- September 17, 2015
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A B2B Marketer’s Guide to Instagram
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, prepare to become known as the Airbnb, Mercedes Benz or XBox of your industry on Instagram. These consumer faves are considered among the best brands on Instagram, and business-to-business integrated marketers can learn a lot from them.
With more than 300 million active monthly users and 60 million photos posted daily, understanding and developing an Instagram presence can help set you apart from your competition.
And just like the trend toward B2Bers adopting creative integrated marketing campaigns, Instagram is another channel where you can have some fun. Beverley Reinemann of Distilled is advocate of B2B brands building an Instagram presence as part of an effective integrated marketing plan and offers these tips:
- History – Telling your company’s story and showing your culture are powerful ways to humanize your brand and the primary reasons to use Instagram. Sharing images from your archives can show how your company has evolved, while highlighting employees and showing behind-the-scenes looks can help establish an emotional connection with your followers.
- Relationship Building – Demonstrate your skills and help establish your business as a trusted source of knowledge by creating videos in which you interview employees, or ask customers to submit questions and post the answers. (Nudge your more introverted employees to feel more comfortable on camera with these tips.)
- News – If your company launched a product, won an award, participated in a trade show or something else noteworthy, create a visual for your Instagram followers.
- Brand Awareness – You don’t want to turn off followers with too many product promotions, but you can subtly incorporate your products into photos of employees with a product in the background or someone using it.
- Community – You can use it to inspire your followers by visiting the companies that use your products and putting them center stage.
According to product marketing manager Travis Balinas at OutboundEngine, “Having an established identity for your brand is the most effective way to find your voice and gain followers.”
Some companies are making the most of Instagram and have the highest engagement rates, including:
- IBM, with a 4-percent rate of engagement across all its photos
- MailChimp, which posts a creative mix of things that results in a high rate of engagement
- FedEx, known for building strong brand affinity
- Hootsuite, showing how cool it is to work there by showing off the office culture
Now, get snapping and see how Instagram is a cinch.
