Tag Archive for: Banana Republic

With a constantly growing fan base, Instagram has continued to find new and exciting ways to keep up with its ever-developing consumer. Looking ahead, companies must recognize the importance of having a strong presence on “the gram” so they can utilize its newest features to the best of their abilities.

Insta-artsy

A recent trend in many companies’ Instagram profiles is the so-called visual strategy of “insta-tiling.” Profiles feature photos in a mosaic-style grid that, together, make one larger image. Each individual piece of the puzzle usually has different bits of information, providing more detail than a single post would. Posting nine images instead of just one also provokes viewers to further explore what the brand’s profile has to offer. [Source] What do you think about this strategy’s effectiveness? Are you more prone to click-through when you have nine photos to choose from?

insta

Jumping on the Advertising Bandwagon

On Tuesday, the company announced it would make yet another monumental change to its mobile app. Instagram now has plans to open up users’ news feeds to all types of advertisers. From the global fashion brand to the corner boutique in the user’s area, users will be able to see it all by this fall.

Closing the Deal

In addition to the wider variety of advertisers, Instagram will also be testing a new “shop-now” button. This e-commerce link will allow users to move directly from the image to a page where they can purchase the featured item. Companies like Banana Republic have already taken advantage of this new update. [Source]

One can only hope that with the addition of more advertisements, users’ feeds will not become cluttered with “Click Here for Free Coupons” as so many Facebook news feeds have now become. In an interview with the NY Times, Instagram’s global head of business and brand development ensured fans, “Visual storytelling for brands has more resonance… But we want to make sure the ads [you] see are for things that matter to [you].” We agree, sir. We’d like for our Instagram content to matter to us, too.