Good influence
Jul 11, 2017
ARLINGTON, VA – As readers may recall, back in May, USA Rice teamed up with 14 Instagram influencers known for their work in the gluten-free and parenting/lifestyle sphere to bring attention to U.S.-grown rice as the go-to grain for gluten-free diets. This strategy used visual storytelling via Instagram to raise awareness during May’s Celiac Awareness Month and the impressive power of exponential message growth was on display.
Each influencer created two unique Instagram posts that highlighted rice recipes and took readers on a step-by-step cooking journey through both a creative recipe post and an engaging hands-on video. The posts also were pushed out via each influencer’s additional social channels including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. To further increase exposure, high-quality content from two of the influencers, @nobread and @glutenfree.followme, was amplified by USA Rice with additional paid support on Facebook and Instagram.
The campaign concluded with 84 original posts that included recipe postings and quick recipe videos that all featured U.S.-grown rice messaging. Collectively, the recipe posts and videos generated more than 6.3 million impressions and 505,668 interactions resulting in an engagement rate of 8 percent - 6 percent higher than Instagram’s average engagement rate. In addition to the immediate impact of the campaign, USA Rice retained all of the influencers’ videos and photos to use across social media channels.
“We are very pleased with the results from this campaign, but there is still work to be done in broadening USA Rice’s audience and continuing to raise awareness of U.S.-grown rice,” said Katie Maher, USA Rice director for domestic promotions. “Continue to stay tuned and follow #ThinkRice across our social media channels to stay up to date with our efforts. And if you have a social media account, be sure to share and repost to help spread the U.S. rice messages!”