Refreshing the World Through Instagram
Coca-Cola is not only one of the most iconic drink brands but also one of the most memorable companies online, on our TV screens, and in our stores. Coca-Cola has made themselves memorable because of their eye-catching visuals, distinct colors, and incredible flavors. In order to keep customers and viewers excited about the cola brand, it is important to have a consistent and memorable presence on multiple social media accounts. Specifically, Coca-Cola will need to up their game on Instagram by optimizing their brand in order to keep their followers intrigued and attract new ones to their page.
How to Refresh the World through Instagram
There are several general guidelines that Coca-Cola must follow in order to effectively spread their message of inclusivity and creativity with their viewers. Here are some of the best practices to utilize:
- Coca-Cola must optimize their Instagram homepage.
- While this may seem like a one-time deal, Coca-Cola must enhance their homepage with emojis, a tagline, possible hashtags, location, and appropriate links.
- The homepage, which includes the profile picture and the biography, must be revamped before the beginning of every Coca-Cola drink or merchandise launch and/or campaign.
2. Coca-Cola must incorporate User Generated Content (UGC)
- Incorporating UGC allows your followers to become involved with the brand and cultivate not only a relationship with Coca-Cola but also a respect and appreciation for the company listening and seeing their thoughts and creativity.
- UGC allows for the work to be done for the brand and serves as a tool to validate the authenticity and message of Coca-Cola.
- It will be necessary for the social media manager to create a specific hashtag for user generated content and include this hashtag in each of the reposts and possibly the Instagram bio. This hashtag will also need to be used on possible organic posts asking followers to post content using the UGC hashtag.
3. Coca-Cola must post at least twice a day.
- Having a more active presence online will allow your followers multiple chances to engage with the brand as well as bring in new followers.
- The social media manager will need to ensure that at least one piece of organic content is posted and one piece of UGC content is posted per day. The timing of each of these posts will vary based on the activity of Coca-Cola’s viewers.
- It will also be necessary to check the activity insights monthly to figure the best time of day to deliver each of Coca-Cola’s required posts.
4. Coca-Cola must create an interactive/communicative environment in the comment section.
- Allowing for followers to interact with Coca-Cola through the comment section will set the organization apart from others by allowing them to be perceived as more than a brand but rather, a more personable online presence.
- In order to generate this user engagement Coca-Cola can ask their followers questions.
- Examples include:
“Does Coca-Cola really taste better in the glass bottle? Comment what you think below!”
“Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, or Cherry-Vanilla Coke? What is the superior flavor….”
“Have you tried the new Coca-Cola Energy drinks? Which one is your fav and how much have you NOT slept? We NEED to know!”
5. Coca-Cola must include short-form and possible long-form videos on their stories and/or through Instagram reels.
- Determining which method, story, reels, or IGTV, will be figured based on the length of the video that is being posted. If the video is longer than 60 seconds then the video should be posted through IGTV. If the video is shorter than 60 seconds then the video should be posted through Instagram reels.
- Each video post should be shared through Instagram stories. This will help engage users who may not see the initial post on their feed and also encourage followers to view the video on the homepage. It is important to note that these video story posts will include the already posted video on the Coca-Cola feed. It will likely not be the entire video, instead it will be a short snippet of the post.
Voice and Tone
On Coca-Cola’s website their vision statement states:
“Our vision is to craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body and spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities and our planet.”
Along with this vision, Coca-Cola specifically focuses on certain behaviors. These behaviors include “curiosity, empowerment, inclusivity, and agility.” Through these behaviors Coca-Cola plans to “nurture a culture with a passion to refresh the world. We [want to] make a difference.”
With this vision and behaviors in mind, we can confirm that Coca-Cola’s voice and tone are very inclusive, empowering, and passionate. Coca-Cola must incorporate this tone throughout each and every one of their posts. Followers should leave Coca-Cola posts feeling important and empowered to make a difference in their community and their world.
Don’t Fizz Out: The Do’s and Don’t of Incorporating Coca-Cola’s Best Practices
Captions
The ideal Instagram word count per post lies between 138–150 characters. But, do not be scared to use less than this amount. In the world of fast-paced and ever changing content, it is extremely important for Instagram captions to be short, quip, and scroll-stopping. Let the image do the talking and let your caption be there for moral support. Incorporating emojis, relevant hashtags, and a caption that allows for engagement within the comment section will be the best way for the brand to stop the scrolling of their followers.
DON’T: Here is an example where Coca-Cola could have created a more scroll-stopping post.
While the caption is definitely to-the-point and the picture is visually appealing, it doesn’t give followers much to work with. There are no emojis, no hashtags, and no room for engaging within the comments. Asking the followers “We’re grateful for the many different Coca-Cola flavors! What are you thankful for? Let us know below!” would allow for users to possibly talk about Coca-Cola’s products and ultimately push other passing viewers to engage with the post.
DO: Here is a Scroll-Stopping example.
This caption incorporates everything that will allow for users to stop, stare and engage. There’s a short caption, emojis, hashtags, and a caption that fosters engagement with the post. What more could you want?!
User Generated Content (UGC)
As we’ve already stated, UGC is king on social. UGC does the work for us by having content that has already been generated and posted by our followers. Incorporating UGC on Coca-Cola’s Instagram feed will show followers that Coca-Cola sees them and validates their content.
DO: Here is a great example where Coca-Cola used UGC effectively for their feed.
This post includes the original photo, tags the user, and includes a caption with eye-catching emojis as well as a UGC hashtag. This is all Coca-Cola could ever want when it comes to User Generated Content.
DON’T: Here is what Coca-Cola should not do.
Here in this screenshot we can see that the last 9 posts have been organic content with all digitally created content. It is very obvious to see that there are not any real Coca-Cola products within the photographs and even more obvious that Coca-Cola followers were not involved in these posts. It is very important for Coca-Cola to regularly incorporate UGC in order to not only engage with followers but also show that they care about them and their content.
If Coca-Cola utilizes these practices throughout their posts, bio, and engagement tactics, they can ensure that they are using Instagram to their greatest ability, and that would definitely be refreshing.