Halloween is almost here – and if you’re a B2C business, this holiday could provide an opportunity to boost engagement with your ideal customers. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, a study from the National Retail Federation reports that 148 million consumers plan to celebrate Halloween in 2020.

If you want to make the most of this fun holiday, one especially effective strategy is to leverage the power of Instagram marketing.

A few facts about marketing on Instagram that are useful to know:

• 1 billion (yes, billion with a “B”) people use Instagram every month.
• 63% of Instagram users will log in to the platform at least once every day.
• 200 million Instagram users visit a business profile at least once every day.
• 75.3% of U.S. businesses use Instagram in 2020.
• 500 million people use Instagram stories each day.
• Brands post 2.5 Instagram Stories on average each week.
• 1/3 of the most-viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses.

Ready for some tricks that can lead to treats for your business? Here are three Halloween-inspired ways you can drive engagement with your brand on Instagram:

1 . Boost Attention and Loyalty by Building Partnerships for a Halloween-Themed Giveaway

Want to offer your existing audience a fun way to engage with your brand this Halloween while attracting new potential customers too? Try partnering with another brand to offer an Instagram giveaway.

This strategy can be especially effective if your business doesn’t necessarily have an “obvious” Halloween offer. Reach out to your existing network of partners or maybe find a worthy non-profit, and put together a giveaway to share across your networks.

One of the best things about an Instagram giveaway is that it can be super simple. Just come up with the prize that you’ll raffle off to one lucky winner on a certain day/time (maybe even Halloween night!). Then create a post / Instagram Story with an image of the prize and the “Rules” people need to follow to qualify – the simpler the better. For example, ask people to 1.) Follow the brands involved, 2.) Post a comment, and maybe 3.) Tag one friend.

Comments are key, because it’s an easy way you can pool all the giveaway participants and randomly choose a winner. Plus, comments will increase your engagement and improve your social media positioning and visibility. (Just make sure once you’ve randomly chosen a commenter that they’ve followed any other rules you’ve set too).

2. Collect User Generated Content for Halloween

Halloween 2020 may be unusual in that many people will probably opt-out of parties, parades, and other in-person gatherings because of the pandemic…. however, people will still want to dress up and show off their costumes!

Instagram will be the ideal site for users to be engaging in sharing Halloween pics, and your business can find ways to get involved and leverage user-generated content to expand your reach.

One of the easiest and effective ways to collect Halloween-themed user-generated content is a Mention + Hashtag campaign. First, your brand comes up with a unique hashtag, such as #XBrandSpookyFun or #CelebrateHalloweenwithYBrand. Then, ask people to post their photos, mention your brand, and use your special Halloween hashtag. It’s often best if you also offer some sort of incentive for people to participate, like a discount or special coupon.

With this campaign, you’ll be able to collect photos, videos, and comments that will bring more activity and followers to your Instagram profile, as well as generate potential marketing materials and insights. Plus, your customers will get to enjoy some Halloween fun while engaging with your brand. It’s a win-win for everyone!

3. Engage Halloween Users on Instagram and Drive Traffic to Your Website

Instagram is an excellent tool to find and engage with users during the Halloween holiday, but ultimately you want to drive traffic back to your own website. Instagram, of course, wants people to stay on their platform, but there are several ways to share links that can take people to your own site.

Here are five ways to share your links on Instagram:

• Make sure to include a link in your Instagram bio.
• Use Instagram post captions to share short links, or direct people to your Instagram stories that will contain a link.
• Save Instagram Stories with swipe-up links.
• Put links in your Instagram Direct Messages as you build customer relationships.
• Use your Instagram Business profile to pay to promote stories and posts, which can include clickable links.

Want more spooky spectacular results for your company’s marketing? To find out more about digital marketing on Instagram, get in touch with our team here at JXT Group by calling 718-690-7302 or filling out our online contact form. We are…dying to hear from you. Muahahahaha.