IKEA is Utilizing Instagram as a Catalog Tool

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It's no secret today that Social Media has become a crucial part of marketing and business as a whole, but are most companies using it to its full potential?

As a user of Instagram and an IKEA shopper I was fascinated by this article by Direct Marketing News which explores IKEA's new transformed Instagram approach. I love the idea of using online media sources in creative and innovative ways to push boundaries and make not only shopping easier, but the experience of a brand to be more immersive. 

The article explains IKEA’s Instagram setup for the release of the PS 2014 collection. This collection showcases some unique to downright weird pieces, matching the uniqueness of the online catalog. The Instagram page features posts labeled with a categorized item, like tables or lights. When the post is clicked open, you can view the tags on the picture, which are all links to other Instagram pages containing information about the individual units in that category available. This may sound like a confusing system, but within Instagram it works rather smoothly. 


I would interpret IKEA’s value proposition as efficiency and clean/crisp spaces. Much like Apple, they make a user-friendly experience a priority. This is made evident from the way that the furniture can be put together at home by most anybody to the efficiency of the designs. They offer furniture that simply works better and takes up less space. They are creative and unique and not afraid to make things that are maybe a little different. All of this clearly matches with the Instagram page idea. This marketing move is very fitting for their brand. Their new Instagram catalog is compact, clean, convenient and efficient.

This is a new and different approach of using social media as a way to showcase products. Not only does it make it easier for those who are already familiar with their brand to navigate and find the products that they already know they’ll love, but it draws in curious new customers because of the uniqueness. 

The use of Instagram as a way to showcase products in this way is an extremely current topic that should be more thoroughly explored. The fact is that people simply spend more time on Instagram. People are on Instagram or other social media sights all day and that is where they will start looking for the coolest and most forward thinking brands. 

The website system is not good enough anymore. Oftentimes websites are confusing to navigate and they all look different and have a tendency to be more glitchy and unreliable. Social media on the other hand is typically more reliable. Most people have the app of their favorite social media already downloaded, they are already spending time on it, and that is what they are used to. Having social media be the way to showcase products is ideal because of its streamlined, user-friendly and familiar nature. IKEA is a rare type of brand who really pays attention to the opportunities that social media presents. Not many brands are fully utilizing and adapting to the excellent format and platform that social media, particularly Instagram, provides.  

While I commend IKEA’s initiative, I think that the exact way that they used the platform needs improvement. Not many people would intuitively know to check the tags to find the products. This could make viewing their catalog be a bit confusing to navigate at first. The way that their system is set up also means that every single individual product would need its own Instagram account, which I find to be a little clunky. Despite these critiques however, I do think that IKEA is moving in the right direction. If I were to make decisions about how to move forward with this idea, I would have companies get in direct communication with the platforms like Instagram to design a more streamlined way of displaying products in a pleasing way.

Link to the article: https://www.dmnews.com/marketing-channels/social/news/13057226/ikea-creates-a-website-within-instagram-for-its-latest-furniture-collection

 


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