Social media marketing is key to today’s B2B world. As of 2022, Instagram has over one billion monthly users, of which over 200 million users visit at least one business profile daily. This is why B2B companies are flocking to Instagram, and why your organization needs to establish some Instagram best practices.
Instagram is a bountiful marketing source and still quite untapped. B2B companies that want to be at the top of their game must take advantage of Instagram and its growth and promotion.
If you haven’t explored Instagram for your B2B company yet, you are missing many opportunities.
Here are the Instagram best practices you need to implement for your organization.
Why Should B2B Companies Use Instagram?
Gone are the days when social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook were only used for connecting and communicating with friends and family. Today, these platforms have much more to offer.
Here are three ways in which Instagram can help B2B companies:
Instagram Can Help Boost Your Brand Awareness and Outreach
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms, making it a hotspot for companies to promote their brands.
About 71% of businesses use Instagram’s popularity to build brand visibility. Instagram can help B2B companies boost interaction with customers and prospects via stories, reels, IGTV, live sessions, ads, and posts. As more and more Instagram users begin noticing your B2B brand, they share your posts with their friends and contacts, ultimately enhancing your brand visibility.
Instagram Can Help Make Your Brand Relatable and Build Customers’ Trust
Humanizing your brand is the key to relating to customers and prospects. It not only fosters customers’ engagement but also their trust in you.
For example, you can talk about your brand’s initiatives, conduct polls and votes, and share personal stories to connect better with your customers and prospects.
Instagram Can Help You Track Competitors’ Activities
Instagram makes it easy to monitor your competitors’ activities. With Instagram, you can track your competitors’ content, measures of interaction with the audience, potential sales methods, Instagram marketing strategies, discount offers, and so on. In addition, you can use the collected insights to improve your marketing and sales strategies and win an edge over your competitors.
9 Instagram Best Practices for B2B Companies
Now that you know why Instagram is important for your B2B company, here are some quick and useful Instagram best practices for connecting better with your audiences, growing your sales, and beating your competitors.
Be Consistent With Your Posts
Consistency is crucial if you are using a business account on Instagram. Irregular and inconsistent posting or delayed responses to customers’ comments can damage your online reputation. Moreover, your customers may choose a competitor brand that interacts more frequently and consistently with them.
Use Hashtags
Using hashtags on Instagram is more important for your B2B brand than you probably think. Instagram hashtags can help you reach newer and larger audiences. Consider using both branded (hashtags about your brand) and non-branded (generic and trending) hashtags. Customers may use your branded hashtag when posting something about your business.
Research shows that 7 out of 10 hashtags on Instagram are branded. Non-branded hashtags come in handy when connecting with newer audiences and covering broader topics. However, avoid using too many hashtags. Also, focus on hashtags that relate the best with your B2B business so you don’t get lost in the expansiveness of a generic hashtag.
Promote Your Products and Services
You can make the most of your Instagram presence to promote your B2B products and services. You need to tag your products and services in informative posts, customer stories, engaging videos, and so on. Avoid posting a sales pitch. Instead, follow the “organic route” to draw customers and prospects to your B2B products and services.
Research reveals that 72% of Instagram users purchased a product they saw on the app.
Post Stories About Your Team and Company Culture
Another interesting way to connect with your audiences is showcasing your B2B company’s “behind the scenes” photos and videos. Give your customers and prospects a glimpse of your team and how it works. Showcase your company culture to build a stronger connection with your audiences.
Add a Link to Your Bio
Linking to your B2B company’s website is necessary to keep your audiences updated about your ongoing discount offers and sales. However, Instagram does not allow adding links to websites in a post’s caption yet. You can add links in stories, but they expire after 24 hours. If you want to use a link to divert your Instagram traffic to your website, use a Link in Bio tool such as Linktree or Link in Profile.
Prioritize User-Generated Content
User-generated content on Instagram is a great sign for your B2B company. It means your customers are organically engaging with your brand. User-generated content can also boost your conversions. Research suggests that user-generated content has a 4.5% higher chance of conversion. Therefore, prioritizing user-generated content can further improve your online reputation and grow your sales.
Post Authentic And Unique Content
Posting staged, stock images, or strictly-professional content does not ring true to the audience. Instead, they want transparency and real content about your B2B brand. So before posting on Instagram, keep yourself in place of your customers and evaluate the genuineness of your post.
Recognize That Paid Marketing Can Be a Good Place to Start
Don’t hold back from engaging with other brands or driving collaborations for paid marketing in the initial days of your online presence. Paid marketing can give your brand the initial momentum required to build a compelling online presence.
Make the Most of Instagram Stories
According to research, 58% of Instagram users say they’re more interested in a brand after seeing its story. You should use the Story feature to personalize your content.
For example, you can showcase some behind-the-scenes glimpses, updates from your manufacturing units, customer stories, and so on to keep your audiences engaged.
Need help developing an Instagram strategy? Ongoing content? Please reach out!
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