thredUP IG Best Practice Guide
thredUP is one of the world’s largest online thrift stores and consignment shops. Our mission is to inspire a new generation of shoppers to think secondhand clothing first. We realize that a prominent social media presence is essential to disseminate our mission and for our company to have success. Instagram (IG), an image-based platform with over 1 billion users, is the perfect social media network to display our product, create partnerships, promote our image, and engage with customers. This best practice guide will ensure that team members are using Instagram effectively to engage our customers and achieve the greatest return on investment.
1. Post Once Daily
Several sources have shown that posting more than twice per day does not significantly increase engagement (Lee, N.D.; Myers, 2020; SocialBuddy, 2021). Thus, our goal is to post at least once and no more than twice daily.
2. Voice/Tone
We believe our business model and mission are unique and that our IG content should reflect that. We want to stray from posting just for the sake of posting and instead curate content that we are proud of. Adhering to a strategic voice and tone will help achieve this goal. Words that describe our voice are: friendly, fun, passionate, informative, woke, authentic, and optimistic. Words that describe our tone are: welcoming, inclusive, personal, and attentive.
3. Choose Cohesive and Quality Images
Since IG relies heavily on visual content, posts should be visually appealing, and of appropriate pixel count. Feel free to utilize Hootsuite’s latest image size guide as a resource. Additionally, reference the thredUP branding kit for color scheme and typographic guidelines.
4. Optimize Posts
IG has many tools and features that, when used appropriately, can build a substantial followership and foster engagement with loyal customers and partners. These include captions, hashtags, stories, and reels.
- Captions provide additional context for images and are the main instrument for us to project our brand’s voice. The character sweet spot is approximately 138–150 characters.
- Hashtags should be used sparingly and with intention. Five to 10 is the ideal number of hashtags to elicit a favorable reach. We post our hashtags in the comment section for a sleeker look. Commonly used hashtags at thredUP include: #thriftloudly (our exclusive hashtag), #secondhandfirst, #thrifted, #chooseused, #sustainablestyle, #sustainablefashion, #sustainableliving #thredupambassador
- Stories are short-lived forms of content that are used to engage with our current followers. This affords us the opportunity to address major customer grievances, share fun team member videos, announce giveaways and other pertinent news. Utilize polls, stickers, mentions, and hashtags as appropriate.
- Reels are bite-sized videos in a similar vain as TikTok that can be discovered by others. They are not a major part of our IG strategy, but there are plans to incorporate this feature more in the future.
5. Engage with Like-minds
thredUP wants to be considered a relevant and trustworthy source on the topic of sustainable fashion. In order to achieve this it is vital to develop relationships with people and organizations with similar agendas. Through IG, we will strive to seek out, develop dialogue, and generate partnerships with like-minds. For instance, we recently partnered with Sustainable Fashion Forum to host The Closet of the Future Summit. We announced the event and recruited attendees on the IG platform.
6. User Generated Content
Influencers are essential for building a substantial IG presence, gaining new customers, and showcasing that secondhand can be trendy. Our thredUP Ambassador program has recruited influencers from across the country who select items from our online shop to be showcased on their social media platforms. Potential ambassadors can sign up for the program through one of our Story Highlights.
7. Respond to Customer Feedback
IG is often used as a outlet for customer service inquiries. Our corporate standard is to respond to these inquiries within 2 hours. More detail on this topic can be found in our service-level agreement.
References
Lee, K.(N.D.). Infographic: How Often Should You Post on Social Media? See the Most Popular Research and Tips. https://buffer.com/library/how-often-post-social-media/
Myers, L. (2020, July 10). How Often To Post On Social Media: 2020 Success Guide. https://louisem.com/144557/often-post-social-media#:~:text=Bare%20minimum%3A%20once%20a%20month,times%20a%20week%20%E2%80%93%20even%20better.
SocialBuddy. (2021). How often should you post on Instagram? (https://socialbuddy.com/how-often-should-you-post-on-instagram/
This is a student assignment and fictional document. The author is not affiliated with thredUP.
