Our mission for Barnes & Noble's Instagram presence is to connect the book experts at B&N to the community of book lovers on social media with wit and relatability and in a timely spirit, while evoking the inimitable magic that happens in our stores across the country.
In 2017, we refined our @barnesandnoble Instagram strategy to focus on presenting Barnes & Noble as a highly-relatable source of inspiration, entertainment and authentic discovery for book lovers. Our national @barnesandnoble account featured a compelling mix of studio and event photography and graphic design, while we challenged our stores to post compelling UGC reflecting the exciting events happening at their unique B&N locations.
Winning Wordplay
At Barnes & Noble, words are quite literally ourbusiness, and are at the heart of what we do every day. Quotations from beloved books and renowned authors spark memories, start conversations, and inspire our Instagram followers to discover their next great read. Partnering with our Digital Experience Design team, we wove these words into an Instagram journey that kept seasonality and storytelling in the spotlight, but always reflected our brand's aesthetic during major moments. For example, for our February 2018 #IHeartBooks campaign, we transformed relatable quotes into inspirational moments as we celebrated the love of reading all month long.
Books as Art
As we've become more closely acquainted with our B&N Instagram followers, there is one thing we now know for sure: bibliophiles see books as a thing of beauty. They love to behold, admire – even sniff! – books with unapologetic glee. A fresh stack of books on #NewReleaseTuesday inspires a sense of excitement; perfectly-curated bookshelves are their #goals. At Barnes & Noble, we understand the desire to immerse oneself in the beauty of books, and know that sometimes judging a book by its cover is a guilty pleasure unto itself.
#WhoYoullMeetAtBN
As our loyal customers know, Barnes & Noble is so much more than a brand or a bookstore. Our stores are community centers and concert halls, event spaces and book club salons. They're the site of first dates and engagements, study sessions and storytime. Every day, we host authors and celebrities (pictured: Gabourey Sidibe at B&N Union Square in NYC and Leigh Bardugo at B&N The Grove in L.A.) cultural icons, and customers just like you. You never know who you'll meet – or what you'll discover – at Barnes & Noble, and our Instagram presence reflects the endless possibilities.
From 1/1/17 to 1/1/18:
@barnesandnoble National Instagram Followers increased 54%
@barnesandnoble National Instagram Engagements per post increased 9%
B&N's Local (Store) Instagram Followers increased 39%
B&N's Local (Store) Instagram Engagements per post increased 23%
