How To Get Started With Instagram For B2B Social Media Marketing

Along with the growing popularity of visual content, Instagram is becoming a more logical platform for B2B social media marketing. With 150 million active users that are 15 times more engaged than with Facebook, Instagram can be used to your company’s advantage.

While Instagram may have more prominence as a social platform for B2C marketers, there are many different ways to utilize Instagram for B2B marketing a well. Here are several ideas on how to get started.

Define the strategy

Start off by establishing in what direction your company wants to go. Once you define your strategy, you’ll begin to get an idea of what content to post. For instance, if you are currently in the recruiting process, take the backstage-access approach and capture some internal company photos of fellow employees at work to show why your company is unique and a desirable place to work.

Once you find out who the influencers are in your market, then you will likely be able to find your audience based off of who is following them. Interact with influencers and your audience to build relationships and expand your brand presence.

Related Resource from B2CWebcast: PR Hacking: How Ideas Spread And What Marketers Need to Know

Be relatable

No matter what industry your company is in, you can still relate to your audience by keeping your posts visual and engaging. Maersk Line is the worlds biggest container-shipping company and has successfully made what looks to be a snapshot from an everyday task into a successful post on Instagram.

Their use of hash tags extends their reach and puts their posts into searchable categories for their users. As shown in this example, brands can cleverly use trending hash tags to integrate themselves into something that already has an audience such as #Halloween. Other uses would include to hash tag items in the picture or to hash tag their brand name in efforts to expand their brand awareness. Although this is a good way to build some buzz for your brand, don’t go over board or your audience will view it as #tacky.

Give them a taste of your culture

What better way to show off your work than by being able to take a picture with your smart phone while you are on the clock. Let the audience get a sneak peak of what you see while on the job. Consumer relations will strengthen as you expose more of your day-to-day activities and give insights from your brand. This gives you a chance to share your brand story in various ways, show off your educational content, or promote what you are doing in the community.

Whether it be a completed project, newly received award, or the employee of the month, this gives your brand a chance to frequently show off achievements, as well as give back to the community.

Leverage the “regram” – the retweet of Instagram

Another way to create content while actively engaging with the community would be to “regram” photos others have taken of your brand’s products or services. If used selectively, this is a good way to differentiate the content you are posting while exposing a new perspective on your brand.

Get creative with other uses

Host a contest for your Instagram audience to get them engaged. Post a picture or a graphic, which gives them instructions to document the completion of a certain task or have them post a picture with a specific caption. The options are endless so get strategic and let the games begin.

If still frames are not cutting it for your brand or you are just trying to differentiate your content, Instagram made it possible to post an Instavideo, which is a 15 second clip that is in the same square format as their pictures. This enables brands to post informational clips about a brand’s history or their products and services.

Instagram gives brands a visual way to communicate with their audiences and an opportunity to emotionally engage in ways that cannot be done on other platforms. From sharing your business story to exposing employee culture and corporate social responsibility, Instagram has many beneficial paths your brand can take.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/instagram/get-started-instagram-b2b-social-media-marketing-01068868#p1AiL1ULg1hMOe5X.99