Live Más On Instagram

(Photo credit: “Taco Bell,” by flickr user Mike Mozart via Attribution 2.0 License)

Since the rise of the importance in social media in marketing, we’ve seen countless articles posted each week about brands using hashtags badly and other social media faux pas. A lot of them get it wrong. You know who gets it right? The sometime-maligned fast food giant, Taco Bell. Taco Bell is a brand who understands social media marketing and the audiences that subscribe to them. Lately, Taco Bell’s Instagram channel has been killing it.

If you’ve ever been a college student, you’ve witnessed first hand the mass appeal of Taco Bell. Whether you wanted a cheap, quick bite to eat in between classes, craved Fourth Meal after a late night party, or just plain had the munchies, Taco Bell was always there for you and now it’s there on Instagram.

Instagram is a challenge for most brands because it is completely focused on visuals. The capabilities are simple; links can’t be embedded (except for in the info section), the image must fit a square composition (unless you decide to Instasize it), and if you choose, you can add a caption and relevant hashtags.

So what makes Taco Bell’s Instagram an example of big brands doing Instagram well?

1.     It’s relevant

If you’re a frequent Instagram user you know that there are trends on the platform (sometimes categorized by hashtags). But there are definite themes that you can notice. Food porn isn’t just food porn anymore. We’ve increasingly see aerial shots of what’s #onthetable or #stacksonstacks and Taco Bell mimics the same composition we’re familiar with in its images.

Lots of fashion bloggers have taken up Instagram as another way to keep in touch with its audience, so there are not shortage of #ootd shots. Taco Bell visually mimics a wide array of trends and while adding trending hashtags to join the conversation.

2.     It’s aesthetically pleasing

Taco Bell’s images are high quality, but still look as if the image was taken from a smart phone, whether or not there was a huge production was involved. They aren’t grainy or blurry, and most importantly, they have a point of view. If you look at its feed there is an overarching tone and color scheme to its images which Instagram users find appealing and can be attributed to the high number of followers certain Instagrammers have.

3. It’s aware of its audiences

Taco Bell knows that its audience tends to be younger, so it post images of friends hanging out, in clothing that teens and college students are wearing now. The voice of its captions is very casual and “on fleek” with how younger audiences are communicating today.

4.     Lastly, it’s fun

Taco Bell doesn’t appear to take its Instagram too seriously. The brand is building trust with its audience by simply being relatable. Even though its brand and products are everywhere, Taco Bell isn’t trying to drive direct conversions, but if the opportunity presents itself, why not try to drive some extra conversions?

While Taco Bell does the above very, very well, the most important reason why Taco Bell’s Instagram is successful is because it doesn’t desperately grab onto to every trend or hashtag that’s out there on the internet. The Taco Bell team picks and chooses ones that are relevant to the Taco Bell brand and aligns with its audience, and that is how it’s found success of this more difficult marketing platform.