Most successful brand on Instagram

USPA NEWS - Of the "Interbrand Best Global Brands 2018" Mercedes-Benz is the brand with the most "likes" on Instagram.

Over 35 million fans all over the world follow Mercedes-Benz channels on Instagram.

The premium brand thanks fans with a special website and an exhibition at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating a unique milestone on Instagram: of all the Top 100 Interbrand marques the premium brand has the most "likes" on Instagram. According to a current study by the analysis firm T4Media https://t4media.de/onebillionlikes/ a few days ago, Mercedes-Benz cracked the magic milestone of one billion "likes" ““ the first of the "Best Global Brands 2018" to do so among those named annually by the renowned US brand consultancy company Interbrand. Support from fans and followers is being honoured with an exhibition of photos at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, showing highlights of the social media activities by the brand with the star.

The premium brand has been active on Instagram since 2012. On average, according to the analysis Mercedes-Benz gets 27.6 million "likes" per month on the global Instagram channel @mercedesbenz. Globally as many as 35.66 million plus fans follow the official Mercedes-Benz accounts on the online photo and video service.

To mark this milestone Mercedes-Benz is dedicating a special "Thank you" to its fans and followers. Selected photos in which people from all over the world have demonstrated their affinity with the brand on Instagram will be displayed on a specially created site: http://mb4.me/one-billion-likes. With this review Mercedes-Benz is honouring the most successful posts as well as unusual or funny Instagram content. There is a cool elderly lady who is a Mercedes-AMG driver, for instance. An unusual birthday greeting for our competitor BMW and an image featuring a dog are also included.

Visitors to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart can also view the best posts. The exhibition runs from January 5 to 31, 2019 in the main hall. Around 20 large prints take visitors into the world of Instagram. They are framed by vehicles including the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet and the AMG GT Roadster Edition 50 1 (combined fuel consumption: 11.4 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 259 g/km) two of the most popular vehicles among fans on Instagram.

Multi-channel strategy proves successful

"Our systematic multi-channel strategy is again bringing us success", says Natanael Sijanta, Head of Marketing Communication Mercedes-Benz Cars. "To impress and entertain our followers we focus on a mix of brand and user-generated content, Sijanta explains. Working with influencers is just as important as curating fan content. "We concentrate on themes that are attractive and relevant to our target groups. That way we can send out our messages excitingly packaged."

As part of its multi-channel strategy Mercedes-Benz publishes content across the entire spectrum of digital channels. The premium brand makes a fundamental distinction between influencer marketing and influencer relations. Influencers are able to take part in Mercedes-Benz press events, shows and world premieres. They are also given a test car so that they can report on it editorially on their channels for their readership and fans. The aim is authentic reporting. Influencer marketing, meanwhile, drafts content-related concepts for Mercedes-Benz's own brand channels. Here the premium brand works systematically with photographers, film makers or brand ambassadors. They produce their content both for their own platforms and for the Mercedes-Benz brand channels.

User-generated content and creative storytelling

One of the secrets to success on the road to one billion "likes" are the stories which the brand tells on the one hand with gleaming chrome and which the influencers and fans tell on the other hand. Influencers report from their road trips, for instance, and take the community with them around the world. In addition to this, with Instagram Stories Mercedes-Benz seeks dialogue in a targeted manner on future issues such as artificial intelligence and electric mobility. They play a decisive role on all Instagram channels.

For instance, at the "EQNight" in Lisbon, Instagram users can ask questions on the new EQC or electric mobility. They are answered via Instagram Story by former astronaut Mike Massimino, known as "Astro Mike". In this way the fans were able to find out the range of the new EQC or which materials are used in both a space shuttle and the EQC.

The success on Instagram demonstrates that Mercedes-Benz has its finger on the pulse of users all over the world with this strategy. The channel is supported by a creative network of photographers and videographers. This creates content which predominantly comes from the brand's fans: a good three quarters of the posts do not originate from Mercedes-Benz.

Milestones in Instagram activity

Mercedes-Benz launched its Instagram channel in March 2012. Right from the outset #mbshootout created a format with which photo productions with a focus on Instagram-specific content were realised. Later #mbsocialcar was also created. This is where photographers and film makers are given a vehicle for a few days, and free rein to hold shoots and take photos. 542 posts have been created in this way. A good 350 photographers, bloggers and influencers are now on board. In 2014 Mercedes-Benz became the first European Instagram Media Partner and then in 2016 one of the first European brands to use Instagram Stories in the roll-out of the new feature. The #mbdolomates campaign with the "German Roamers" photographer collective was a global sensation.

n 2015 the Stuttgart brand was one of the strongest on Instagram for the first time. That year the German-language channel also started. It has now become the most successful German-language automotive brand channel on Instagram, with over 3.5 million followers. Mercedes-Benz's commitment was rewarded in 2016 with the German Prize for Online Communication in the category "Influencer Communication" and the Brand Award in the "Best Strategy" category from the specialist marketing conference #INREACH.

In 2018 a new chapter in digital storytelling at Mercedes-Benz began with #explorewildtaiga. The campaign offered followers new pictures, videos and other formats for six days, ranging from vlogs to wildlife portraits and landscape shots to behind-the-scenes pictures. The followers experienced a journey in the G-Class through the Finnish taiga from unusual perspectives which they chose themselves. The new "MB Journeys" Messenger Bot let followers decide how they wanted to proceed on each day of the online tour.