Instagram and the Business of Luxury

Instagram is the online destination for those who appreciate the finer things in life. From luxury cars to 7-star hotels – the visual storytelling platform has become the ideal medium to share high-quality content of luxury products and experiences.

According to a report done by Instagram on luxury users and how they spend their time on the platform, tomorrow’s big spenders are some of the most active followers of luxury brands. Montblanc’s Social Media Manager, Maike Hinrichs says: “Aspirational content isn’t only interesting for people that already have the means to buy the product, but also creates an opportunity for building up an audience that might have the chance to buy the product in two, three, four years.”

Luxury brands understand the magnetism of images and are some of the most enthusiastic adopters of Instagram, setting visual standards. Tenille Kopiasz, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Parfums Christian Dior says that storytelling has always been the best way to inspire consumers and Porsche’s Jazzmynn Finney says for them, storytelling creates an emotional link with audiences.

Instagram’s Stories tool and video has proven to be the ultimate medium for luxury brands. According to Group Head of Social Media at Soho House & Co. moving image is the future. Burj Al Arab, a luxury hotel in Dubai uses video or time-lapse to show the actual functionality of their suites and their Marketing Communications Manager, Noor Al Fardan, says it helps them to make people understand that visiting this hotel is an experience and you leave with a lifetime memory.

In order to make Instagram work for them, luxury brands need to be creative, immersive and emotive and acknowledge the power of pictures. It is also important to get familiar with the platform’s features that can enhance sales. “Instagram has almost taken the place of a website. People shop off Instagram,” says Nathalie Trad, Fashion Accessories Designer and Founder of Nathalie Trad.

With 300 million active daily users on Instagram and a third of the most viewed Stories coming from businesses, tapping into this platform has become non-negotiable for luxury brands.

Written by Renate Engelbrecht
Images: Shutterstock
Source: business.instagram.com