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Foodies: if you are not on Instagram, do you even exist?

By Colin Jacobs, client services director

immediate future

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The Drum Network article

This content is produced by The Drum Network, a paid-for membership club for CEOs and their agencies who want to share their expertise and grow their business.

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December 12, 2016 | 6 min read

If I didn’t take a photo of my meal, did I even eat it? That’s what the influencers are saying on the chopping block these days. It’s time to invest in your Instagram feed and nurture it with quality treats.

Food and drink supplement - Immediate Future

If, like me, you’re old enough to be able to cast your mind back to the 1980s and recall dining and food shopping experiences, you will remember a very different time. Today, Britain graces the world with many of its finest restaurants and chefs.

Pubs have evolved from being exclusively wet led. We have dedicated television channels broadcasting content that effects better at-home dining experiences. We have supermarkets championing a better quality of food and the importance of knowing its origins. We even have travel brands trading on food experiences to lure us into holiday bookings. Britain is a nation of foodies. No shock there.

As is usually the case with social content, everything and nothing has changed. What I actually mean by that statement is that, while content types have evolved and the visibility and accessibility of social media is new, the fundamental principle of publishing alluring artwork featuring wonderful food and dining experiences hasn’t.

Consider your fast food chain of choice. I bet at least once you’ve thought or said ‘this burger doesn’t look anything like that picture on the menu – I want that one up there’. Credit where it’s due – your fast food chain has fixed its content strategy built upon a smart content tilt.

Appreciating I’m simplifying years of strategic evolution, enter Instagram, a visual social network that allows food and drink brands to hook our brand loyalty by using beautiful artwork. I know I’ve personally bought a Gourmet Burger Kitchen meal as a result of viewing the Instagram video showing a GBK burger being built upon a plate. Admittedly, those who know me won’t be shocked to hear I bought a burger. Fair comment. The point here being I bought the GBK burger instead of a rival’s as a result of what I saw on Instagram.

We see first-hand the importance of Instagram with our food and drink clients Brita, Marston’s and Molson Coors. It’s rather obvious to say that portraying the quality of food or drink and the in-venue experience is key. The real challenge for marketers is to do this in a standout way. Instagram presents the food industry with noisy opportunity – the noise generated from jaw-dropping numbers across Instagram and the opportunity being too many brands serve the same content. It all looks the same.

Too many brands across the board, not just in the food industry, spend millions on multichannel advertising without defining their content strategy and their content tilt. If it weren’t for a rather stringent NDA I could share how a household brand has spent tens of millions on content without doing this. Unbelievable.

The key to Instagram is the same as all of your marketing: have a robust and fit-for-purpose content strategy built upon a smart content tilt – one that truly allows you to go and compete with the ultimate aim of winning your category. Or at least, that’s what your marketing bible will tell you – words to that effect.

While it might be biased of me to encourage you to look at the likes of Brita, what you will see upon your visit is a defined content strategy using rich media in a smart way. The animated gifs showcasing the health impact of drinking filtered water daily are the best performing content across all of our brand channels. Interestingly, this was the trial content that tested a new content tilt within Instagram. Transformational results have been seen.

Instagram is fundamentally a visual network. It is so much more than just a place to post visuals. Build a smart content tilt that broadcasts your wonderful food offer and the atmosphere patrons can expect and the cover bookings will follow.

So where should you start?

Define your content tilt

It’s your unique perspective that exploits your brand’s niche within the industry. Stop copying rivals. If they’re already living a content tilt then it’s not right for you. You don’t standout. What sets you apart from the competition? At Immediate Future, we analyse what the whole industry is doing, we then figure out what they’re not, and then we help our clients exploit it. That’s living a unique content tilt.

Stories that resonate

Ensure your content tells more than one story and is published evoking audience participation.

Quality over quantity

A single high quality visual that stimulates dwell time is far better than five poor quality visuals. Understand your audience and their conversations. Ensure your visual and written content (including hashtags) are framed at them.

To filter or not to filter?

If everyone is using the same filter, should you? Point one answers this.

This article was originally published in The Drum Network Does...Food and Drink supplement on 8 December.

Colin Jacobs is strategy director at social media consultancy Immediate Future.

*Here are 5 great Instascrans to follow:

FoodNetwork

SelfridgesFood

BurgerAndLobster

ChefJasonHoward

BBCGoodFood

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