Aussie Businesses Taking it to Market on Instagram

Social media marketing isn’t new – businesses of all forms and sizes have taken to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to join the conversation online. Brands post content daily, sometimes hourly, hoping to raise awareness, spread messages and reach new audiences with the products they sell or services they offer. To add to this mix, visual content is growing in popularity. This is evident in the 300 million active monthly users on Instagram and an estimated 50 million active monthly users on Pinterest. These platforms are being embraced by social media audiences because they feature more image-based content over text-based content. And it’s not really surprising when you consider the decreasing attention span of tech savvy, on-the-go consumers who want to digest information quickly and easily.

The importance of visual social networking to your social media mix is only set to increase. Are you visible on these platforms? Check out some of these Aussie businesses that are ‘slaying the Insta game’.

1. Tourism Australia @Australia

They’re the Australian Government agency tasked with the job of getting people to visit Australia: to see, eat, shop and importantly, spend. With 1.4 million followers on Instagram, you can imagine just how important Tourism Australia’s Instagram account is to their marketing mix.

Have a scroll through their account and you’ll notice that their images follow a theme; bold colours, high quality images, sunsets, oceans and native Australian animals. The marketing team keep the account fun and friendly by giving their posts a persona. They often accompany the cute images of animals with a fun caption. For example, a sleepy image of a Koala is captioned, “Mondays… they just never seem to get any easier!”. The team also add in hashtags sparingly (only choosing to use #Koala in this example) and always leave detail about where the image was taken and where the user can visit to see it.

2. Westfield Australia

Iconic retail business Westfield is well-known and their distinctive red logo is recognisable across the globe, namely because the company manages assets in excess of $28 billion. The three ‘F’s of Instagram come in the form of food, fitness and fashion – arguably the most popular topics on the platform. This may give Westfield the leg up on audience reach, however, to get engagement or attract followers, account managers must curate their images strategically.

Westfield’s national Instagram account applies a central theme that ties fashion trends to the retail stores in their shopping centres they lease their spaces out to. For example, regramming a blogger who is wearing Tony Bianco shoes, that are available at Wanted Shoes.

The posts also incorporate images that include blacks, whites and greys with pops of colour intermittently. If you scroll long enough you’ll notice that they haven’t always followed a theme. Previously, they’ve used heavily filtered and cluttered images which aren’t as effective as their clean and fresh look now.

3. Koskela @Koskela_

Furniture and homewares store Koskela create beautifully designed products with an environmentally-focused conscience, and Instagram is a core element of their social strategy. Their curated visual feed reflects their store experience, with well-presented products, as well as background and insight into their makers and their products.

Cleverly, Koskela also teams up their social posts with social commerce for extra return on their Instagram investment. Social commerce solutions such as Like2Buy curate your Instagram images and turn them into shoppable products. In this way Koskela can replicate their in-store experience with their customers online experience.

4. Ford Motor Company @Ford

An oldie but a goodie, Ford has a long-standing history in Australia. Ford describes their Instagram account as, “Capturing moments that inspire you to Go Further”, cleverly linking their slogan with the Instagram user’s experience.

The account features Ford cars in scenic locations, close-ups of car interiors and exteriors, and videos of their cars in action for rev-heads and Ford enthusiasts alike. Clever captions like #MondayMustang, #FORDMums (in the lead up to Mother’s Day) and #FordTBT (which stands for Throwback Thursday) keeps the account entertaining and engages audiences, leading to more users discovering their account.

5. Base Body Babes @Basebodybabes

Something a little unconventional is Base Body Babes, two Aussie sisters who feature workout and fitness inspiration that have turned Instagram into a business. They’re brand ambassadors for major sports labels, health food products, activewear and sell their own services too – offering 4-week workout packages starting at $150 per month.

In terms of design and curation, this Instagram account will be one of the most beautifully laid out you’ll come across. The duo switch up the colour theme every month (this month it’s purple) and almost always follow a pattern: featuring themselves, then a product, themselves, then a food post etc. Before a user commits fully to you by choosing to follow you, a high percentage will have a look at the rest of your account. You can only imagine how aesthetically pleasing their account looks to a user scrolling through, making the user more likely to follow them.

6. Loves Data @Lovesdata_

B2B businesses will find visual social platforms harder to manage than text-based sites, but this shouldn’t stop you from joining Instagram. Have a look at what we’ve done (a digital marketing agency) in terms of colour, high-quality images and posts that feature our nerdy but cool attitude and office culture. Accounts become easier to manage once you’ve decided on your Instagram strategy, and planning your content ahead of time will help you with the overall look and feel of your account. This is really important for your brand in the long term to help increase engagement and build followers.

Feel like you need more Insta info? How about our post, 8 Tips for Using Instagram which will give you pointers about what to post, how to post, important terminology and analysis.

What do you think about these Instagram accounts? Leave a comment below to shout out about other Aussie businesses who do a great job on Instagram.