A viral campaign has launched on Instagram as a result of its new ‘add yours’ sticker feature. IN a matter of days, an Instagram trend of people sharing pictures of their pets in exchange for planting a tree took over the app. In fact, the organisation Plant a Tree Co gained over 517,000 people to participate in this campaign forcing them to shut it down within a few hours as it got too big for their resources. This showcases the power an Instagram trend can have when it’s simple to participate in and captures a wide audience’s attention.
The ‘add yours’ sticker feature is great for finance brands as it creates a domino effect, with users’ followers jumping on the bandwagon, like what occurred with the Plant a Tree Co campaign. By capitalising on this Instagram trend your finance brand can generate leads, create user generated content and improve brand recall.
With 80% of people stating Instagram influences their purchasing decisions and 90% already following a business page, the new ‘add yours’ feature offers finance brands a way to maximise their social media presence. While this Instagram trend seems simple enough, it’s critical that your finance brand creates a campaign that’s tailored, timely, and encourages individuals to participate. A campaign asking people to share their home buying experience and how they felt when they bought their first home, may be one way a new home loan product could be marketed across Instagram using this new feature.
How to use the new ‘add yours’ sticker feature
“ With 80% of people stating Instagram influences their purchasing decisions and 90% already following a business page, the new ‘add yours’ feature offers finance brands a way to maximise their social media presence. ”
Like with most Instagram features, the ‘add yours’ sticker is simple and easy for users and brands to use.
- Upload an Instagram story
- Click the stickers button at the top of the screen and then tap the ‘add yours’ sticker
- From there, type in a prompt, which will be what users see on each other’s stories, and then press upload
After you’ve created the sticker campaign, other users can click on the sticker on your Instagram Story and respond by uploading their own image (and see if their friends have as well). This is where the domino effect takes place as your singular Instagram story gets amplified the more times it’s shared.
How to capitalise on an Instagram trend for finance brands
Going viral can be an effective way to generate leads, build brand awareness and foster authentic relationships. However, it’s important to consider the dangers of a poorly thought out campaign when you know just how quickly viral campaigns can get out of hand (case in point the Plant a Tree Co campaign).
While there’s not just one way to go viral there are three simple things you should consider that can help.
- Tailor your content to your target audience and the app’s largest demographic. On Instagram, two-thirds of Instagram users are aged 18-29, meaning you should take a younger approach to your content and reflect what they’re worried about financially.
- Make the campaign easy to participate in and engaging. As it is a photo-based campaign the content needs to be easy to create, not too personal, and enticing for other users.
To maximise this Instagram trend tie it back to a broader campaign. - You need to funnel users to your website after they view your Instagram page. Making the ‘add yours’ sticker a part of a broader, always-on content marketing strategy will ensure your finance brand can improve lead generation, increase profits, and gain more clients
How an Instagram trend can help finance brands create UGC
The success of Plant a Tree Co’s ‘add yours’ sticker campaign showcases the ability for Instagram to help generate a large amount of UGC. UGC is a great way for your finance brand to create personal connections with 79% of people saying UGC impacts their purchasing decision and 55% trusting UGC over other forms of marketing.
Taking this UGC and applying it within a content program can enable your finance brand to create a tailored marketing strategy and become more appealing. With ads that utilised UGC as a key component seeing 5x greater click-through rates than ads that didn’t, this Instagram trend can help close the approachability gap.
Additionally, because the ‘add yours’ feature relies on UGC it offers a prime opportunity for your finance brand to improve brand image and generate leads from new market segments via a trusted channel. In fact, 90% of people are more likely to trust a recommended brand (even if it’s recommended by strangers).
While you’re unlikely to want to ask users to share a picture of their pet in exchange for planting a tree, finance brands looking to increase their UGC, capture new market segments, and orchestrate a viral campaign should incorporate this new Instagram trend into their strategy.
