Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Mercedes-Benz most successful brand on Instagram: #1BillionLikes – the billion mark has been cracked
november 23, 2018 - Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz most successful brand on Instagram: #1BillionLikes – the billion mark has been cracked

  • Of the "Interbrand Best Global Brands 2018" #MercedesBenz is the brand with the most "likes" on #instagram.
  • Over 35 million fans all over the world follow #MercedesBenz channels on #instagram.
  • The premium brand thanks fans with a special website and an exhibition at the #MercedesBenz Museum in Stuttgart.

Stuttgart. #MercedesBenz 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, #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz accounts on the online photo and video service.

To mark this milestone #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz 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 #MercedesBenz.

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.

In 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 #MercedesBenz 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.

1 The stated figures were determined in accordance with the prescribed measuring method. These are the "NEDC CO2 figures" according to Art. 2 No. 1 Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1153. The fuel consumption figures were calculated based on these figures. Further information on the vehicles on offer, including the WLTP values, can be found for each country at www.mercedes-benz.com

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