Case Study: 60 Days of Instagram Marketing

To show you the positive impact 60 days of Instagram marketing can have on your business, Left Lane Digital took over Refill Cafe's Instagram account. Refill is a coffee shop and restaurant located in San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood. 

As you will see below, in just two months, Left Lane Digital was able to organically increase Refill's Instagram followers by 243% and post likes by 273%. Best of all, Refill saw an increase in revenue during this 60-day campaign. Read on for more details. 

Day 1 of Instagram Marketing:

Followers: 313
Most Likes on post: 68

When we hijacked @refillsd's Instagram account on September 22, a photo hadn't been shared on their profile in over a month. Their followers were at 313 and the most "liked" post (one of a crepe) had only 68 likes. 

Day 60 of Instagram Marketing:

Followers: 1,074  (+243%)
Most Likes on Post: 254 (+273%)

In just two months, we were able to increase Refill's Instagram followers by 243% and their post engagement (likes) by 273%. This was all done organically without any paid ads. Not bad, huh? 

Why This Matters

We know what you're thinking: "How does having more Instagram followers and more post engagement help my business?" 

These increases weren't made by blindly following anyone and everyone on Instagram in the hopes that they'd like Refill back. We used geo-targeted hashtags to get Refill's posts in Instagram feeds that would be seen by San Diegans, especially San Diegans who love to eat out.

We followed and engaged with people who engage with nearby businesses, because they're more likely to live or work near Refill and therefore more likely to actually come by sometime.

We built a loyal digital community around Refill by interacting (liking or commenting) with customers who tagged or posted pictures of Refill on their Instagram profiles, and we reposted photos taken by customers (always giving them photo credit). 

Increased Publicity

Here's an example of why Instagram marketing works. As you will see in the comments section of this post about brunch, five separate people tagged their friends to share this image and talk about going to Refill. This is just one example of many. 

When you post great content and use the right hashtags, it also increases the likelihood of being reposted or shared. For instance, the popular San Diego food Instagram profile, @youstayhungrysd, with over 69,700 followers, reposted a picture of Refill's food. It received 847 "likes" and tons of comments from people tagging their friends with comments like "can we try this place" and "next brunch spot". The extra publicity also resulted in a spike in Refill's website traffic on day it was posted.  

Getting into the "Top Posts" Section

Remember how we mentioned geo-targeted hashtags earlier? Using relevant San Diego hashtags placed Refill's posts into feeds where they could be discovered by potential customers. If a post is especially on-point, there's a chance it will make it into the hashtag feed's competitive "Top Posts" section.

Here you'll see that we used the hashtag #youstayhungrysd for Refill's post featuring avocado toast and coffee. This hashtag feed has over 96,047 posts and Refill's image made it in the hashtag's"Top Posts" section for the day, providing Refill with more exposure. That same photo also made it into the "Top Posts" section for #americasfinestcity (53k posts), #sandiegoeats (31k posts), #bestofsandiego (25k posts), #sandiegofood (26k posts), and #northparksd (22k). 

Can Instagram Marketing Increase Revenue? 

Now it's time to answer the much-anticipated question: Can Instagram marketing increase sales and revenue?Left Lane Digital started Instagram marketing services for Refill on September 22nd and continued through the month of October. As you will see in the graph, Refill's revenue increased about 32% in October compared to the month of August (before we took over their Instagram account).

There are a lot of factors that play into revenue and the success of a business, but it's safe to say that Refill's Instagram campaign has been a success so far.   

Now It's Your Turn

Are you ready to see how Left Lane Digital can help your small business with social media marketing and other services? Contact us and let's chat.