Bath & Body Works — Instagram Guidelines and Best Practices
Welcome to the Bath & Body Works Social Media team! Please read through this information and use this resource as your guide for tips and for the do’s and don’ts of posting on Instagram.
Bath & Body Works has a variety of products for yourself including shower gels, lotions, perfumes, and soaps and for your home including candles and air fresheners. Our goal is to provide our customers with an exceptional experience through the power of fragrances.
Read this guide and get to know how Bath & Body Works manages Instagram.
Voice
Bath & Body Works brand voice should be bright, cheerful and positive with social media posts and customer interactions on social as it would be in store. In-store interactions with customers are energetic and happy to help the customer with any questions or recommendations and this should be reflected on social as well.
Here’s an example of a how to help an undecided customer make a decision on a product in a helpful, friendly way.
Posts
Captions for Instagram posts should contain 138–150 characters but the preferred length should be less than 125 characters. The character limit on Instagram for captions is 2,200 characters but that is not necessary. When users are on Instagram, they usually scroll quick through posts and a short caption is more likely to catch their attention. Emojis should be used to show cheerful brand voice and enforce bright message. The hashtag limit for Instagram is 30 but since Bath & Body Works Instagram has over 6 million followers, six hashtags should be used in the first comment to increase engagement. Hashtags should be specific and pertinent to the post, not random. Another way to increase engagement on Instagram account is to ask questions in captions for audience interaction.
Here is a good example of an Instagram caption
Bath & Body Works should use engaging, high-quality pictures on Instagram to portray the cheerful, bright voice of the brand. High-quality visuals need to be eye-catching and match the theme of the account. Be sure to avoid uploading photos that do not meet the pixel count. Photos need to keep quality throughout editing and posting process to maintain neat and orderly theme. A way to boost engagement further is to post user-generated content to build a stronger community. High-quality videos should be used as well to show new products, new packaging, or creative videos.
Here is an example of post that is high-quality that meets the pixel count
Here is an example of a post that is blurry and does not meet the pixel count
Customer issues
Bath & Body Works should respond to all customer issues in a friendly and helpful tone on Instagram. If a customer has an issue with a product or something else, a way to resolve this is by direct messaging the customer or replying to their comment. The response to the customer should be apologetic and informative to the customer letting them know a phone number to contact or another way for them to reach someone to resolve their issue.
Highlights
Bath & Body Works has Highlights on Instagram which consist of Instagram stories in their own category. Some categories include Candles, Wallpapers, Activities, Gift Guide, etc. Instagram Highlights should include swipe up links so customers can shop the product being used in the Instagram Story. Instagram stories should be high-quality and interactive including the use of gifs and emojis.
Here is an example of an interactive Instagram Story
Interactive stories increase engagement and in this example, followers will complete the bingo template and share with their followers on their account which can increase profile reach.
Content Ideas
A way that Bath & Body Works can improve engagement is by creating interactive content such as graphics that say, “Which candle are you based on your Zodiac sign?” or “What Wallflower scent do you need based on your mood?”. These posts are interactive and are likely to increase sales on those products.
Following these practices can improve and grow the Bath & Body Works Instagram page and build a stronger relationship with the customers.
