We are all aware of the famous and possibly addictive photo/video sharing app called ‘Instagram.’ This app initially started as a ‘peers only’ app that gives you constant updates on your friends and family. Today it has grown into a powerful marketing tool that almost all big brands employ. Brands can use Instagram to host fundraisers, open stores, and allow users to make reservations through their accounts. Updates to the app with new business tools, features, and advice have become almost weekly.
Instagram has developed many add-on capabilities for companies over the last three years to encourage commerce on the network, which is expected to be a $10 billion worldwide industry by 2021. Aside from the Shop Now button at the bottom of specific sponsored posts, the platform allows businesses to utilise Shoppable Tags in ordinary posts and Instagram Stories. Users may buy things straight from a brand’s homepage by clicking on a tag in a photo or video. In addition, the Explore area has a ‘Shop’ vertical that presents companies across categories depending on the user’s preferences.
India is a country with the highest number of Instagram users. Therefore there are a lot of brands that use Instagram to find their niche relevant audiences, and many stores operate solely through the social media app. The start-up culture in indeed is constantly booming and it’s obvious that some brands have taken advantage of the social media platform. Some brands have become popular household names by using the marketing opportunities Instagram’s features provide.
Let’s take a look at brands that have made it big through their Instagram Marketing strategies:
Lenskart
Lenskart, the famous eyewear brand, established itself in India way back in 2010. While it appeared to be an ordinary eyewear company, the founders: Peyush Bansal, Sumeet Kapahi and Amit Chaudhary, aimed to provide affordable, high quality and easily accessible eyewear to its customers. They also offer complimentary eye-checkup service at home.
What started as a small store serving a limited number of customers per day is today a big business with multiple stores in almost all major cities in India. They have collaborated with premium eyewear brands such as Ray-Ban, Vogue, John Jacobs etc.
Lenkskart constantly offers discounts and exciting deals that they announce through Instagram Stories.
The speciality of Lenskart is that, unlike other stores, customers can purchase their products from Lenskart’s official Instagram page without visiting their physical stores. They use a D2C approach which enables them to understand what their customers want and where upgrades can be made. Through Instagram and other digital platforms, Lenskart also receives customer feedback.
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Sabyasachi
The world of ‘Fashion’ is a highly competitive industry which requires the presence of innovative designers and an abundance of high-quality materials. Fashion is also a slow industry with respect to the time brands took to be well-established in the world of fashion. Brands like Gucci, Luis Vuitton and Hermes took decades to reach the position they enjoy today. However, times have changed, and in the digital era, disruption is innovation, and the fastest way to gain visibility is to be a game-changer.
Like how Instagram became a game-changer in social media, Sabyasachi disrupted the fashion industry by reviving traditional crafts, indigenous textiles and handloom weaving. Founded by Sabyasachi Mukherjee in 1999, this established designer clothing line is one of the most recognised brands in India. Being a firm believer in Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy, Mukherjee promoted the idea of strengthening our traditional handloom industries to combine style and culture. The concept of Sabyasachi is to bring the consumers closer to their cultural roots through fashion.
Instagram is revolutionising the fashion business thanks to its underlying ability in visual storytelling, which has brought it to the forefront of the fashion sector. Sabyasachi has attempted to benefit from this by aggressively using hashtags in his posts. Since launching his jewellery brand solely on Instagram in 2016, his target demographic has risen dramatically. It was a means to reach a more extensive, wider, and more diversified age range by not being limited to only potential consumers but also to those who admired his work of art.
Sabyasachi’s Instagram account, “sabyasachiofficial,” evokes a vintage elegance matched with Sabyasachi’s distinct hallmarks. The monochrome blocking method, jigsaw puzzle notion of revealing a larger image through smaller, numerous posts, and a unique background soundtrack of classic Hindi melodies appeal to our aural sensibilities. His blogs feature eloquently written narratives coupled with stunning photos that transport the streets of India of a bygone era.
Bombay Shaving Company
Shantanu Deshpande, a graduate of NIT Nagpur, resigned his job to cater to urban Indian dudes. While it seemed reckless to his friends and family, his decision was driven by rigorous study and lengthy talks with industry experts. Recognising the potential of the untapped men’s grooming sector, Shantanu enlisted the help of his friends and colleagues Deepu, Ronak, and Rohit. Each of them contributed their respective skills and knowledge to the discussion.
Initially, Bombay Shaving Company focussed on word-of-mouth promotion. Since their products were new in the market, Deshpande realised the only way to gain visibility was to concentrate entirely on user experience and feedback. Their first products included men’s grooming kits, shaving kits, gift hampers, etc., giving customers an excellent ‘unboxing’ experience. Soon product reviews and unboxing videos of customers started appearing on Instagram; their strategy paid off.
Soon after, the brand began posting on their Instagram page ‘bombayshavingcompany’ and other social media platforms. They questioned long-held perceptions about men’s grooming and facial hair care through memes and funny sketches, which had previously been considered a part of men’s regular bathroom regimen.
Simultaneously, they conducted specialised campaigns aimed at fathers, sons, and women, such as the Father’s Day Campaign. People responded to the challenge of appreciating the necessity to care for beards, and the strategy paid off. The Father’s Day Campaign awakened dormant emotions and increased revenue. Due to their initiative, the company received approximately 100 orders, with roughly 25% having the word ‘DAD’ etched on the razor.
Mamaearth
Varun and Ghazal Alagh had their firstborn son in 2016. Being the devoted parents, they started looking for baby-care products free of parabens, sulfate and other toxic chemicals. On realising that most products in the Indian market were riddled with such harmful substances, they decided to launch Mamaearth.
This approach to creating natural, chemical-free products extended to baby care and general skin care for men and women. Mamaearth sells natural skincare products produced from high-quality components devoid of harmful chemicals. Their products are both inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Mamaearth is devoid of sulphates, parabens, silicones, colouring agents, and other allergens. Customers may buy with confidence since they give a full money-back guarantee on their items. They are innovative, effective, and toxin-free. Mamaearth constantly posts Instagram videos about tips to keep your hair and skin healthier.
While starting with baby products, Mamaearth collaborated with Instagram influencers who were into the parenting and childcare niche. Most of their Instagram posts featured parents who reviewed their products and testified for their safety. They begin by targeting Mom bloggers and consumers who have a large fan following and asking them to write about their experience with the product. Because the firm believes in the power of mothers, it adopted a word-of-mouth strategy in which women can educate others about the company and how it delivers the ideal products for their children.
Blue Tokai Coffee
Blue Tokai Coffee is a family-owned brand founded on a passion for coffee. They meticulously hand roast each batch and mail it out to their consumers across India with care so you can enjoy your ideal cup at any time. Blue Tokai Coffee obtains some of the finest coffee beans from around India and skillfully roasts them fresh for each customer’s sense of taste, any caffeine or extra sugar if preferred.
Blue Tokai’s whole in-cafe coffee line is now accessible on their online coffee store. In order to create the ambience they are going to make their consumers experience, the company has also detailed their narrative of establishing a coffee business in India, how they choose the farmers they deal with now, their roasteries, and more. Each product page on Blue Tokai’s website discusses with the user, just like the baristas do when you go into one of their shops. They don’t simply list the varieties on their online coffee store; they also describe how they’re made and how each differs from the others.
Not everyone knows how to make a good cup of coffee. For most people, it’s as simple as combining the ingredients such as milk, coffee powder and water. But that’s precisely what Blue Tokai intended to address by establishing India’s coffee culture. The online coffee chain not only offers a range of beginning kits and equipment to help its audiences learn to make the ideal cup but also a blog with easy-to-follow tutorials—coffee proportions and recipes for the best hot and cold brews.
Conclusion
Instagram is a social media platform with enormous potential for businesses in virtually every industry. It only takes a solid strategy, high-quality content, and the capability to pivot when necessary. It won’t happen quickly, but if you stay persistent, you’ll watch your following increase and your community develop. This may influence your company’s reach, brand awareness, and, eventually, income.
