Many B2B companies have turned their backs on social media marketing. However, they have to realize that things have changed. Social media is a never-ending and shifting landscape. If your business never engages in experimenting, then it will never leave its comfort zone - you might as well hang a “Closed” sign on your door.
Small businesses with small budgets need all the help they can get in finding savvy solutions for their needs. In the B2B world, often companies fall behind just because they don’t adapt and change the game plan.
The expectation bar has been set so high that companies selling to other companies have to adapt and recognize that as individuals it’s important to be able to do things on your terms, through the channel and the mechanisms which you want.
With over 200 million users, Instagram is too significant to be ignored, even by B2B companies. Because they don’t have tangible products to sell, they limit their marketing activities to blogging or other content based strategies to help them get in touch with their potential customers.
However, you must know that everyone has visual content to share, no matter if it’s B2C or B2B. Companies in the B2B area just have to look at it from a different angle.
Here are some great ideas B2B marketers can use to fuel a new Instagram strategies:
Show the human side of your company
Companies are filled with people. They represent the brand and its culture. Instagram is the perfect marketing channel to share pictures with employees at work or in a refreshing environment. You will find many opportunities to take a picture and share it in Instagram: an anniversary, the arrival of a new employee, a teambuilding activity and so on. Also, if you have testimonials from your clients convert them into short videos and share them on Instagram. Make sure you don’t exceed the 15 seconds limit per video.
Go behind the scenes
People love when they are given insider information from behind the scenes. You can show them how your business runs. There’s so much visual content you can create just by sharing what to you do on a daily basis. Be personal. Share pictures with your office or your everyday work rituals. You just have to be a little creative and blur the lines between professional and personal.
Tell the story of your business
All companies started somewhere. From a simple idea in front of a laptop, the first contract signed or the release of your first product or service. All these can be shared through visual or video content. Share older pictures or videos; let people have a deeper look into your company. This will make you connect with your audience on a personal level.
So anyway you look at it, the most important is to keep it visual, have fun, unique, and creative.
Are you using Instagram for your B2B marketing? What else do you do to get more engagement? Please share your experience in the comments below.