a loyal fan base.

Chiara Ferragni donning a Dior attire. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/chiaraferragni/)

Take a cue from Chiara Ferragni, a leading fashion blogger, with over a whopping 19.9m followers on Instagram. The fierce Italian fashionista has had stellar collaborations with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior, proving how powerful influencer marketing is.

5. Dig in, step in

Luxury brands dig deep into user behaviours and insights, statistics, market patterns etc. to chalk out the most effective marketing strategies. For this, they step into their audience’s shoes, and take note of every minute disposition they show: What do they like/dislike? What’s trending? Which Instagram posts have had the most likes/views so far? Which ones didn’t work out? The details never fail.

The Choos stay with you. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/jimmychoo/)

Jimmy Choo is one such luxury brand. It keeps up with audience engagement and interaction, and adapts to the current times. Staying in sync with the lockdown phenomenon, it casually slips in the work-from-home trend, while keeping its shoes at the centre-stage. 

 

To fully explore the platform’s potential, one need not go farther than looking at what it offers in terms of interface and usage. Here are some Instagram features that make luxury brand marketing a rave hit on the platform:

1. Instagram Stories

Instagram stories last for 24 hours, but might as well make a long-lasting impression on a viewer. These stories can be used strategically to draw attention to product, a campaign, a runway show, features, celebrity endorsements among others. 

Versace’s campaign to spot ‘V’ rings a loud bell. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/versace/)

To enhance CTA (call-to-action), luxury brands often add a “Swipe up” or “See More” link to direct users to their website. For added awareness, brands make ample use of Instagram Highlights. A subset of Instagram Stories, Highlights allow brands to collate and curate stories in sections.

2. Instagram Posts

A picture can speak a thousand words, but Instagram marketing strategies used by luxury brands have proven that a picture can do so much more. From a carousel of pictures and videos, tagging people to adding product tags, brands make advertising and selling go hand-in-hand on Instagram for high-end products.

Burberry’s shoppable post. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/burberry/)

A powerful and effective SEO-friendly copy coupled with a striking visual space can do the trick. Adding relevant hashtags gives the brands a bonus pop, especially when users are exploring on Instagram.

3. Instagram Live

Reimagining runway shows, interviews, and festivals, the Instagram Live feature allows a luxury brand to connect with its target audience, more often than not the tech savvy Generation X. It also lets a brand share its live streaming space by inviting a guest, making celebrity endorsements and interviews highly effective. 

4. IGTV

It’s the perfect outlet for releasing long-format video content, like brand shoots, behind-the-scene compilations, campaigns, and even an entire series! 

Prada curates its sustainability campaign series. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/prada/)

When it comes to positioning, IGTV makes its way through the cut. Even though the stiff competition gets filtered out when it comes to videos, IGTV lets the audiences resonate with the brand’s equity. Take a cue from Prada’s IGTV set: Trending heavily within the luxury fashion orbit is the need for eco-friendly wear. The brand’s channel uses visual creativity to channelise its affiliation to the trend. #WhatWeCarry, birthed by its collaboration with NatGeo touches upon the widely-shared sentiment of adopting sustainable fashion.

5. Instagram Filters

Leave no stone unturned, the famous adage goes. And when it comes to Instagram marketing, luxury brands seem to keep up with all its latest offerings, like filters. The ‘Lamborghini Helmet’ filter by Lamborghini for instance, lets you feel the thrill of racing through.

Racing through and winning is the ‘Lamborghini Helmet’ filter. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/lamborghini/)

‘Acronyms’ by Prada, where the brand’s initials form a strong message is another one. Instagram filters are excellent ways to reel in brand awareness and visibility.

6. Instagram Shopping

An exclusive business-only feature, Instagram Shopping makes browsing and buying through the catalogue a hassle-free experience, complete with product description, product price, and a link to view the product on the brand’s website.

Burberry’s trendy shopping catalogue. (Source: https://www.instagram.com/burberry/)

Viewers can checkout products directly from the app, using the seamless Instagram Checkout feature. A user can also save their favourite product in their Wishlist, and take their time to make a buying decision.

Advertising, promoting, interacting, selling- Instagram is that ideal cousin your Internet parents would want you to be like. An all-rounder indeed, in terms of user interface, reach and conversion, Instagram is one of the best marketing tools for luxury brands.