Kate Spade New York: Best Practices Guide for Instagram
Hey there, welcome to Kate Spade New York! As a new member of our social media team, it is important to understand our company expectations and best practices when creating content on any of our social platforms. This guide is specific to Instagram and will highlight the basics of post etiquette and standards. As you go through this guide, if you have any questions please bring them up with the point of contact of your area.
Let’s get started!
Background Information:
Kate Spade was first launched in 1993 with six types of handbags and since then has branched out into multiple product lines. Founder, Kate Brosnahan Spade formed the company with the idea of optimistic femininity. We want our brand to be synonymous with joy. The company motto is as follows:
“who we are is intertwined with who you are. we are all the heroines of our own stories. we are kate spade new york.”
This is presented on all of our social media platforms under the bio section, along with the link to our website for easy access. Kate Spade is a modern, sophisticated brand that uses color and detail to give an aura of polish and liveliness- something we wish to remain consistent in throughout our social media accounts. Instagram is optimal for developing customer loyalty, with a large portion of their users aligning with our main target market; identifying as female between the ages of 25 to 34. Our Kate Spade customer is culturally curious, a standout from the crowd, a chance taker, and lives life to the fullest.
Brand Voice:
Our brand voice is bright, strong, and playful and we are known for our colorful and spirited posts on Instagram. Consistency with our brand voice is key. We want our followers to feel like we are talking to them we are friends. With each post it is our goal to promote strength and inspire our followers to be confident when they use our products. We utilize a diverse range of content for our posts including: images of products, photos of cute animals, inspirational messages, and video messages. Each post, regardless of its nature, must be relevant to our brand theme and in our distinctive voice. Those who follow and see our posts should feel empowerment and supported.
In terms of captions, Kate Spade New York’s Instagram posts may vary from full sentences to the sole use of emojis. Emojis are approved for use when appropriate and relative to the post. The first three to four lines of any post must state the main objective, followed by any other additional information, if the post is longer. Because we aim to feel conversational, the length of the caption is determined by the type of content displayed. A photo featuring a new product may have a longer caption than a photo of an existing product. The diction of our captions are often clever, inspirational, and offer words of encouragement. Our voice should be the epitome of the day in the life of our Kate Spade customer and our posts should mirror this with our captions.
In our own tradition, Kate Spade New York utilizes all lower case letters when posting captions or commenting on Instagram. However, use appropriate punctuation as needed. When it comes to hashtags, our most notable include: #katespade, #loveinspaces, and #katespademyway. Use these hashtags with posts featuring our product to increase brand awareness and encourage followers to use them as well. However, we do not want to use hashtags excessively. Hashtags are like the accessories to the written word; you want them to be bold and make you stand out but use them thoughtfully, as not to outshine your personality. Limit hashtag use to no more than three per post.
Content Expectations:
When generating content on Instagram, posts should include colorful and high quality images with upbeat captions. With up to 83% of Instagram users discovering new products on the platform, it’s important to put out quality content. Within a calendar week, at minimum, five posts should be created on Instagram. It’s important we post on a consistent basis so that our followers stay in the loop with the latest products. Ideal time of day for posting would be early-morning or mid-afternoon. While the goal is to post images that incorporate products, we do not want to force product placement. Photos that represent our brand voice, regardless of advertising, are acceptable to post. We want to engage our audience in an organic way and in turn, convert followers into customers by building brand trust and loyalty within our posts.
If an image incorporates a current product on the market, a shoppable link must be applied to the photo so customers are able to access the product. Shoppable posts allow customers to view the name and cost of the product, directing them to an accessible link for purchase directly from the app. Shoppable posts are identified by a small shopping bag icon at the bottom left corner of the image labeled “view products.”
User-Generated Content:
In addition to our own content, we want to promote user-generated content when appropriate. With the permission of the customer, we can repost their images of our product and how they utilize them. We benefit from user-generated content because it allows our customers to get a sense of our product in everyday life and promotes our brand in a more organic nature. When posting customer content use #repost and tag or @ mention the initial source in the image, for proper credit. Not all of our reposts will be focused on our product and that’s okay. We repost the lifestyle images of our followers to inspire and build our Kate Spade community, through their perspective. When possible, include a call to action so we can engage with our customers in fun and pleasant ways. This can be asking our followers a simple question for replies in our comments or requesting that they tag us in their own posts.
Video Content:
A great way to create follower engagement on Instagram is through videos, a quick and creative way alternative to still photos. When we can showcase a product or spotlight a company employee through video, we create an experience. Video loops of 10 seconds or less are a great way to stimulate interest from followers. For video content that extends past 60 seconds, make sure to utilize (IGTV) Instagram TV. In addition, we use Instagram Stories to create experiences. Stories are a great way to provide bonus content for active followers and increase our visibility and brand awareness. Followers can be directed from our posts on our feed to our daily Instagram Stories to view additional information about our content. Be sure to save our most relevant Stories to the Story Highlights. As an example, we save behind-the-scene content of our past fashion shows and hashtag campaigns to our Highlights.
Brand Advocates:
Along with our core customer base, we have been fortunate to have support from many different paid celebrity influencers and organic brand enthusiasts over the years. We’ve had the pleasure of working with celebrities including: actresses Busy Phillips and Anna Kendrick, blogger “iconaccidental,” and comedian Naomi Watanabe. We have also received organic exposure from the likes of Kerri Washington, Hailey Bieber, and Rebel Wilson, just to name a few. Exposure from high celebrity influencers with strong personas help our brand reach different categories within our target consumer.
Customer Service:
One thing to remember when engaging with customers is to keep the conversion to a minimum when discussing a service or product issues. When a customer complains on Instagram, it is important to reach out and redirect their request to continue on another form of communication. It is acceptable to direct them to a direct message through Instagram, an external customer service number, or their local Kate Spade New York store. While we may not be able to please all customers, we still want to assure them that we are there to assist their needs as best as possible. In some cases, customers will request additional information about a featured product or ask a miscellaneous question. In a similar fashion as complaints, kindly direct their question to a call number if you are unable to answer it in a moderately short reply.
Community Awareness:
It’s important to acknowledge and respond appropriately to current social issues and express our support as a company when necessary. Kate Spade New York is proud to support many social causes including: Black Lives Matter, the LGBTQ community, Crisis Text Line, The Jed Foundation, and more. With the changing climate of our society, we want to make sure we support and offer resources for the causes that matter most to our audience. On Instagram we promote different causes using hashtags; we’ll go over a few now. Our hashtag #bettertogether highlights mental health support and awareness during this global pandemic through our partnership with Crisis Text Line. We support the BTW (Born This Way) foundation and their movement #bekind, where everyone is encouraged to show kindness in all aspects of life. As well, our #joycall encourages our followers to showcase their happy places, to support mental wellness. In addition, our company created the Kate Spade New York Foundation to inspire and empower women through various charitable donation. Every year we commit to donating one million dollars to our supported organizations. Be sure to look into all of our charities and promoted messages so that you are fully awareness of all of our causes for future reference.
Now that you are a member of the Kate Spade New York team, ask yourself why you wanted to work here? Take that passion for our brand and create beautiful content that you would appreciate as a customer. When you are creating content or discovering user-generated content make sure it aligns with our brand voice and identity. At any time if you are unsure of something, seek assistance from your team leader and be sure to go through our previous Instagram posts to familiarize yourself with the kind of content we encourage. Remember, we are in this together; live everyday uniquely and to the fullest.
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