5 Best Practices for DMOs on Instagram
January 8, 2020 | By: DCIIn 2018, Kylie Jenner broke the record for most likes on Instagram when she revealed her newborn’s name in February. The star received over 16 million likes within a few days on that post alone. 16 million.
What does this fact have to do with destination marketing? Well, 16 is quite a healthy chunk of the more than 850 million Instagram users that currently scroll on the app’s posts and stories.
That’s right: 850 million consumers are now scrolling, watching and engaging daily on Instagram. If you’re a destination marketing organization (DMO) on Instagram, it’s important to take note of this number and ask yourself, “How do I compete with other destinations and other brands? And how do I ensure that my content is capturing millions of people’s attention?”
The truth is that you might not be able to capture the attention of 800 million consumers—but the key is to make sure you’re producing content that inspires your potential visitors.
Below, we’ve rounded up five best practices that will help you run a successful Instagram account.
1. Boost User-Generated Content: Trust us when we say the destinations that leverage user-generated content (UGC) are w-i-n-n-i-n-g. UGC allows DMOs to showcase their destinations in the most authentic way possible: through the eyes of locals and visitors. DMOs can leverage UGC to honestly promote all the awesome things their destination has to offer.
A great example of UGC is Discover Montreal’s #MTLMoments. The campaign encourages local residents and tourists to share photos of their favorite moments in destination. This example is a great way to engage consumers with your brand and collect UGC using a custom hashtag.
2. Engage with Potential Visitors (and Locals): Your job doesn’t stop at posting content. Community managers should engage with consumers—whether through commenting or liking other users’ photos or within their own posts. Instagram isn’t just a photo sharing platform anymore. It’s also a travel research tool, especially for Millennials. Since 48% of this generation turns to Instagram to help choose a destination, it’s important for DMOs to look out for users who engage with their content and to interact with potential visitors.
3. Have a Social Media Holiday Calendar: Having a hard time finding content? One way to fill up your social media calendar is to add national holidays. From National Love Your Pet Day to Pizza Day, there are endless holidays to choose from. Pick one that’s relevant to your destination and post about it. We recommend adding a social media holiday calendar with hashtags so you can keep track of the holidays you want to celebrate.
4. Promote Events on Instagram Stories: Whether you’re promoting a local event or sharing a private dinner with a group of influencers, Instagram Stories is a terrific way to allow consumers to follow your event (and hopefully create FOMO). DMOs should also take advantage of the Swipe Up feature available for accounts with over 10,000 followers. This feature is a great way to generate traffic to your website or dedicated landing page.
Visit Stockholm recently showcased its Furniture and Light Fair, which ran parallel to its annual Design Week. It posted daily Instagram Stories so people could follow along with the events. Because the destination is known around the world for its great modern designs, the event highlighted a unique feature that future visitors can also experience.
5. Measure Your Goals: Lastly, make sure to create measurable goals and frequently monitor your performance. You can use Instagram Insights to track engagement, impressions, reach, conversions, and best-performing posts. This analysis will help you evaluate how much of your content you should use to inspire or convert, what works and what doesn’t, and how and when people are engaging. Crucially, it will also help with your future strategy.
Want to see more social media tips? Tweet us at @aboutdci!