4 Strategies for Instagram Takeovers


September 11, 2014

instagram takeover

If you’re on Instagram, you’ve probably seen the wave of Instagram takeovers from brands, businesses, and the like. By handing over your account, you can cross audiences and followers, showcase talent or projects that your team is working on, and reward your most loyal fans. 

See how some brands large and small have excelled at Instagram takeovers in the examples below.

Show Off Your Talent and Workplace

Let an employee, student, or volunteer takeover your Instagram profile to show your workplace, the people who work there, and what their day looks like. To see what a day is like at Berkeley Lab, you don’t have to travel to California for a tour of the multidisciplinary national laboratory. Followers of the Berkeley Lab Instagram account got a sneak peek of a day through the eyes of an intern. The Public Affairs Department handed over they keys to its Instagram account to an intern to share a behind-the-scenes look at the lab and the projects that these bright individuals spend time on each day.

berkeley lab instagram takeover

Reward Your Advocates and Influencers

What better way to show your appreciation for fans and customers than letting them get behind your account to share their passion! General Electric did just that, creating a contest to reward one lucky fan a trip to the GE Aviation facility in Wales. Yes, Wales. @adamsenatori, a photographer and pilot from Wisconsin, was the lucky winner. His photos were shared with GE’s followers for the day.

ge instagram takeover

Grant VIP Access

If you have access to well-known people in your industry, consider working with them for an Instagram takeover. Wooly’s, a performance venue in Des Moines, gives fans a chance to get to know the bands playing at their venue by giving access to their account to the bands themselves. These takeovers show what the band eats before the show, what they travel in, and more! The brand experience goes beyond the show and this sets Wooly’s apart from many other venues.

woolys instagram takeover

Connect to Industry Leaders

Brands sometimes have access to influencers and industry leaders that fans could only hope to meet. By leveraging these connections online, brands can grow their following and increase their clout as well. If fans hadn’t gotten enough of cover star Jenna Dewan Tatum in SELF Magazine’s November issue, they could see more when Jenna took over SELF’s Instagram account. This exclusive peek into Jenna’s world was one that fans couldn’t get anywhere else.

self instagram takeover

Ready to hand over your Instagram account? Make sure to set clear guidelines for those taking over. Set hashtags to keep all users consistent, be creative, and, most of all, have fun.

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Photo via Flickr user Jason Howie
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is a strategist, speaker, educator, and author of Brand Now: How to Stand Out in a Crowded, Distracted World and Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. He is the Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital, an educator at the University of Iowa, and host of the On Brand podcast. More about Nick.