Owned by Facebook since 2012, Instagram is the most visual social media platform. It’s quickly growing into one of the most used (and liked) platforms, with 500 million daily active users. Many business-to-consumer (B2C) companies, like Starbucks, famously use Instagram to highlight their products, values and special promotions. By creating on-brand, visually appealing posts, Starbucks has created a following based around their products.
But what if your customers are other businesses? What if what you sell is a service? Should you just ignore this growing platform? The answer is no. Many B2B (business-to-business) companies are using Instagram to their advantage… in new and surprising ways. Here are some tips on how to get started on Instagram for your B2B.
Posting on Instagram: B2B Ideas
MailChimp, Hootsuite and IBM are among the companies that use Instagram to engage with business customers. There are so many options for Instagram posts that aren’t product-centric. Some use creative graphics to captivate their audiences. Others show “behind the scenes” of offices and employees. Some use a historical approach to show where they’ve been and where they want to go.
What these companies do really well is stay “on brand.” From color/filters, to type-style and message, it’s clear that these posts are from the same company. This strengthens brand authority and visibility. While some variation is okay, there are easy ways to be stylistically consistent like making use of consistent filters and edit options. Visual appeal is the top priority on Instagram since the photos/videos are what people are reacting to and engaging with on the platform.
Advanced Tip: If you don’t have time to manually post, or if your audience doesn’t scroll, you can engage with them on Instagram Stories and Live. Instagram Stories are non-memorable snapshots that only last 15 seconds. Instagram Live lives within Stories. By going live in Instagram, you’ll be able to give your company a voice by interacting with your audience. You can also download the live session and add it to other platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. There are not very many B2B companies actually using Instagram Stories and Live right now, but it’s becoming a great way to generate leads.
Tip 1: Photos and Hashtags
Designed to be a “real-time” glimpse into your day, you can only post manually on the smartphone app. While this may seem to some like a pain because you need to be active on a second device and remember to post, it’s great for mixing up your content from your other platforms. Posting on Instagram gives you and your company a natural personality and voice.
You must include a photo or video with each Instagram post. And it has to be great quality since you’re competing with other businesses and individual, people posts. The algorithm for Instagram is similar to Facebook’s and prioritizes people posts over business posts – unless you create an advertisement (more on that in Tip 2).
With each photo, create a caption. Be sure to include between 5 and 11 related hashtags in the caption. Hashtags allow Instagram to organize and group your post with other related posts. This can help users narrow down a search if they are looking for a specific keyword, rather than a specific company or person.
There are so many types of posts that B2B companies can share on Instagram.
- Testimonial or quote. Be sure your graphic or photo is easy to read, short and visually pleasing. Your caption can be a full quote/testimonial or something related to the graphic.
- Company culture. People love seeing people. And if you show the inside scoop of your company, people won’t see you as just an “office that works.” The photos give you a face and help you relate to your clients. We’re seeing many companies using Instagram as a recruiting tool. Sharing photos of their people and events paired with subtle recruiting ads and messaging.
- Events and tradeshows. These are great for architecture, engineering and construction (A/E/C) companies. Event posts show that your company is keeping up with your industry. Try posting video or timelapse.
- Product demonstrations. Another great type of post for A/E/C companies. By using the multiple swipe feature on Instagram, you can show your visitors how you are doing something by highlighting photos in a series. It’s a great tool to gain interest leading up to the final product launch.
Tip 2: Advertising on Instagram
Instagram Business now has advertising! This allows your business to create ads in different areas of the platform – depending on where your viewers engage. We recently attended a Facebook Community Boost seminar, where they gave the top three ways businesses are advertising.
- Ads in Stories. Advertisements on Instagram Story are the most effective. They create more reach and impressions since they come up in between the stories. It is automatically formatted to be full screen to create less distraction to the viewer.
- Collection ads. This is probably the most common way businesses advertise. It’s where you showcase your advertisement on Instagram newsfeeds.
- Automatic placement. This is the least expensive option. Your advertisement will show up on Facebook, Instagram, stories, etc. based on how much you pay for your placement.
Tip 3: Engage!
Millennials are now beginning to make up the majority of today’s population. Generation Z is beginning to enter the workforce. And Instagram is their favorite social media platform. 60% of people say they learn about businesses on Instagram. So, consider switching to a business profile to have your company engage with this growing audience – many of whom are in leadership and decision-making roles in their organization
Designed to be a people-to-people, real-time platform, Instagram originally did not have all the important features for businesses to engage. Recently, however, Instagram rolled out its business profile settings. If you are a business on Instagram, you can use links in multiple places, add call-to-action buttons, get more analytics and much more. All you need to do is add your Facebook Business Page to your Instagram profile.
By having your business profile engage with your audience, you’ll appeal to a broader demographic and create another way to amplify your business voice. 75% of users say they will search, share or shop after being inspired by a post. Create action buttons so people can take action right from Instagram to your website. This will take out the middleman for someone to get to your website and makes for a happier customer.
Instagram is quickly becoming one important way for businesses to promote themselves to young professionals. Is it time for you to get started? If you want more information about how a B2B company can utilize Instagram, contact us! We’d love to talk more.
