In previous editions, we’ve noted engagement with brands’ social posts on Facebook in Q3 has been modest or even down (see PRNP, Nov. 7 & 21, for example). The thinking then was brands were investing more effort in other social channels, such as Instagram. Data for U.S. B2B brands in Q3 (July 1 – Sept. 30) on Instagram, provided exclusively to PR News Pro by Shareablee, proves the point. Total consumer actions, or engagement, with B2B brands posts on Instagram increased a whopping 80% compared to Q2 2015. Engagement with photos grew a modest 4%, yet video engagement grew a healthy 74%. Actions are defined here as the sum of reactions and comments.
This time (but not always) the brand with the largest Instagram following, IMG Models Worldwide, also was tops in engagement. IMG boasted 6 million+ actions, up 70% compared with the same period last year, says Nathalie Nuta of Shareablee. Video posts received 322% of total actions taken. Its top post, as in Q2, featured one of the Hadid sisters, this time it was Bella, walking the runway at London Fashion Week. The post has received 17,000+ actions.
Social Media Specialist, PR, Corporate Communications, U.S. Postal Service
It has become our custom to ask brands in our top 30 list what they’re doing to generate engagement. This week we checked in with #19, the U.S. Postal Service. “Our strategy for Instagram is to provide creative, fun and engaging content to strengthen our brand,” says Kevin O’Brien, social media specialist, PR, corporate communications, at the U.S. Postal Service. “One success that we’re very proud of is posting user-generated content (UGC). We have many followers” in small towns and large cities “who post photos of post offices and USPS blue boxes…it’s Americana and nostalgia at its very best.”
To obtain UGC, the USPS reaches out to fans “by conducting routine searches for hashtags and keywords pertaining to all things postal,” he says. “We then apply a user-friendly method of attaining posters’ consent…posters can comment #yesUSPS after reading our terms…to acknowledge their consent. We love sharing these photos; they are a very important part of our social media strategy.”
