One billion+ Instagram accounts worldwide are active every single month, with 90% of users following a business account. Instagram has come a long way since it was dominated by bunny and dog ear filters appealing to teens, with Pew Research reporting that 47% of US adults aged 39-49 use Instagram and 63% of total users scroll daily. But what are the best ways for finance brands to capture this engaged audience? Below is a shopping list of Instagram products that financial marketers can choose from.
How finance brands can use Instagram photo in-feed
Sponsored photo feed ads are a great way for financial marketers to dip their toe into Instagram marketing. Instagram is bursting with successful personal finance accounts such as The Financial Diet, Clever Finance Girl, The Break Social and so many more with accounts sharing tips, budgeting techniques and support to help followers make better financial decisions for the future. Financial marketers should see the opportunity in producing educational content for this visually engaging platform and Instagram sponsored photo feed is the perfect place to start.Â
How finance brands can use Instagram video in-feed
Speaking of visually engaging, financial marketers looking to produce Instagram video content need to keep it interesting if they are going to stand out and compete with the lifestyle content dominating their target audience’s feeds. US-based insurance company Lemonade did just that with its use of bold art and powerful messaging in its partnership with @marchforourlives. Lemonade’s organic page is packed with striking and artistic videos and the US-based company takes boring insurance and spins it on its head to stand out from the crowd.
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How finance brands can use Instagram carousel
Instagram carousels can be a mixture of up to 10 photos or videos and are great for telling a story or sharing information about a product that has many features or benefits. A study of over 22 million Instagram posts earlier this year found carousels are the most engaging type of post with an average engagement rate per post of 1.92%, compared to 1.74% for images and 1.45% for videos. Financial marketers could take a leaf out of UK retail bank Barclay’s book which used carousel ads to share relatable stories of its summer interns to capture the attention of a younger audience and in turn drive awareness of their Student Additions Account.
“ A study of over 22 million Instagram posts earlier this year found carousels are the most engaging type of post.”
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How finance brands can use Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are immersive and native experiences that can be used to help connect audiences to your finance brand. With 500 million+ accounts using Instagram Stories every day, there are definite opportunities for finance brands to benefit from using this captivating feature. Great examples include finance planning app Mint which uses Instagram Stories to answer common questions in an authentic and personal tone. Instagram Stories don’t need the polish of in-feed content so financial marketers don’t need to grapple with big budgets to make effective Instagram Story content.Â
How finance brands can use Instagram Story Highlights
A Highlight can be a collection of individual stories that live in a permanent folder on your profile. Instagram Story Highlights are becoming a widely used and useful tool for collating content and providing permanent guides for users. American personal finance experts SoFi utilised Highlights to share COVID-19 insights from research and drive people to a full research article. Financial marketers could use this feature to outline sign up processes or provide educational guides that users can go back to at any time.
How finance brands can use Instagram Stories polling
Stories Polling is a very powerful way to interact with communities and increase engagement with a topic. By posing an A/B question, financial marketers can use Instagram Polling as a useful tool to gauge the opinion of an audience and gather insights for ongoing content development. By gamifying your ads, Instagram Polling can also help drive brand recall and draw your audience right in. Win/Win.
How finance brands can use Instagram Stories questions
This is your chance to ask your audience anything and responses are slid straight into your DMs (direct messages/inbox). Like with polling, financial marketers can use this feature for content planning and help identify areas that audiences are seeking more information.Â
How finance brands can use IGTV
IGTV is home for long format video experiences on Instagram. Financial marketers can drive people from Instagram Stories and Instagram feed into IGTV so it’s a seamless on platform experience. Poised Finance Lifestyle does this well with 5 minute Q&A videos exploring topics such as paying off debt during a pandemic to self funding my retirement.Â
How finance brands can use Instagram Live Video
Similar to video in-feed, Instagram Live Video does what it says on the tin – followers will receive a push notification letting them know you have a live video where your brand will share insights, interact with audiences or open up questions in real-time. Live Video is a great feature that helps financial marketers build brand transparency and authenticity. Now more than ever before, finance brands are demonstrating the importance of trust and why it should be at the top of any institution’s agenda.Â
If your finance brand needs help executing a multi-faceted Instagram campaign, The Dubs can help with content creation, media buying and everything in between. Get in touch.Â
