Marketing on Instagram is extremely effective because it’s a visual platform – people remember more of what they see than what they read or hear as a result of the brain is made for visual processing. This means that your messaging is likely more impactful on this platform, the place 100 percent of your content is visual. Check that theory with hot ways to use your Instagram for Mother’s Day marketing. Whether you want to drive revenue, gain new followers, or enhance brand impressions, these ideas will help get you there.
Drive In-Store Shoppers
Goal: Drive purchases
A surprising 70 percent of Mother’s Day consumers plan to shop in-store, according to a recent survey. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, encourage your followers to come in and shop with an exclusive discount for Instagram users. For instance, the image you share might say:
“Anybody who mentions ‘[Brand Name] Loves Moms’ when checking out will receive an extra 20 percent off!”
Make sure to use words like “exclusive” and “Instagram followers ONLY” to trigger the psychological effects of scarcity. “Cialdini’s final principle is the principle of scarcity, which states that individuals are extremely motivated by the thought that they might lose out on something,” explains Beth Morgan, a marketing consultant.
Morgan continues, “Marketers trigger this impact by using all types of techniques to suggest that products (or low prices) might soon be gone, or that someone is trying to keep this product off the market.”
Make your deal seem scarce, and the consumers will come.
Celebrate New Mothers
Goal: Brand impressions
A whopping 90 percent of Instagram customers are under the age of 35, and the age of first-time moms is at an all-time high of 26, according to a 2016 CDC report. That makes Instagram an amazing platform for concentrating on new mothers this holiday. Here are a couple of ways to do exactly that:
Give free or discounted services or products to the first 20 new moms who publish a photo with their newborn using the hashtag you specify.
Share a “New Mom Day” image
Encourage new moms to enjoy themselves on Mother’s Day and give them some concepts of what to do. The picture could be of a checklist or a layout of products all catered to helping new moms feel refreshed and rejuvenated. If you can squeeze your product or service in there, do that too. See some examples below.
Plan a Mother’s Day Flash Sale
Goal: Drive purchases
Christmas isn’t the only holiday with last-minute buyers. There are many Mother’s Day shoppers putting their gifting off to the final minute – and that’s the place you can come in with a Mother’s Day flash sale. Here’s the breakdown for a perfect set of “Flash Sale” Instagram posts.
Image:
Make it bright and flashy, with phrases like “Mother’s Day,” “Last-Minute” and “Flash sale” directly on the image.
Hashtags:
Use #FlashSale, #Sale, #ShopSmall, #MothersDay #ShoppingDay and #Shopaholics to attract people looking to shop. Don’t forget hashtags specific to your services or products and brand.
Posting times:
Publish at least once about your sale each day that it’s happening, using different images and text. You should use many of the same hashtags, or add different ones if an engagement was low for the first post.
Show Love to Employees’ Mothers
Show just how much your company cares about mothers and all that they do with a special day of posts about staff and their moms. This easy marketing idea can come in quite a lot of formats; here are a few ideas to think about:
Video:
The video could include clips of interviews with staff and their mothers, a montage of clips or images that staff sent in, or simple vignettes of staff saying why they’re grateful for their mom.
Photo series:
Publish a series of photos of employees with their mothers. Select a theme like #SundayFunday, featuring photos of employees and their moms doing something fun.
Instagram Story—Mother’s Day Style:
Dedicate your Instagram story to mothers all around the world with stats, graphics, and images celebrating every kind of mom. Relate this to your brand as closely as possible to boost impressions.
Host a Mother’s Day Photo Contest
Goal: Brand impressions, new followers
With more than 400 million active users, Instagram is the right platform to engage with everyone, not just your customers. Instead of just re-posting and commenting on photos, however, start a simple Mother’s Day photo contest this year. Here are a couple of simple steps to get started.
Step 1: Select your theme and goal.
Theme: Moms getting active on Mother’s Day / Goal: Boost followers by 5 percent
Step 2: Create a hashtag. That is what you will use to track all the photos.
Hashtag: #[BrandName]OutdoorMoms
Step 3: Decide how the winner will be chosen. The final count could go by the most number of “Likes” or have a select team choose the winner. In both cases, spell this out when announcing the contest.
Step 4: Decide what the winner will get.
20 percent off their next purchase; Free ; $100 Amazon gift card
Step 5: Announce the contest. Do so on every platform, including your website, social sites, and email list. In the announcement, include all the essential details:
- Timeframe
- Rules/requirements
- Winner information
With the contest announced and prepared, it’s time to wait for the “submissions” to be posted, and make sure to interact with every post, if possible.
Use Instagram to celebrate all the wonderful moms on Mother’s Day. You’ll boost brand impressions and drive sales, allowing you to take advantage of this special holiday.