There are lots of Instagram profiles. Few stand out.
Welcome back to the next installment of our Social Spotlight Series! We’ve decided to share accounts that stand out in our feeds and our thoughts about what makes them successful. Our Social Spotlights focus on IG accounts that illustrate valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, influencers, marketers, and anyone who wants to optimize their Instagram.
Today we’re talking about @vitaminaswim, a unique company that sells super sexy, super sustainable lounge and swimwear. With a mission of “Look Good. Feel Good. Do Good.,” Vitamin A Swim stands behind the message that style and sustainability are inseparable.
Featured Profile Overview
Located in California and embracing the bohemian vibe, @vitaminaswim has 223,000 followers and has been posting since late 2013/early 2014. By donating a proceed of every sale to 1% For the Planet, the company makes customers feel good about helping the environment when they make each stylish, comfortable, and sustainable purchase.
Vitamin A Swim’s bio is set up with a short and sweet description that emphasizes their sustainable mission. The logo is a wordmark that uses a custom, serif font set against a white background. The font choice almost imitates a dictionary and exudes simplicity and style.
As we scroll down, it’s easy to see how they’ve organized their IG campaigns into their Highlights, which are identically represented by a nude, beige color. This skin tone is reflected in many of the lounge and swimwear shots throughout the page.
Considering the whole page, the visual aesthetic is truly minimalist, which also reflects the design of most of their clothing. Their page features mostly sexy photos, which is typical for swim brands, but they also include laid-back, comfy shots and very real photos that aren’t super-polished.
It’s clear from their older posts that @vitaminaswim doesn’t just post about the perfect California beach girl. They post about moms, pregnant women, and body-positivity. Their clothing isn’t just for the small segment of the market that fits that model body type. While their page mostly features model-esque perfect beach body campaigns, there are sprinkles of other body types as well.
Vitamin A Swim has also tapped into high-level influencers, like the famous post of Ayesha Curry modeling one of their suits. They embrace diversity in race, shape, size, and content. Their content embraces community efforts, and it all ties back to the mission of sustainability.
What We Think Is Working
Vitamin A Swim is not afraid to take a stand; in fact, they’ve built their brand off of a cause, and they proudly promote their partnership with 1% for the Planet. The brand makes it clear that there’s a meaning to every purchase.
Unlike brands who are paralyzed about what to say about current events, Vitamin A Swim is picking what they feel will match at their brand and community, and they’re standing behind what they believe. They’re making and creating relevant campaigns as they stay true to their company’s mission.
Through this messaging, @vitaminaswim has created the opportunity for people to be proud of wearing their brand. When people recognize someone wearing this brand, it shows that they care about the environment. Anyone who wears @vitaminaswim embraces a strong set of ideals about the environment, style, beauty, and comfort.
Another strength is their utilization of Instagram Shop throughout their posts. Their team makes sure that people can purchase the product they see right away.
When it comes to Vitamin A Swim’s website, the loading times are fast, and they feature great product shots and top-notch delivery. Their biggest success is that they tie in their sustainability throughout the entire website.
What Could Be Done Better
While the Vitamin A Swim website does do a great job with messaging, the strengths end there. The pop-up on the mobile site shows up just below the scroll bar, meaning it’s not sized correctly and is killing their opt-in rate.
If you’re coming from Instagram, it’s difficult to find what you’re looking for. In fact, you’re 75% down the page before you can find the products you just saw on Instagram.
The website is also missing instant social proof, which is a major strength they should be playing to. They should bring their Instagram content to the top as bridge content. The only current bridge content is the general layout and style.
While there’s a header call to action and some social proof, they don’t follow the eComm best practice of transitioning the viewer to the categories. Overall, the website needs major work to get the lead to the product they saw on Instagram faster.
Analytics / Insights
Vitamin A Swim posts every single day and their average engagement rate has been close to 3.7%, which is 2x the normal engagement rate for their industry.
Because they’ve been posting for so long, it’s interesting that you can even see when the Instagram organic reach was much higher. Their posts were getting the same amount of engagement with fewer followers before the algorithm changed.
Over that same timeline, Instagram saw their ad platform grow exponentially, which is why @vitaminaswim’s posts started reaching fewer followers. It became tougher to stay relevant organically as more ads crept onto the platform. Despite this, their engagement is still high for their industry.
Key Takeaways
Pushing users who have come over to the website from Instagram right to the products is an easy fix. Site visitors shouldn’t have to scroll down so far to reach the products they’re seeking.
While they’ve done so much so well on the social side, their website falls flat and is a conversion killer because of its design. This weakness is probably amplified by the fact that they have an awesome social following, incredible product shots, and yet more people aren’t put in a buying situation more quickly.
Considering @vitaminaswim’s content, their posts with the highest engagement posts are not product shots or model shots. The top-performing posts are about sustainability, the planet, and what’s happening in the world today.
Yet there’s still a quick way, on IG, for customers to purchase because their product shots are tied to Instagram Shop, so those product-forward posts do help secure that conversion. Ultimately, @vitaminaswim has a strong IG strategy, but their website needs a redesign.
Tune in next week to see our next installment of the Social Spotlight Series. Join our mailing list to get Goodwin knowledge and insights like this delivered straight to your inbox!