When you’re operating a B2B, Instagram is where you want to be. There are millions of active users, and when 37 percent of US adults are on the social media platform, it can get the attention that you need. With the majority of users between the ages of 25 and 34, quite a few business owners are capable of hearing your marketing messages.
There are a few Instagram marketing strategies to employ so that you can get the clicks and activity that you’re looking for.
Define Your Audience
Before you can do much with Instagram, you have to establish your target market. This will make it easier for you to know how to talk to your audience. What kinds of businesses are you targeting? Professional, Fortune 100 companies will need a very different approach than small, customer-centric startups. Determine a variety of details:
- The size of the business
- The industry
- The type of employees
You may also want to speak to a specific type of employee at the businesses you’re targeting. Are your posts for the HR manager? The CEO? The director of IT? All of these things will play a role in every post that you create on Instagram. When you have taken the time to define your audience, it will allow you to get more activity.
Create Hashtags that Matter
It’s important that you establish a hashtag strategy when you’re on Instagram. Most posts will have between 15 and 20 hashtags to make it easier for people to find you based on the topic they’re looking for. This means that you have to have an arsenal of hashtags.
One to three hashtags should be branded to your business and used in every post.
Three to five hashtags should be focused on your niche – and if you’re coming up short, do some research to see which hashtags your competitors are using.
Then, you will want to use popular hashtags for the rest. This will help your content to appear in searches for longer so that you can get more activity for every post that you create.
Many of your hashtags will trend from day to day and month to month based on what’s going on. As such, your popular hashtags will require constant research.
Finding the right hashtags can often be difficult and way too often businesses rely on their instincts rather than analytics. If you are serious about telling your story on Instagram in a way that drives results you should think about outsourcing your content creation to an experienced blog management service.
Engage with Followers (and Even Other Brands)
Ads and posts are only going to get so far as it is a form of passive content. Active content involves engagement. Remain active on Instagram where you can make comments on what people post and tag you in.
You will also want to up the number of people you follow, including top influencers within your industry as well as other businesses.
At some point, you will want to look at complementary partnerships with businesses that are within your industry but don’t do the same thing as you. A perfect example is the construction industry. You might be a flooring company, but it can be advantageous for you to work with companies that provide windows, painting, plumbing, and more. It allows everyone to work together with referrals and promotions. Following and engaging with companies that you will ultimately want to start a partnership with is a great way to get a footing.
Find out who is using the same hashtags that you are. Use the ‘Search and Explore’ feature within Instagram to get suggestions on who you should follow, too. Tag them with trending news. Comment on some of their posts. When you engage with them, they’re more likely to engage with you – and that’s when you’re going to be more successful with Instagram.
Say it with Videos
Instagram is built on a platform that embraces the visual. With B2B Instagram, the emphasis is more on video as your customers want to see how your product works. They don’t want to simply see a photo, so it’s your job to give them what they want.
An investment in video marketing can work to your advantage. Use explainer videos, demonstrations, and more to show off what you have to offer. Answer the question of why your customers need it with videos as opposed to long blocks of text that offers nothing but boring explanations.
When your videos are exciting, they’re also more likely to be shared, allowing you to get even more traction on IG. Don’t be afraid to try something new. However, be sure that your videos are branded to who you are as a business so that it doesn’t look like you’re trying too hard. Your videos should appear to be a natural extension of your business, and that’s why it can be beneficial to work with professional video marketers.
Embrace Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are what people are going to see first once getting into the app. It sits at the top of the home page, offering high visibility. It can be advantageous for you to run a different story every few hours. In order to take a more suspenseful approach, you can even break a single story into several parts, leaving followers on the edge of their seats. You can use right arrows for the story to continue and a swipe up link in order to get businesses to complete their purchases.
B2B Instagram strategies are all about knowing what your goals are. If you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve on Instagram, your posts are going to be all over the board. Focus on one thing at a time. Just as the saying goes, you have to crawl before you can walk. You have to learn how to interact with your Instagram followers before you can expect them to start buying from you. It cannot be all about selling your products or services. People buy the brand, not the product. Educate businesses about your brand and be the kind of brand people will want to engage with. It can lead to more success on IG and beyond.
Find out how prediktiv’s blog management service can help you tell your story on Instagram.
