Target's taking trick-or-treating onto Instagram

Since we've established that consumers are more inclined to engage with visually-driven content, it always surprises me how underutilized Instagram is as a marketing platform, particularly in Singapore. This week, Target rolled out the Instagram edition of its ongoing Halloween campaign, and it uses the channel in an ingenious and endearingly creative way.

Target invited its followers to go virtual trick-or-treating, by posting photos of intricately decorated haunted houses on its main Instagram profile. As with real life, you tap once to knock on the door. Unlike real life, tapping once on Instagram reveals all the profiles tagged in the photo, which in this case leads users to unique accounts. There, they'll find photo instructions on how to create a Halloween-themed trick or treat (think pumpkin brains punch and mummy pinatas) with products they can find at Target.

This clever adaptation of a well-loved childhood tradition absolutely blew me away, with its creative and strategic use of the Instagram platform to reward its followers a bit of spooky fun while at the same time giving them reason to go instore and make a purchase. As we know, the online community and content on life hacks/DIY tips have an affinity for each other like peanut butter and jelly - even more so during a season like Halloween that thrives on DIY crafting. Not to mention Target's endeavor is much more impressive than your regular dime-a-dozen, hashtag-driven campaigns.

If you're a brand looking to explore direct response marketing, Instagram may not be the best platform to do that since its capabilities for driving sales conversions or leads are still in its infancy. The only progress that's been made to reconcile between Instagram and e-commerce is the launch of Like2Buy, a platform that aims to help close the consumer loop by recreating a brand's Instagram page into a shopable, clickable gallery. But if, like Target, you want to run a brand building campaign on a shoestring (in a manner of speaking), then there's just one question: why aren't you using Instagram?