Tips for Instagram worthy toy displays

Has your business harnessed the power of organic social media marketing? The goal is to create unique toy displays that customers haven’t seen before so that they will want to share pictures and recommendations with their friends.

It’s worth the effort. In-store pictures and brand mentions shared on social media are marketing gold. Not only is a picture worth a thousand words, but organic recommendations are the most influential form of marketing there is. And the best part? You don’t have to pay for it!

Here’s a quick guide to help your creative juices flow.

1. Pick display themes that enhance your brand identity

What kind of business are you, and what is your customer demographic?

Are you a premium home & gift or garden store? A minimalist feel with a limited and cohesive colour scheme enhances branding for premium stores designed for adults. Focus on matching, branded gifts for babies or children.

For themed attractions that appeal to families on days out, stay focused on toy displays within the theme of your brand. For example, if you operated a farm attraction, build your main display with toys such as farm machinery, farm animals and wildlife.

Or perhaps you are a dedicated toy store with a wide range of price points? You can provide more stimulating displays that include diverse toy choices and colours designed to appeal most to children. Make sure toys are within eye level and reach of children’s age groups.

2. Work with the space you have

Whatever retail space you have available, there are toy display stands that can help you maximize floor space without compromising on theatrical style.

If you have less space available, bring in small props related to your product ranges that can be displayed on existing shelves. That could be artificial plants for wildlife, fake grass coverings, crates or baskets of straw for farm animals, small toy chests, artificial flowers wrapped around stands, feature chairs like thrones and sleighs, and so on.

If you can dedicate more floor space to a couple of central feature displays, there are plenty of novel ideas out there to take inspiration from. Examples include a large artificial rock designed for multi-level display of heavy machinery toys, or a princess canopy with fairy lights hung over a display. You could go all the way up to a custom-built structure, such as the frame of a dollhouse, a tree or a castle.

Top tip: Check out Instagram for inspiration on retail theatre ideas here. 

3. Create a unique experience

Bring together colours, materials, fabrics, lighting, imagery and sound to create a miniature themed world around your main toy display or toy area.

Ceiling hangings are an easy way to create more magic, including bunting, artificial plants, toy planes, birds or butterflies and fairy lights.  Special floor coverings for the display area can take the effect further, from rugs to fake grass and special prints. Add relevant sound effects, like animal and nature sounds, or themed music.

A themed backdrop for a display will make it much more photogenic. Consider painting walls in complementary colours for your theme, hire a mural artist, use wall art such as a flower wall, or even projected light displays.

On your feature displays, use your best stock as showpieces. If you have any animated or interactive toys, open one of each as demo products that customers can test out.

Dedicated toy stores with a large product offering could create one central display using multiple premium toys from across the store. Use them to create a scene in a model display, or build an interactive ‘play land’ area where children can try out demo products. Parents will want to take photos of their children enjoying an experience. In turn, children will pester parents to buy the toys they have enjoyed!

For top-end retail display budgets, bring in large feature objects or rides that children and families can have their picture taken with. That could be anything from life-size figurines, specially built backdrops, large animals and replica vehicles to a kiddie ride.

To really encourage social sharing, run a social media competition for the best action shot or attitude pose, with prizes for the best entries.

I hope that’s given you some inspiration for what could potentially work for your store!

Before you go, did you know that Keycraft offers a graphic design and printing service, as well as retail theatre display solutions? We have a range of retail theatre friendly toy display stands to explore.

Discover how we have helped other toy retail brands, or contact our friendly team to discuss your retail display needs.