The other
day I was in Wal-Mart and at the checkout I saw a sign that kind of surprised
me. Right under the keypad where you swipe your credit card was a small sign
encouraging people to follow Wal-Mart on Instagram. Did you know Wal-Mart had
an Instagram? I sure didn’t know.
When I got
home, I checked out Wal-Mart’s page and to my surprise it is actually a well
managed account. With over 458 posts and 44,000 followers it can at least be
said Wal-Mart is doing better than me on Instagram. Then I started to wonder if
other grocery store giants use Instagram, and I was surprised to find Meijer also
has an account. Although it doesn’t have near as many followers or posts as Wal-Mart,
Meijer’s posts are very visually appealing.
Then the
public relations student inside of me started thinking. Why do grocery stores
like Wal-Mart and Meijer need an Instagram account? It doesn’t all add up for
me, especially after reading Chapter 22 of “Share This.” Chapter 22 addresses
some ideas to think about before using a social media platform for your
company. The book notes to always remember to ask:
-What am I
trying to achieve?
-Who is my
audience?
-What’s my
message?
Seeing Wal-Mart
and Meijer on Instagram, I have to wonder if these grocery store chains asked
themselves these questions. What are they trying to achieve? Do Wal-Mart and
Meijer think posting products on Instagram will increase sales?
Did they
think about their audience? When I think of a target audience for Wal-Mart, I
think of women between the ages of 30-50 because Wal-Mart serves as a one stop
shop for a mom trying to meet all the needs of her family. Here is the problem:
Moms are not the majority demographic on Instagram. According to an article by
Business Insider over 90 percent of the 150 million people on Instagram are under the
age of 35. Not many people under the age of 35 are spending their own money at Wal-Mart
on a regular basis.
Next, what
are grocery chains trying to say by having a presence on Instagram? To me, it
says they are jumping on the bandwagon and trying to be hip and trendy. “Share
This” mentions it is important to think about outcomes before choosing a channel.
I am not sure what Wal-Mart and Meijer are attempting to achieve, but I don’t
think Instagram is the right channel for them.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! I saw the Instagram sign at Wal-Mart and was completely perplexed. I really don’t see any need for the store to have this channel, and I think the company does not understand the strategy behind social media. I personally believe that Instagram will be a waste of the company’s resources that could be spent elsewhere.
Lauren, I also agree that Wal-Mart just tried to use the newest shiny tool to get on board. I don't think they thought about their demographic or what they were trying to achieve with it. I guess if they reevaluate and think of a message, they might be more successful with this Instagram account. I definitely don't see myself following Wal-Mart on Instagram anytime soon!
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a PR-y (yes, I just made up a word) post and I love it. I always find myself evaluating the PR strategies of things around me. My non-PR friends find it strange, but I'm happy I am in good company. I think you're right, perhaps these organizations need to evaluate their use of Instagram. But one things from the post jumps out at me, you saw the logo, went to view their profile, so they kind of got you there. And then, not only did you go look for their profile, you went o view other ones and you liked the pictures. So perhaps their strategy is working, but not necessarily for the audiences who typically shop there. Perhaps they are trying to get outside the normal shopper?