Maybe Target Tried Too Hard

Katie Mars
Nov 6 · 3 min read

Paying attention to the comments on your companies Instagram is just as important as checking your reviews on your website. In today’s day and age, social media means that nothing is private, and everyone can either sing their praises, or their disappointment for everyone to see. Because of that, social listening is a key indicator to what the public thinks of your brand.

Target is a store that we all know and love, they sell everything from home decor to groceries to makeup to clothes. If you want it, Target’s probably got it. Being such a powerhouse brand comes with a lot of pressure. Massing over 4.1 million followers on Instagram, Target knows how to keep people engaged. They have even recently partnered with popular influencers to keep themselves in the forefront of trends. But did it backfire? They recently released an advertisement video where Emma Chamberlain, a YouTube sensation, and Angela Kinsey (that’s right, as in Angela from The Office), team up and go on a “Target Run” together. The duo are a match made in heaven, and the video is funny and cute, but if you use social listening tools, you can see that the video is not getting great feedback. The comments are flooded with jokes like:

“Target must have paid a fortune to plaster this all over everyone’s recommendation”

“rich people go on a shopping spree at a relatively cheap store”

“So we all agree right? Everyone got this on the top of their home screen even though we continue to refresh it’s still there….”

From what we can take from social listening, people are not really buying that celebrities like Angela Kinsey and Emma Chamberlain actually shop at Target. Not only that, but this video has been pushed by the algorithm, so it’s constantly in people’s “recommended” tab (hinting that Target paid a lot of money to put it there.)

But those aren’t the only celebrities with a sudden love for Target. Other’s include Will Smith, Ashley Benson, Taylor Swift, Bobby Berk, Dylan Sprouse and Michelle Phan. One can only wonder how much that cost them!

Target’s Instagram seems to be highly monitored, as you can see from the above photo they quickly respond to customer complaints. Their Instagram seems to be sprinkled with complaints and negativity, but their Twitter is where Target seems to have fun!

They are constantly replying to people’s tweets about them, and having fun conversations back and forth!

Hopefully someone at Target is using their social listening tools and will cut back on the celebrity ads. Target is personally one of my favorite stores, and despite the negativity on some of their social platforms, I don’t think they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon!

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