Does Your Brand Pop on Instagram? 5 Branding Tips from Beverage Brands

Twitter is the social network known for brevity and sometimes pithy thoughts. Facebook is the network for connecting and sharing updates and photos with family and friends. LinkedIn is known for professional networking. And Instagram is known as the social platform where visual posts make the most impact.

You’ve heard the saying that, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, in today’s social era, most people look at photos, illustrations, and videos more than they read 1,000-word blog posts, newspaper articles, or white papers. Who reads white papers anymore? But back on point, many industries use Instagram successfully to promote their products or services, but one industry in particular is a good fit for this platform, the beverage industry. The following five beverage brands can teach all industries how to be Instagram experts. Check out their five branding tips.

While initially known for warm drinks, such as, lattes and cappuccinos, Starbucks created cold coffee and non-coffee drinks to expand its product line and increase its market share. A typical post shared by a fan with the caption, “Sandy beaches and strawberry sunsets,” demonstrates the brand’s fun and colorful spirit.

A TIP FROM STARBUCKS’ POSTS
Color is the name of the game on Instagram – especially with beverage brands. How does your brand integrate color and colorful settings? Are your products naturally colorful? If not, strategically integrate colorful settings that serve as visual contrast. Yellow, blue, and pink are good background colors – and don’t ever forget the power of white space. Lastly, an image with just a brand name and tagline can speak volumes.

While initially known for its high-end home-brewing coffee machines, Nespresso created boutiques, sit-down cafes that serve food to accompany its delicious coffee. Visitors can sample the products in real time while receiving excellent service. In this sample post, Nespresso showed one of its drinks as it would be served in a Nespresso boutique. You can almost taste the coffee from the photo and imagine sitting in the boutique checking out all the high-end coffee brewers.

A TIP FROM NESPRESSO’S POSTS
Does your brand showcase how it operates? Does it showcase its product line in a variety of settings and situations? Do you showcase customers simply enjoying your products? And, if you have a new delivery mode for your products, make sure to also promote it.

Known initially for its 100 percent orange juice, Minute Maid showcases its other products to introduce customers and fans to its many drinks. In this sample post, the Berry Punch was featured with strawberries to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

A TIP FROM MINUTE MAID’S POSTS
Do you add holidays to your marketing strategy? While some holidays are celebrated in the USA, such as, the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, there are countless other special days that may be appropriate for your brand to recognize and celebrate. For example, if you are a cosmetics brand, you may want to celebrate National Lipstick Day (July 29) with a free lipstick give-away discount – think of the many images of lipstick and lips you could post. If you are an ice cream brand, you may want to celebrate National Ice Cream Day (July 15) – think of the many images of ice cream in cones, waffle cups, or pies that you could post with happy faces. And if you’re a lawyer or law firm, you may want to recognize National Be Kind to Lawyers Day (April 10) – there are too many images that you could post for this special day.

Known as a French brand of carbonated water, Perrier is more well-known throughout Europe. But for those who drink carbonated water, the brand is second-to-none. This post celebrated America’s Fourth of July.

A TIP FROM PERRIER’S POSTS
Does your brand celebrate global events? Did your brand celebrate or promote Prince Harry’s Royal Wedding in England in May? Did your brand celebrate or promote the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016? How about the last French Open tennis tournament? Of course, if you make tennis rackets, you may have created a contest for two lucky fans to win a trip to Paris to attend the French Open. I’m sure you could have designed a great image for Instagram including all the details in your description.

Known as the light beer “born in the Rockies,” Coors Lite often posts on Instagram with its characteristic Colorado mountains and highlights mountain climbing in some manner. In this post, hashtags #MondayMotivation and #ClimbOn are featured with a caption, “Try something so new it doesn’t even have a hashtag,” and then it invites a fill-in-the-blank for fans.

A TIP FROM COORS LITE’S POSTS
Do you invite your customers and fans to engage in conversations in social media? Do you ask questions that entice fans to share a comment? Do you include a fill-in-the-blank in your questions? Do you invite fans to add their own hashtags? If yes, do you read and respond to all the comments, and in a timely manner? If you answered no to all these questions, you are either not asking the right questions, or you’re not asking at all.

As you work to expand your brand’s digital footprint in Instagram, remember that your social media marketing must be aligned with your overall marketing strategy for brand consistency. And lastly, don’t forget the purpose of social media. In the words of customer experience expert Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar on Twitter), “Don’t do social, Be SOCIAL: sincere, open, collaborative, interested, authentic, and likeable.”


Image Credits: Collage made with Layout app. Thanks to these Instagrammers:
@Starbucks, @Doctor_K_2017, @Perrier, @CoorsLight, @MInuteMaid_US, @Nespresso, and @FromRomanawith.love.