How the Planner Community is Winning on Instagram
Building Their Niche
The Happy Planner joined the paper planner scene in 2015 and since then they have exploded in popularity. Currently, they have 534K followers on Instagram and 109K likes on Facebook. Their feed is filled with photos of their different planners and stickers being used, as well as positive or inspirational quotes from their sticker books. They also share photos from their Happy Planner Squad, a group of planners who act as brand ambassadors and influencers for The Happy Planner.
They utilize their Instagram bio by telling those who find their profile what they will find, “inspiration, happiness & community” and have their hashtag in full view for those looking to see more. They also have one of their brand phrases, “Plan A Happy Life” as a focus point too. Their highlights are even on brand with the colorful heart discs that their planners are known for.
For the love of #HASHTAGS
Instagram is one of the best places for niche communities to interact. Makeup, planners, cats, dogs, purses, and more! Hashtags bring these communities together so they can follow, share and interact with others who share their love for whatever they love! The Happy Planner has about nine hashtags used regularly that related to their products specifically.
The #plannercommunity is strong and popular on Instagram. There are general hashtags like #planneraddict or #plannerbabe, and also some popular hashtags are signifiers of the type of planner brand used like #thehappyplanner #erincondrenlifeplanner #plumpaperplanner #simplifiedplanner or #daydesigner.
The Happy Planner started the hashtag #iamahappyplanner as a way for those in the community to share posts that express why they are a happy planner and how they use the happy planner. These posts were meant to be rawer, less edited and not as curated as the photos often posted in the planner community. It was a way to break free from the need to share perfectly laid out and edited photos, or photos with messy writing and things crossed out.
Influencers/ Ambassadors: The Happy Planner Squad
One areas where The Happy Planner is really successful is with their The Happy Planner Squad. The Squad is a group of The Happy Planner users who applied for a spot on the Squad and were chosen for being The Happy Planner enthusiasts and active users of The Happy Planner product.
Squad members receive product early and then show how the use the product on their Instagram accounts and/or their YouTube channels. They also come up with creative ways to uses the products and the community looks to them for inspiration.
Best Practices
The Happy Planner has been successful in growing their account and brand following because of their use of User Generated Content from infleucners and brand ambassadors, consistency in branding and style, and through the utilization of hashtags.
Pretty Pictures and Positivity
The planner community enjoys sharing beautiful layouts, both before and after pen has touched the paper. Planner spreads, as they are called, are often decorated with stickers
