IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Instagram

  • ETEAL Instagram Contest

    The time has finally come to start thinking of what post you will send into ETEAL’s Instagram contest this year. For those of you who are unaware of what this contest is, we are here to help.

    ETEAL is a way for students to showcase what they have learned outside the normal classroom setting. ETEAL encourages students to learn and grow on their experiences by taking time outside of their schedule to explore their major or field of study. This can either be studying abroad and learning a new culture, working as an intern, or hands-on experience that enhance learning.

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    So, how does this apply to Instagram? Well ETEAL is asking students to post themselves experiencing learning outside of the classroom. The goal is to increase awareness of ETEAL and to promote learning and exploring your major. Students must post their picture to Instagram and tag @UNCWETEAL. Students can follow the ETEAL Instagram account in order to see their picture possibly be reposted. This year ETEAL is using the hashtags #ETEALExpedition and #DiscoverYourPassion when reposting your images.

    Students who participate in this contest will be eligible to win lots of amazing prizes. Prizes include: ETEAL merchandise, Starbucks gift cards, Harris Teeter gift cards, SeaHawk bucks, and more. In order to win these prizes, ETEAL has come up with categories that the photos will be judged upon. These categories include: Most Liked Photo, Most Original, Faculty Favorite, and more. These awards will be celebrated at Hawks Nest on April 28th from 12:00- 1:00 p.m. This is when winners will be announced and there will be food and fun!

    Don’t miss out on this fun event and be sure to post a picture and contribute to ETEAL’a Instagram contest. Any further details can be found at: http://uncw.edu/eteal/News/2016/InstagramContest.html

    Any questions feel free to comment below!

    -Caitlin R, Megan S, Erin F, & Sarah G

  • Instagram’s New Update

    When using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, scrolling to the top you have immediate access to the most recent feed. As these networks have gained popularity this has started to change, it’s not so much based on a timeline but on popularity.

    More than a year ago, Facebook changed their algorithm and Instagram is right behind them. In the past few days, Instagram bloggers, models, and celebrities are posting pictures stating to allow notifications when they post. You probably thought, “What is going on? They are just doing this for likes.”

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    According to USA Today, the new algorithm is designed to display pictures differently. When this new algorithm goes in place, pictures will display based on the people you search, the photos you comment and like, and what content you would like the best. As Bustle said, Instagram will will show you the photos it thinks you like, rather than chronological order, which everyone is used to.

    So.. why does this matter? This new algorithm will actually help you and surprisingly, you will probably like it. Most people are not on their phones 24/7 and miss the majority of posts. Instagram is understanding your likes and dislikes, making sure you, the consumer, can see the posts that truly matter to you. Yes, that does sound creepy. But, you will never miss your favorite food account, blogger, and yes #MCM or #WCW post ever again.

    But, hold on. This is not happening all at once. Do not expect a change tonight or even tomorrow morning. Instagram revealed the new algorithm last month and your feed is still in chronological order. When this does go in place, you can allow notifications for all your favorite Instagram accounts and celebrities, even giving them more likes (which everyone wants… secretly).

    Are you surprised about Instagram’s new algorithm? Do you hate it, like it, or eh who cares? Let us know your thoughts below!

    -Caitlin R, Megan S, Erin F, & Sarah G
    References: Entrepreneur, Vanity Fair

  • The “Instructional” Campaign

    According to the calendar, Spring has officially sprung. And while we are still experiencing some chilly days, it’s undeniable most of us are ready to shed our winter gear for shorts and sandals. As with all season changes, clothing companies are eager to help you exchange your wardrobe.

    Recently, clothing company Lands’ End launched their new “How to Spring” advertising campaign, showcasing, “How fun and fashionable it is to add bright colors, graphic prints and floral patterns with a few perfect pieces from the women’s spring collection”. It could be argued that every spring campaign that will launch this season will have a similar goal; however, Lands’ End decided to do something a little different this season by adding a sweepstake to its promotional and marketing strategy.

    The sweepstakes works by first connecting with Facebook or entering your email. Once you’ve connected, you are asked to fill out your name, email, and zip code. Filling out this information unlocks the game. The rules are simple, select an outfit and click “spin”. If the outfit that the player selected matches the three tumblers, the player automatically wins a gift card with a balance of $25, $50, or $1,000. That’s it! Simple right? Not to mention, everyone is eligible to enter every day for the grand prize of $1,000 shopping spree. You can view the official rules of the sweepstakes here.

    While we like to think that games, contests, and sweepstakes’ only motives are for fun and entertainment, they are actually a smart marketing move – encouraging consumption of the product by creating consumer involvement. This involvement builds fan base, engages the audience, and enables consumers to do your marketing for you. Not to mention, user generated content often provides quality, innovative, and creative ads for free.

    In addition to promoting brand visibility, contest and sweepstakes are strategies that provide valuable quantifiable benefits for companies as well. They are cost effective, they help build search engine optimization (SEO), and increasingly important, they provide a rich source of consumer data for the company about existing and potential customers – emails, product preferences, location, etc.

    With every click essentially producing some sort of user information, online contests are growing in use on websites and especially on social media. The most popular initiatives include: photo and video contests, tagging contest, hashtag giveaways, and website raffles.

    Top Rank, an online marketing blog, named some of their picks of the best contest use on social media.
    Facebook: When Frito-Lay began their campaign for searching for new potato chips flavors, the company bypassed focus groups and turned to Facebook to connect directly with the customers who would be eating them.
    Pinterest: AMC Theaters have an entire Pinterest board, AMC Giveaways, where all users have to do is follow the board to stay up to date on the latest AMC contests. The basics are simple, when users see a prize they want, clicking on the image takes them to a landing page that collects their information.
    Twitter: In a “retweet to win” twitter contest, Doritos tweeted a message that simply asked followers to retweet for a chance to win. The tweet was retweeted over 500 times in a day with winners snagging products that ranged from Doritos to widescreen tvs.
    Instagram: As many clothing company are starting to do, Vera Bradely’s instagram contest asked users to post pictures of them and their favorite Vera Bradley bag using the hashtag #VBStyleShare. At the end of the contest, winners received a wrislet, followers of the hashtag could receive fashion inspiration, and staff could see how consumers were pairing their products.

    The benefits contests can provide seem like an almost no-brainer for companies to increase brand awareness while also gaining consumer data, but as they start to trend they are also subject to overuse. To combat becoming another form of clutter, companies will have to make sure their contest are increasingly interactive, engaging, creative, or lucrative.

    Have you ever participated in an online contest? Did you win? Did it make you feel more favorable towards the brand? Scrolling through your social media feeds have you seen brands using contests similar to the ones above? What are some of the best/most creative ones you have seen?

    – Elizabeth Harrington, Caroline Robinson, Savannah Valade

  • Instagram Strikes Ad Deal

    Advertising seems to be cluttering most forms of media we consume daily, including our favorite: social media. Facebook is surrounded by personal advertisements, Twitter is filled with promoted tweets, and Pinterest lets the users do the advertising. Instagram, a social network dedicated to images and short videos, is now hopping on the advertising bandwagon. Instagram has recently signed a deal valued around $40 million dollar with Omnicom Group Inc.

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    This deal means that Instagram users will begin seeing advertisements within their news feed for certain Omnicom clients, such as AT&T and Pepsi. The advertisements will look similar to native Instagram posts, supposedly making them less intrusive to users. It is already known that Instagram has been a platform for indirect advertising and celebrity endorsements, but this deal will intensify the sense of sponsored advertising on the particular social media.

    Instagram has experimented with sponsored advertisements recently with brands such as Michael Kors and Ben and Jerry’s. The reviews from users was mixed. Some felt like advertisements were entering into a place they felt as if they owned, while some felt like it was an inevitable conclusion.

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    Instagram is a unique social media in that many use it to gauge their self-worth, even more so than other social media. Instagram is their place to build self-esteem as well as build or tear down other’s self-esteem, and now this “personal space” for doing so is being subjected to advertising.

    Many have acknowledged the promise of the deal with Omnicom. The deal is flexible in that Instagram gets a say in which clients Omnicom promotes and the format in which they do so. Instagram wants to make sure the advertisements fit the platform because they want to stay true to their users. Some might think this is impossible, while others might believe it is irrelevant. Ultimately advertisements infiltrate all forms of media, and maybe it was just Instagram’s turn.

    Will Instagram be able to stay “true” to their users and advertise for Omnicom’s clients at the same time? Does it even matter?

    – Rachel Gracy

  • Instagram: The New Era of Advertising

    Everyday millions of Instagram users spend hours scrolling through their smart phones to view filtered photos, typically those that they “follow” or come across through #hashtags. According to the brand’s website, there are currently 150 million users, 60 billion photos uploaded, and an average of 1.2 million “likes” per day.  (website: http://instagram.com/press/) As consumers, it is understood that these photos are a reflection of such users “brands”, and the photos they choose to share are typically selected and edited to portray a desired image of themselves. Whether it’s goods they just purchased, activities they partake in, or flattering photos of themselves, Instagram gives consumers the opportunity to advertise their individuality for free.

    Aside from everyday consumers trying to convey an image of themselves, products, celebrities, and other organizations are able to use this platform to brand themselves however they choose. In some cases, celebrities intertwine their “brand” with a product or service that they endorse. For example, singer Ellie Goulding, who recently became an advocate and endorser for “Nike” products, shares several photos of her outlandish lifestyle to all 2.3 million followers.. Known for her eccentric, hip, and alternative style, Goulding also posts photos of herself in her athletic gear, where there is always a “Nike’’ logo.

    Within IMC, it is understood that there are both controlled and uncontrolled messages. Advertising is a a controlled and planned message that is executed through a particular medium to reach target audiences. The “Nike” brand is consistently advertised through Goulding’s photos, however, Nike does not have control over which photos she captures. It seems as though Nike and Ellie Goulding have a sort of symbiotic relationship right now, with Ellie promoting Nike products and Nike in turn supporting/promoting Ellie’s Music.

    “Nike and recording artist Ellie Goulding are releasing an exclusive remix album from Goulding’s second album, “Halcyon,” to inspire the thousands of women joining Ellie to run 13.1 miles on April 28.” (Nike inc.)

    It is important to note however that Ellie is not an employee of Nike and that while it may be in her best interest to safeguard their relationship could she inadvertantly tarnish the Nike brand without being aware of it? This raises an important question: How much control do companies have over the “brand” that their endorsers convey? In the meantime however the relationship between the two will most likely prove beneficial for both parties as many fans of Goulding follows her on her Instagram page. Will it soon become commonplace for all celebrities to endorse particular products in exchange for publicity of their own?

    This social media phenomenon has given advertisers a plentitude of opportunities to shape and select their brand image, and then after share it in a “likeable” manner.

    -Austin Johnson, Jade Lester, Jami Rogers, Ty Thomas

  • Out With The Old, In With The New: Technology Decides It All

    Everyday you as a consumer are exposed to hundreds of thousands of brands. Over the decades the shopping industry has exploded with most brands disappearing at the same rate new ones appear, yet some brands have stood the cluttered test of time – one of those is Macy’s.

    Created in 1858 by Rowland Hussy Macy the Macy’s store was originally a dry goods store. Macy’s started to gain notable recognition in the 1900s with its holiday window displays and the hiring of Santa Claus for the stores. In 1924 the store moved to its current NYC location, on the corner of Broadway and 34th Street. This year was also the first Macy’s Day Parade, which was organized to celebrate immigrant employees new American Heritage.

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    In 1944, Macy’s became apart of the Federated Department Stores, Inc., renamed Macy’s Inc. creating the world’s largest department store. Today, Macy’s has 800 stores in the United States and sells merchandise online.

    Macy’s isn’t the only iconic retailer – Sears Roebuck ring a bell? Starting in 1886, the mail order company prospered as it was able to provide low cost alternative to farmers. As mail order plants transitioned into stores, Sears found their place in city life and the retailer soon became a retailer giant. Today the store owns 863 mall-based operations and 1200 other locations including hardware, outlet, tire, and battery stores.

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    Nowadays Macy’s and Sears are direct competitors, but it seems Sears, the company who invented mail order, can’t quite figure out online order.

    Holiday sales account for a large indicator of profit margins and often depict the health of a company. Sears seems to be in critical condition – US stores suffered a 9.2 percent drop. In decline for some time now, and with little to no improvement, some speculate the store could be gone by 2017.

    The history of an iconic brand is something that should be cultivated in your identity – it induces credibility, shows longevity, and prompts nostalgia. Yet being historic isn’t merely enough to remain vibrant. Iconic companies remain iconic because they are able to cultivate lasting relationships with consumers – at all time periods – and that means evolving.

    Looking at each retailers attempt to reach customers during the holiday seasons could explain Sears 9.2 percent drop in sales. Both have social media accounts, yet social media presence is widely disproportionate. Macy’s Instagram account has 150,00 followers while Sears has two Instagram accounts – “Sears” and “Sears Style” – yet both of the followers combined don’t even reach 8,000. A huge missed opportunity for Sears – Instagram is leading the way in social media, growing faster than Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest combined.

    According to Gary Vaynerchuk’s article “The Road to Black Friday: Macy’s vs. Sears”, the use of social media by Sears is lazy. Choosing to ignore the social media culture they have posted irrelevant and uninteresting content such as a link to one of their commercials and an original YouTube video. While Macy’s post content that is culturally relevant, trendy, and formed around pop culture.

    Our culture today has switched, as James Twitchell describes it, “In the last generation we have almost completely reversed the poles of shame so that where we were once ashamed of consuming too much (religious shame), we are now often ashamed of consuming the wrong brands (shoppers’ shame)”. In this day in age a brand establishes and remains relevance by relationship cultivation, reinforcement, and engagement forged through technology – the Internet and social media. It seems Sear’s inability to adapt to technology has prevented them being able to participate in the younger crowds culture leading in profit and brand influence. As an American brand we hope Sears can get back into the groove but as they stand now they are the weakest link.

    In what other ways do old brands stay new? Can you think of any others that have had a hard time capturing new generations of shoppers? Or others that have done well?

    – Caroline Robinson, Savannah Valade, Elizabeth Harrington

  • Hilfiger says No Filter Needed

    Every year, New York Fashion Week is anticipated by people around the world.  High-end designers, fashion photographers, bloggers, and models wait for all year for this week.  But this year, there was another audience counting down the days: Instagrammers.

    Tommy Hilfiger hired two popular Instagrammers Brian Difeo and Anthony Danielle to organize an InstaMeet, which is a get together for Instagrammers to take artsy pictures and share photography advice.  It might sound lame to us, but Hilfiger doesn’t think so.  He gave these two (as well as a select group of Instagrammers chosen by Difeo and Danielle) backstage access, seats to the Tommy Hilfiger Women’s Fall 2014 show, and an opportunity to meet the designer.

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    InstaMeets are becoming more and more common as a way to advertise events and brands.  Kat Irlin (pictured above), an Instagrammer in charge of organizing Lucky Magazine’s InstaMeet for Fashion Week, looks forward to InstaMeets.  “It’s such a cool way of bringing like-minded people together. People at InstaMeets are super nice and passionate about photography, and I’ve made so many good friends at InstaMeets,” said Irlin.

    Organizing an InstaMeet was Hilfiger’s way to cut through the cluttered world of social media.  Using technology like Google Hangout, Instagram, and the incorporation of iPhones into the runway walk is a sign of the times.  Jessica Sfera, digital and social media coordinator at Diesel, says that coming up with the next best thing is the only way to keep up. “It just gets increasingly hard to get through the clutter,” she says.

    Some are questioning Hilfiger’s decision to hire inexperienced photographers rather than experts.  After all, Difeo and Danielles have more than 100,000 followers and fashion photographers Chiara Ferragni and Aimee Song have more than 1 million followers.  By choosing someone with a tenth of the followers as other designers, Hilifiger may have missed out on some publicity.

    Did Hilfiger make the right call?

    – Christine Schulze