As the Director of Social Media at Weight Watchers, Lauren Salazar oversees content, paid media, influencer programs, analytics, and experiential events.
In her presentation at SocialMedia.org’s Brands-Only Summit, Lauren focused on Instagram and the secret ingredients she’s found that work for their brand and can for others, too. Here are a few of the points she shared:
- Create a thumb-stopping video. Make the video simple (you only get 30 seconds to tell a story), seasonal (make the content relevant), and make it work without audio. Studies show that most viewers never turn the sound on when watching a video on Instagram. Make sure you can get your point across without it.
- Focus on timing and opportunity. New Year’s is typically when people are inspired to create plans and new resolutions. On the Sunday after New Year’s Day, and right before viewer’s head back to work, Weight Watchers purchased marquee placement and pushed out ads on targeted newsfeeds. They reached 2 million views in a 24 hour period.
- Make your offline experiences “Instagrammable”. Weight Watchers holds events and meetups all year round for their community. They intentionally create Instagrammable moments and opportunities everywhere, from scenic locations to neatly decorated snack tables and arrangements.
Check out Lauren’s full presentation in this video or download her slide presentation here.
Andy Sernovitz builds organizations that help people help each other. His company, GasPedal, builds peer-to-peer communities for people leading meaningful change at the world’s biggest companies, including SocialMedia.org and SocialMedia.org Health. He wrote the best-selling book Word of Mouth Marketing that teaches you how to earn the respect and recommendation of your customers.