What Barbie & Ken can teach you about your Instagram marketing strategy

SUMMER SIZZLE FLASH SALE CLICK HERE
Get a 3-pack bundle of my 60 Minute Social Media Content Strategy Sessions for 50% off 🤯
Here’s what you will get in our time together:
👉 optimize your social media accounts including your bios (this includes Instagram and Facebook)
👉  create a content plan and structure for knowing exactly what to post where and when
👉 learn how to create copy for your captions that will convert to CA$H 
Book your first strategy session with me below.👇
SUMMER SIZZLE FLASH SALE CLICK HERE

Hey Hey, Sister Girl! Let’s talk about how Barbie and Ken (shout out to Mattel’s Marketing team) are taking over the internet.  The fabulous world of Barbie and Ken to uncover some mind-blowing lessons for our Instagram marketing game. This is gonna be epic!

“Come on Barbie, Let’s Go Party…”

First, let's talk business! Just like Barbie's marketing team, flexibility is key. Adapting to our audience's ever-changing needs is essential for our success.

We also need to give props to Barbie's marketing team, they deserve a raise. With their extensive market research and knowledge of their target audience, they nailed it. It's time to take notes, 'cause we can learn a lot from them, right?

There is nothing like Barbie's collaborations! Have you seen those brilliant insurance ads? Geico, Liberty Mutual, Progressive – they know how to grab our attention. I once asked Scott why insurance companies have the best commercials, and his answer was they have the money to create them.

Barbie is a great way to illustrate the benefits of our own offers. We learn adaptability, customer focus, storytelling, inclusivity, and consistency from her marketing lessons. We are always growing and expanding every day so our marketing should keep up with the times.

Let me spill the beans on three juicy post ideas that'll get everyone talking about Barbie. Guess what? Barbie's marketing campaign goes far beyond movie releases. Like pros, we can surf that summer wave and ride the current cultural trends.

Who said marketing strategies were just for big companies? There's no reason small businesses can't rock them too. Let's use these traditional marketing techniques to make our entrepreneurial efforts soar!

Just like Barbie, stay true to yourself. Her brand identity is on point while staying true to her core values. Let's work some Instagram magic together, sister girl, by channeling the power of Barbie and Ken. We're here for the party

You’ve always wanted a VIP invite to the coolest party, right? Then you want to be an Instagram Insider. You will get all the current algorithm hacks and tips to grow your following, bring in new potential clients (and friends), and make some MONEY with the GRAM Here’s your invitation to the VIP INSTAGRAM INSIDER SCOOP INVITE!

Connect with Emmy on the GRAM @theheyheyemmy or hang out on Facebook.

Transcript

  📍  📍 Okay, sister, girl, we gotta talk about something because you and I both are literally witnessing marketing brilliance unfold currently in the wild, out in the real world. And yes, I am talking about the Barbie movie. It is out. It has been released. Finally, the buildup that the marketing team has done has been brilliant.

Like I said, and honestly, Barbie has really been great at marketing. For a long, long time, and as a marketing loving nerd watching it unfold now as an adult has been a lot of fun. There's simple shareable content, there's collaborations, there are pink merch everywhere. So in today's episode, we are gonna talk about.

The Barbie movie. And what more specifically can Barbie and Ken teach you about your own Instagram and business strategy? Okay, it's gonna be a fun one. Let's go. Hey. Hey, it's your girl, Emmy Cornwell, Instagram biz coach and social selling expert. Welcome to the Hey, hey, Emmy Show. This is a podcast where we talk about all things that will be helpful for you and your business.

Everything from Instagram tips and tricks to health hacks to relationships, and definitely some Jesus. Basically everything in between Proverbs 31. And Tupac. I am so excited to party with you in each and every episode because ain't no party like a Hey, hey Emmy party. Can I get Amen? All right, let's get into it, sister.

Hey, hey. What's going on? What's up, Barbie girl? Are you a Barbie girl? I know I am. I played with Barbies. I had the Barbie car, the Barbie Dream House. I had all the different types of Barbies. I loved it. When I was in college or high school, I can't even remember when the, you know, Barbie girl song, the Barbie girl, okay, I'm not gonna let, I'm gonna spare you the singing.

But when that song came out, loved it. Now, years and years later, that song is circulating all around TikTok. It's being, everything comes back, right? And so I am so glad you're here because this is gonna be a fun, fun subject and it is relevant. It's not just fun, it's relevant to your business. So I'm glad you're here.

I am your host. Emmy Cornwell, welcome to the Hey, hey, Emmy Show podcast. Let's hop into it because I mean, I know we need raises, right? We we're not in jobs. We run businesses and we get to decide when we give ourselves a raise. But you know, who else needs a raise? Is this marketing team for Barbie. It has been so, so fun to watch.

I don't know about you, but I look at traditional marketing and what's. What's working and what is not working in the marketplace, and see how I can utilize that in my e-commerce and digital marketing. There are always, there's always something that you can learn when it comes to that if you have your eye out for the right things.

And like I said, it's been super fun at watching it unfold. My favorite, favorite commercial is, so this isn't the bar marketing team, right? Mattel. There's Mattel, which. They have been a marketing phenomenon since the inception of Barbie of 1959. And honestly, like I said, Barbie has really employed various strategies to maintain its popularity and relevance in the ever-changing toy industry over the years.

And I am gonna get into later in this episode, some lessons that we're gonna learn from them. But part of what's been cool about the Barbie marketing is the collaborations. And one of my favorite commercials, I mean, I love insurance commercials anyways, I think they kill it. Geico, um, Liberty Mutual, progressive.

They always, always have the best commercials. And I asked, I always say it. I, I asked Scott though one time, I was like, babe, why are insurance? Why do insurance companies have the best. Commercials and he said, and it was so smart. He's like, because they have the most money. He's like, what? Think about insurance.

Like you're paying for something to potentially happen. You're giving people money. I always struggle with insurance and I do have insurance in some areas. I definitely don't get rental car insurance cuz there's other places you can be covered. Like if you're a Costco card holder. I believe and you, I mean I've been doing this for years.

I hope it's true, but if you rent your car with your Costco card and something happens, you can actually utilize their insurance for that rental. So I'm not like team all insurance. Anyways, that's not the point. What the point is, is they crush it in their marketing and Progressive has done it with the Barbie movie.

Have you seen the commercial where they're standing in front of the Barbie Dream Mansion and the guy is talking about like the client that they have. And other people are like, we're standing outside of her house. Like they know who he's talking about, but he is like trying to brag on. He is like, I really wanna tell you who it is, but I, but I can instead of, can't, can, I don't know.

I just laugh at that commercial every time it gets me. I know what's coming, but I, I just love it. It's been amazing. So a bunch of other companies, right, have. It's done. Done the same thing. They have capitalized on this cultural phenomenon. Crocs, have you seen the hot pink Barbie? Crocs? I don't even like Crocs, but I'm like kind of liking it cuz it's Barbie.

And they're like, platform. Who else? Another shoe company. Aldo created a Barbie high Heel with the iconic Barbie Barbie pink pillar and making it look like super. The material that they use for the shoe makes it look like it's even plastic. There. There's a car commercial with all the different Barbie characters in it.

Like there are so many different collaborations and companies that have been getting in on this, and you should too. Just because you're not, you know, a big, huge conglomerate doesn't mean you're not able to utilize some of the same strategies. And that's why we're doing this episode. And really, honestly, that's one of the things that I love to do most for you is bring those traditional marketing techniques and strategies that are happening and bring them to you in a way that you can utilize them for your small business and for your entrepreneurial efforts.

Because sister Girl, We wanna cash in on the grant. So what does this mean for you? What are those lessons that you can learn? We're gonna go through a few of those lessons and then I'm actually gonna give you a couple post ideas for your content that you can utilize that are Barbie themed as well. So here is lesson number one from Ms.

Barbie herself, AKA Mattel's marketing team, you wanna embrace innovation and evolution. I know right now I feel like I am going through an evolution, almost like a shedding, and I guess you would call it a pivot. In my business, I really don't know where we're headed exactly. I don't have 100% clarity.

We're just moving forward. But as a business, you are always going to be evolving because you're building a personal brand, which is what I talk about, and you are not the same person you are today as you were yesterday. If you are growing. There's no standing still. You're either going forward or you're going backwards.

And I know that I always wanna be getting better, which means I am focusing on growth in all areas of my life, which means you're gonna evolve, you're going to change. So Barbie's marketing team has consistently adapted to these changing trends. And so in and social norms and cultural shifts. Do you remember when they came out with the first Barbie that had disability?

Cause that was in a wheelchair. Or the first Barbie to be in a political office to be a C E O to like when they started to embrace some of these, especially in the women's movement, it was huge. It was absolutely a huge deal. Now there is tons of diversity in the dolls themselves. The brand has updated their image.

They've collaborated with various franchise and influencers to really stay relevant and appeal to the new generations. That are Barbie lovers. So here is the lesson is you also then need to embrace the change and be willing to adapt with your products and services to meet the evolving customer needs and preferences.

Does that mean that you need to change? Change your values and what you stand for? Absolutely not. Does that mean you need to just abandon chip in all your offers? Absolutely not. But it's very healthy as a business owner to be constantly evaluating. What is working and what is not working. And then in that you may have to pivot, you may have to change.

You may have to evolve. Or evolve rather. So here's the second lesson that Barbie does really, really well. They know their target audience. Okay? Barbie's marketing team has a deep, deep understanding of who they are speaking to, who they are, are creating their content, and their ads, and their campaigns, and their commercials, and all of the things they know.

They regularly are conducting market research to identify these trends and preferences and pain points and pleasure points of their consumers. Are you doing the same thing you can do? Absolutely do the same thing. Here is the lesson in that for you is you need to invest in market research to understand your target's, audience desires, pain points, pleasure points, behaviors, and then tailor your content and tailor your marketing and promotions accordingly.

You do not have when it's, when I say invest, I'm not saying you need to invest money. You need to probably invest time. How can you do that? Several different ways. You can do that through using polls in your Instagram stories. I talk about this all the time. That is one of the easiest ways to gain a pulse on your ideal client.

If your audience is filled with your ideal client. If not, then you're probably gonna get skewed answers. So what's another way that you can do market research? You can literally ask someone. Questions. You can get a group together. You could DM someone separately and be like, Hey, I would love to like buy you a coffee and just, you know, do a Zoom chat.

I have like five different questions for you, probably 15 minutes of your time. And you know, for that I'll, in exchange, I'll, I'll hook you up with a coffee. And then you ask them, granted this person's your ideal client. You ask them some of these questions to help you with your market research. This, this strategy, this lesson is really underutilized in the online space.

100%, especially in the coaching business, I believe. Here is the third thing that Barbie teaches us, I guess Barbie and Ken, but let's just focus on Barbie, right, is you want to create what's called aspirational branding. I've talked about this previously with my metaphor of you. As the expert, as the person who is one step ahead of your ideal client, you're on a mountaintop now, we're all going glory to glory.

So you're not just gonna stop at that mountaintop. Remember, there's no stain still. You're even going backwards or forwards. But down at the bottom of the mountain is your ideal client, and she's looking up to you. You are the beacon of hope. She is looking up to you for what to do. She is like begging you to give her the exact steps, the proven blueprint, the proven strategy.

What did you do to get to the life you have because she wants that life. So when you're doing things like documenting your day and stories, and you're not manufacturing anything, you're just authentically living your life and then you're putting a camera and filming it, filming it, and then sharing it, something in your life.

Is attractive to that ideal client. You do not need to be the lifestyles, the rich and famous and be Jo, you know, jet setting to Bora boar and Gucci this and Chanel that to have an aspirational life. Now, I will tell you, money hit when you do travel. That always does increase your engagement. It always increases your story views because people are nosy and they also wanna vicariously live through you.

So, Do that. Make sure you document that. Anytime you travel, it's always gonna give you an algorithm boost, which is, it does, it feels good. It's a dopamine hit, right? But even something as as simple as, say your ideal client has a full-time job and they don't wanna have a full-time job, and you are someone who owns their own business and works from home or you know, is, has flexibility and leveraging in your schedule.

Well, what do you think is attractive to that person? That very thing. They want what you have, so don't get it twisted. Don't think it has to be this huge, big thing to have an aspirational life. And, and remember, you're building a personal brand. So what you show in your life is your branding. Barbie has always, always represented an aspirational lifestyle.

Hello, Malibu Barbie, uh, Dreamhouse. Even just these. Wordings the words that they use in their marketing. We know what Malibu stands for. We know when you say dreamhouse, we all have dreamhouse. Okay? So you as the consumer, are imagining themselves in different roles and careers, and that's what you want to be able to convey to your audience as well.

The brand has successfully portrayed Barbie as an empowered and capable character that resonates. With people seeking for positive role models, are you a positive role model? Are you, I know that maybe not something that you've set out to do in your life and your business and your brand, but you are, that is the definition of influencer.

Did you know that we are all influencers because we have influence over our neighbors. We have influence over our family, our friends, our communities, our coworkers, every space and place of. That we walk throughout in life, we potentially have influence, which means we have the choice to be a positive role model or not.

Whether you've asked for it or not, it's the same with athletes when a like and, and celebrities really too, and this has always been I guess, a long time discussion of like celebrities. They're like, well, I didn't, I didn't sign up to be a role model. You're right, you didn't, but you are because of your platform.

And it's the exact same thing, just on a different scale for you. Does that make sense? I, hopefully, hopefully that was, that was made you think because are you, the question to ask yourself is, am I being a positive role model? Am I doing and living life in a way that is a positive example that gives my ideal client at the bottom of the mountain the steps, right?

Like I. Exactly what you did to get where, where you are, you are now, then metaphorically reaching down to the bottom of the mountain and helping your ideal client take one step closer to her goal. And you're doing that through several different ways. And one of them is just simply documenting your day, being the role model, and then yes, giving them like the strategy and the educational and valuable content to help them.

So what are you learning in this lesson from Barbie? Well, you also need to craft a compelling brand that evokes positive emotions. And aligns with the aspirations of you. No. The aspirations of your target market. Are you helping your ideal client take one step closer to her goal, not your goal for her?

Here is another really great lesson. Hopefully you're loving these. I love this episode. I probably, this probably is gonna end up being one of my favorite episodes because here's another thing that we are learning from Barbie is about storytelling and I believe, Wholeheartedly in the power of storytelling.

That's why I love Instagram stories. That's why I love hearing about other people's stories. Stories is where your, where everything begins. That's where your home is, is in your story. That's where your testimony is, is in your story. That's where everything that magic happens. So Barbie's marketing team has really leveraged the storytelling to create engaging narratives.

Around all their products. Again, it's not just Barbie anymore, it's Ken and then Midge. And then, I mean there's bar like Barbie has tons of friends now and tons of family members and you know, Barbie has had various careers and adventures to provide this story work narrative that has set this company up has set Mattel up for merchandising and marketing campaigns.

Go lore. Chach Chang is basically what it has. Set it up. So here's your lesson. You need to use storytelling as well to connect with your customers emotionally and create a deeper bond with your brand. Content that you create is meant to create connection, which then is made to con create conversations and conversations equals cash.

You need to be able to tap into the emotional based selling techniques that I teach you. So your ideal client gets to know, like, and trust you because that's who they buy from. They buy from people they know, like, and trust. And they are buying you, not necessarily your service and products first. If they don't like you, they ain't buying from you.

They don't like you, they don't trust you. They ain't buying from you. You get it, you following me? So tapping into stories is, Something I, I just like screamed from the rooftops all the time because facts tell, stories sell. And if you just tell 'em the facts, girl, you ain't selling which jeans, you ain't making that money.

And here is, gosh, there's so many different lessons. So I have a couple different ones jotted down. Which ones do I wanna share with you more? Let's see here. Gosh, we could go all, there's a couple more. Let's just, let's just bang 'em out. Okay. Let's just get 'em done. Emphasize inclusivity and diversity.

Barbie's marketing team has really made significant efforts, as we've talked about in this episode previously, up to this point, to promote diversity and inclusivity in their whole doll lineup. And that includes different body types, different skin tones, different hairstyles, different, different diversity in all the different aspects of the world we live in.

And I would ask you, are you also, I. Doing the same thing with your products and services. Are you for everyone? No. Right? That's the vanilla ice cream method. That, or um, metaphor that it, no, you are not, but you know what you can do for everyone. You can value and respect everyone in a diverse customer base because even in your ideal client, they're not all exactly the same.

There is gonna be diversity. Speaking of in your customer base. Here's another lesson because community, community, community is such a huge thing that I think we don't talk about as much, especially in our, our digital age of influencers is Barbie really knows how to have a strong online presence. That builds community.

They are engaging with their fans through social media and online platforms. They're actively listening to the feedback. They're responding to customer inquiries, and they're collaborating with other influencers and brand advocates. Again, to build that community, to build those raving fans, those super fans, those people who are like ride or dies, are you doing the same?

Here's the lesson. Build that. Engaged in active online community around your brand. Interact with people, talk to them. Conversations equals cash. Hello. If people comment on yourself, comment back. If people send you messages, send them back. Now I am talking to myself because pregnancy and having a child has really thrown wrench in how good I was at that.

I definitely have room for improvement when it comes to responding back to people in the dms. Um, and I tell you every episode to DM me. And I still will tell you to do that. I just, my response time is not as quick because I've also set up some boundaries that I didn't have when I first was building my brand because I, in a startup was going to town.

I was hustling and I was bootstrapping everything. And d I ying and I was, I was in it. I was in the trenches. I had the time and the effort to do it, and life just looks differently. But that doesn't mean that I'm not having relationships. And engaged conversations with people in the dms. I'm just a little bit slower.

What's that meme of like when people like text you and then you text 'em back like four days later and you carry on? Like there was like never any time gap. That is me, but at the end of the day, in some capacity, you can't just not do it. You have to at least do it at some level. And what level is it that you are doing that?

Because the more you can do that, that's where. Relationships are built and that's where the strength of your brand will come from in regards to your connection with your audience. Here is the last one. We're here the last lesson that I'm gonna give you some post ideas. Okay. You probably are gonna have to re-listen to this episode cuz this one is juicy.

It's filled with so much good stuff and hopefully it's getting your, your brain thinking and questions to ask yourself. And you may have to get real, real, honest with yourself, especially with this one. Consistency and authenticity. Despite many changes in adaptations, Barbie has maintained a consistent brand identity and core values.

So they have included things like diversity. They have evolved with culture and with the times, but at the end of the day, they have still remained true to who they are. And that's what I was saying earlier too. It's like, no, you don't change your values. You don't change what you stand for just because you're evolving, you're pivoting and you're keeping up with the Joneses.

Brand authenticity has to stay no matter what is going so that you can endure popularity through the, the different seasons, through the different eras, through the different times, the decades, all of the things. Cuz you want a business for a long time, not just a business for a short time. Right? You're here for a long time, not a good time.

What's that song? I think it actually says, I'm here for a good time, a long time. So X that, that one didn't work. You know what we are batting 99%. That's pretty good. So here's the lesson, sister, girl, stay true to you. You are your superpower, your brand value and core messages. You need to stay true to that.

That is going to provide consistency and authenticity in your marketing. Consistency in your efforts is a different thing, but consistency and authenticity to build the trust with your audience to establish. That brand identity. People need to know who you are, what you do, how you can help them, and what you stand for.

Because if they're giving you their hard earned money, they wanna know that it's going to a good place. So while each business is unique, these lessons from Barbie's marketing team can really serve as valuable insights for crafting successful. Marketing strategies that are gonna help you cash in on the gram.

Remember, adaptability, customer focus, storytelling, inclusivity, consistency are all gonna be essential elements in creating a strong, strong brand presence and connecting with your target target audience more effectively. And one of the ways we do that is through our content. So here are the three different post ideas that I have for you to help you create content around Barbie because yes, the movie just released.

But that doesn't mean the marketing brilliance doesn't end here. I think it's gonna be a whole, I mean, I think it's a summer of Barbie, so hop on this before fall. Get in on this trend. Get in on this in regards to what's happening culturally, because you have to stay relevant. You and your brand have to stay relevant, and one of the ways of doing that is utilizing what's going on in pop culture, in your marketing strategies.

Okay? So here are the three post ideas. Think of it like this. You are Barbie. You are Barbie. So when you're creating this content, you're gonna talk about this Barbie. And I'm pointing to myself right now because I am gonna create content about what I am sharing in regards to my business. So I'm saying like this, Barbie does X, Y, and Z.

This Barbie believes X, Y, and Z. So you are also this Barbie because you are the personal brand that's creating the content. So the first post idea is creating a glitter burst. Have you seen that? Like Mattel has the, it's like a sunburst that's always behind the, the dolls and in the marketing materials will add glitter to it because I just feel like I've been seeing a lot of hot pink glitter to, for this, this Barbie movie.

So you wanna go into Canva and create. You're gonna search for the glitter burst and you're gonna create that. So you're gonna have to change out the colors and things like that, but then you're gonna create that. It could be a static photo, it could be a real as well.  It really just depends on what you're doing, but you want to make sure that you get that glitter background.

Search that in photos in Canva, change some texts. You're gonna have to say this Barbie and then quote something that you want your audience to know. Okay? You may have to delete some other image, um, images or gifs or things on that Canva, and then you're gonna add yourself from your camera roll into that post.

Okay. Again, you're gonna have to adjust some elements positionings and things like that. And then you're gonna download it as an mp4. If you want it to be a real, if not, then it's just a jpeg that is your first post. Now, I can't give you exactly what to post, otherwise this, this would be even longer.

But I am giving you where to head and the template essentially, and then you're gonna incorporate what is relevant for your ideal client into these posts. Okay, so here is another post. Here's number two. Again, it's this Barbie, but think of it like a thread style or Twitter style. So what would this Barbie say?

What is something that she would say, you know, does your Barbie create content that helps her audience also create content that converts? Or you know, think of like a one-liner, two liner, a tweetable moment, a thread moment that you as a Barbie, this Barbie would say. Again, you can do that in Canva. You can search the elements that you would need to do that in Canva.

Also, by the way, utilize the hot pink color. Yes. It may not be your brand color, but it's okay to kind of switch it up every once in a while to visually. Someone's eye when they come to your feed is they're gonna see that because it's not blending into what your normal brand colors are. Now that might be controversial.

You don't have to do it. Just just thought. Here's the third post idea that is Barbie inspired, and it's a lifestyle post. So lifestyle posts are always a great way to give lots of information to your audience. Effectively. You can do this, for example, to introduce yourself. Which is always great for like a Friday post or even tell your audience what you have to offer.

So again, you're gonna utilize Canva and you're gonna search for a template, and then you're gonna replace the photo in the template with your photo.  If you have money hit, if you have a photo that is very, kinda like Barbie, like esque, like bright colors and colorful and fun and like portrays the aspirational life.

Use that photo, you're gonna replace all the elements with things like this Barbie, like if you're giving, um, in this example, if you're doing what your offer offers are, this Barbie can help you with dot, dot, dot. Make sure you change the colors of the bubbles. Um, you can utilize your brand colors or you can utilize the Barbie like ones.

And then download that and upload it to your Instagram. Put a little caption captioning, and you are good to go. There are three really simple, easy Barbie inspired posts that you can do this week for your content to capitalize on the marketing brilliance that we're, we are witnessing. Okay, I love this episode.

If you did too, please take a screenshot, share it in your Instagram stories. Tag me the Hey, hey, Emmy. Bonus points. If you utilize the Aqua Barbie girl, why do I have to sing it every time? You can't just say, I'm a Barbie girl song. It's just not the same bonus points. If you add that music to your stories, money hit also.

Music always, always makes your stories better. Utilize that if you're not utilizing music. I have a podcast episode that I did a while ago that talked about how to utilize music in your Instagram stories and how to find it, how to choose it, how to pick it. I am going to link that in the show notes for you so you can listen to that.

That was a really, really great episode. I utilize mu music all the time. I encourage my clients and students to do that as well because it just adds to the cinematography of your Instagram stories, which creates a bingeable. Story to come back to that your audience is just like, give me more. Okay. So if you like this tag me shirt in your stories.

The, Hey, hey Emmy. I cannot wait to see all your Barbie content. Let me know if you go watch the movie I with a kid, probably will wait till it's streaming, but I am excited to see it. Okay, love you lots. See you on the next episode.