Instagram Direct just arrived, and brands are already seizing the opportunity to create special connections with customers.
Just a few hours into Instagram’s new version which includes private messages, four brands have already managed to catch our attention with it.
Today, the Nitrogram team received this Christmas greeting card on Instagram.
Forget the so-called personalized emails sent en masse to clients! Instagram Direct makes for a truly personal message.
What’s more: the inclusion of Hyatt’s holiday hashtag and its official Instagram account in the post got us scrolling through their branded content as well: an invitation for us to come and taste the Holiday spirit with Hyatt on Instagram.
Gap posted this photo, accompanied by the following caption:
Join our #WIWT @Instagram Direct challenge: first 15 people to comment below will get a message from us to participate!
GAP was the first brand to get international coverage in the press for a marketing initiative using Instagram Direct. With this simple call to action and reward (a free MacBook satchel from the brand for the first 15 people who commented), GAP managed to get people excited and got our undivided attention.
Fashionista reported on the story’s development, showing the photo that was shared with the 15 people.
Repost and hashtag #KKDIRECT — we will share an exclusive pic with 15 followers!
The Kardashian’s fashion brand used the same method to get people excited about #KKDirect: the hashtag was used in 4,400 Instagram posts in the past 19 hours (yes, it means that this number doesn’t include the 600+ comments left on the Kollection’s original post). An impressive adoption rate and engagement.
What differs with GAP is how Kardashian Kollection turned its most avid followers into insiders by giving them the opportunity to share the freshest news about the brand with their followers.
The brand then delivered on its promise, sending out the picture and Instagramming a glimpse of the Instagram Direct.
An early gift from @Instagram! The first 50 people to post a pic and tag it #MKDirect will get a special message from Michael Kors tomorrow.
Michael Kors is taking it slower, and bets on this extended timeline to let the buzz build itself. By announcing a gift delivery to 50 people tomorrow, they’re making sure to get mentioned a lot beforehand. Sending a message only to a few doesn’t mean it won’t reach many people by getting reposted.
It’s actually what social media author Gary Vaynerchuk experienced: one day, he shared a Snapchat photo with a handful of his fans. The event was so unusual that many of these receivers shared a screenshot on Twitter, which got Gary trending for the first time, even though he has 1 million followers there.
What about you? Have you seen other brands doing one-to-one marketing with Instagram Direct? Let us know in the comments!
—
This post was contributed by Thibaut Davoult. Thibault is managing content and community around Nitrogram. If your brand or company is on Instagram, he’s probably following it already.