Pics & Vids!

Today, we're circling back to my favorite platform...Instagram! Well, technically we're talking about picture and video sharing, but Instagram is their main platform for that. This is where they post the majority of their photos, since it is the major photo sharing app of the day now that things like Flickr are all but obsolete. They also do have a YouTube channel for video sharing, although it's not as widely used as their Instagram.

We've discussed their Instagram before, but here's a screenshot of it just to get reacquainted:


Right now, there's a ton of Her Conference publicity, since the L.A. one just happened this past weekend, and the NYC one is occurring in a couple of weeks. In general, the instagram account has a high level of curated content, such as memes, stills from television shows, and "regards" from other accounts on instagram (like those jewelry & silver sparkle photos above). 
They have a pretty decent following. Over 85,000 followers, and most of their photos get over 1,000 likes. 

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it; the instagram is GREAT. It's super on brand for what they do, it targets their audience really well, and it's the perfect mix of lighthearted, giggly fun, and hard-hitting, empowering content. 

I really like what they're already doing, but if I had to pick something else, I think engagement would always be my answer. Every brand can always use more engagement, whether it be more interactive Instagram stories, or contests, or something of that nature. All in all, the Her Campus instagram is #flawless. 

Now to talk about their video sharing...they do the occasional video sharing on their Instagram. They'll do Instagram stories where they ask each staff member a question and put it on the story (example: everyone's favorite summer activity or something like that). They also have very short videos and GIFs as posts on their Instagram. 

Video sharing mainly happens on their YouTube page, although that's not incredibly active. If you look at the screenshot below, you can see that they don't post videos very often. 

The only times they post frequently are during Her Conference (such as the Live Stream videos above). Other than that, you can see that they only post around once a month, and usually only as part of a big event. They do occasional fun videos, like "The Affordable Press-On Manicure" and "Inside Milk Bar and & Pizza Boston" videos we see above, but most of what they post is from events or live streams. That's great and really important, but I think it doesn't match up with their branding as well as it could. 

Regina Luttrell, on page 134 of her book, "Social Media; How to Engage, Share, and Connect", gives a great rundown of how to utilize YouTube: 

Channels should reflect the brand itself using company images, graphics, and colors. YouTube does offer an upgrade to its channel services that helps PR and social strategists further maintain company branding. Users can benefit from this by accessing templates that can be customized and personalized to complement other social sites, the company website, and even printed collateral material. Using this functionality helps create and align content with key demographics and the company's goals, products, and mission. 

They should be doing more of these videos about beauty, wellness, culture, etc., all the things they blog about. They could be really short videos, like the ones by Buzzfeed or Delish, just fun and exciting to put some content out where people can see it. There was a ton of great stuff at the Google Marketing conference this year about YouTube content and audiences, and brands should be taking advantage as much as they can. 

In summary, I think Her Campus has photo sharing down PAT, and video sharing on Instagram, but the YouTube could use some work to really be up to par. If anyone can do it, though, it's Her Campus, and I look forward to seeing what they come out with!