5 Ways to Use Instagram for Mother’s Day Marketing

Marketing on Instagram is highly effective because it’s a visual platform – people remember more of what they see than what they read or hear because the brain is made for visual processing.

This means that your messaging is likely more impactful on this platform, where 100 percent of your content is visual. Test that theory with a fun Mother’s Day social media marketing plan for your Instagram account. Whether you want to drive revenue, gain new followers, or boost brand impressions, these Mother's Day Instagram ideas will help get you there.

Drive In-Store Shoppers

Goal: Drive purchases

If you have a brick and mortar store, motivate your followers to come in and shop with an exclusive discount for Instagram users. For example, the image you share might say:

“Anyone who mentions ‘[Brand Name] Loves Moms’ when checking out will receive an additional 20 percent off!”

Be sure to use words like “exclusive” and “Instagram fans ONLY” to trigger the psychological effects of scarcity. “Cialdini’s final principle is the principle of scarcity, which states that people are highly motivated by the thought that they might lose out on something,” explains Beth Morgan, a marketing consultant.

Morgan continues, “Marketers trigger this effect by using all kinds of tactics to suggest that products (or low prices) might soon be gone, or that someone is trying to keep this product off the market.”

Make your deal seem scarce, and the shoppers will come.

Celebrate New Mothers

Goal: Brand impressions

A whopping 90 percent of Instagram users are under the age of 35, and the age of first time moms is at an all-time high of 26, according to a 2016 CDC report. That makes Instagram a great platform for targeting new mothers this holiday. Here are a few ways to do exactly that:

Host a giveaway

Give a free or discounted product or service to the first 20 new moms who post a photo with their newborn using the hashtag you specify.

Share a “New Mom Day” image

Encourage new moms to enjoy themselves on Mother’s Day and give them some ideas of what to do. The image could be of a checklist or a layout of products all catered to helping new moms feel refreshed and rejuvenated. If you can squeeze your product or service in there, do that too. See some examples below.

Plan a Mother’s Day Flash Sale

Goal: Drive purchases

Christmas isn’t the only holiday with last-minute shoppers. There are plenty of Mother’s Day shoppers putting their gifting off to the last minute – and that’s where you can come in with a Mother’s Day flash sale. Here’s the breakdown for a perfect set of “Flash Sale” Instagram posts.

Image

Make it bright and flashy, with phrases like “Mother’s Day,” “Last-Minute” and “Flash sale” directly on the image.

Mother's Day Hashtags

Use #FlashSale, #Sale, #ShopSmall, #MothersDay #ShoppingDay and #Shopaholics to attract people looking to shop. Don’t forget hashtags specific to your product or service and brand.

Mother's Day Posting Times

Post at least once about your sale each day that it’s going on, using different images and text. You can use many of the same hashtags, or add different ones if engagement was low for the first post.

Show Love to Employees’ Mothers

Show just how much your company cares about moms and all that they do with a special day of posts about employees and their mothers. This simple marketing idea can come in a variety of formats; here are a few ideas to consider:

Video

The video could include clips of interviews with employees and their moms, a montage of clips or images that employees sent in, or simple vignettes of employees saying why they’re grateful for their mom.

Photo Series

Post a series of photos of employees with their moms. Choose a theme like #SundayFunday, featuring photos of employees and their moms doing something fun.

Mother's Day Instagram Stories

Dedicate your Instagram story to moms all over the world with stats, graphics and images celebrating every kind of mom. Relate this to your brand as closely as possible to boost impressions.

Host a Mother’s Day Photo Contest

Goal: Brand impressions, new followers

With more than 400 million active users, Instagram is the perfect platform to engage with everyone, not just your customers. Instead of just re-posting and commenting on photos, however, start a simple Mother’s Day photo contest this year. Here are a few simple steps to get started.

Step 1: Choose your theme and goal.

Theme: Mothers getting active on Mother’s Day / Goal: Boost followers by 5 percent

Step 2: Create a hashtag. This is what you will use to track all the photos.

Hashtag: #[BrandName]OutdoorMoms

Step 3: Determine how the winner will be chosen. The final count could go by most number of “Likes” or have a select team choose the winner. In either case, spell this out when announcing the contest.

Step 4: Determine what the winner will get.

20 percent off their next purchase; Free [product/service]; $100 Amazon gift card

Step 5: Announce the contest. Do so on every platform, including your website, social sites and email list. In the announcement, include all the important details:

• Timeframe
• Rules/requirements [Check out this Instagram Contest Rules guide]
• Winner information

With the contest announced and prepared, it’s time to wait for the “submissions” to be posted and be sure to engage with every post, if possible.

Use Instagram to celebrate all the amazing moms on Mother’s Day. You’ll boost brand impressions and drive sales, allowing you to make the most of this special holiday.