With more than 600 million user base, Instagram is something most marketers look to leverage to promote their brand. But unlike other social channels, you cannot link to your product or website.
Also, the appeal of Instagram is very informal, unlike Twitter and Linkedin where people are more open to having serious conversations around a business interest.
Nevertheless, your prospects are browsing Instagram in their time off work. B2B marketers have to have a much more soft sell and have an indirect approach to marketing when trying to make their presence on Instagram.
Storytelling Over Marketing
The most important approach for a B2B brand in Instagram is using storytelling over pushing pictures of your product all over your feed.
Promotional content is disdained in Instagram and is a huge turn off on a platform which people use for casual conversations.
Instagram being a visually heavy platform, brands need to focus on communicating their message through images.
It is not about having text in images to put the message across it is rather about what message about your brand is delivered through the image.
FedEx communicates its core value of speed through intuitive InstaShots.
FedEx communicates its USP of worldwide delivery through this real-world example of a man carrying a FedEx parcel in Bangkok.
Thought Leadership
A large part of B2B marketing is about thought leadership.
Instagram can be used to give your followers a quick breath of inspiration.
Quotes and memes are easy to consume and done consistently will make the brand stick to the consumers mind.
An average Instagram user is not looking to read long text flooded images. Keeping it short will make it both consumable and shareworthy.
Humanize Your Brand
Showing the human side of your brand builds deeper connections with the audience.
Getting your employees and customers in your pictures will give your prospects a feel of the people behind the work.
People tend to connect with people more than brands. Humanizing the brand is about shedding walls of sophistication and communicating emotion.
Build a Community Around Your Brand
Like other social channels, consistency is key. Consistent publishing of content, engaging with relevant users in the industry, repurposing content and following thought leaders help build a community. Getting organic reach for your Instagram account helps in brand exposure. You can even run a targeted Instagram Ad with the objective of getting more followers.
Crowd Source Content from Employees
Your team might be taking pictures throughout the day during lunch, meeting or an event.
Instead of making Instagram a sole responsibility of the social media manager you can crowdsource images from your employees and use them in your official account to give people a peek inside your office.
This will attract new talent and improved employee engagement.
Announce Events and News
To keep your current audience engaged you need to keep them updated on the latest happenings at work.
Announcement relating to a new office or an event you are organizing or even about a new employee you just recruited will give your current audience engaged.
