12 Sep 2016
When a social media platform surpasses half a billion monthly active users, even B2B companies start paying attention. Combine Instagram’s incredible reach, continuing growth, and impressive price tag (FREE), it’s something every company should be...
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When a social media platform surpasses half a billion monthly active users, even B2B companies start paying attention. Combine Instagram’s incredible reach, continuing growth, and impressive price tag (FREE), it’s something every company should be spending time on. But how can you promote your brand without being boring? Well, here are some creative ways that others are using Instagram for business and to cater to their B2B markets:
Adobe is known for its creative suite of digital products, so it’s only natural that they should excel at Instagram marketing. Adobe has managed to create a well of excellent artistry that they share on their account, from paintings, to graphic design, photography, and more. Adobe is showing the world exactly what they can offer by showing the end results of creative people using their products.
Office Depot leveraged the fall back-to-school season in the U.S. with their “Gear Up for Great” campaign. They used youthful, playful imagery to use their office supplies in an engaging and visual way. From scissors, to paper products, and everything in between, they managed to capture the imagination of their Instagram audience. They managed to turn a traditionally “boring” industry into something fun and worthy of sharing on social. And by the way, don’t you think some of their B2B clients have kids who need gear for school this year?
Buffer is an app that lets you schedule posts on social media, but it doesn’t focus its Instagram efforts on showing you boring screenshots of its software, even though it’s a B2B company. Instead, Buffer does a great job of using aspirational images. They use creative lifestyle photography to inspire people to look at their feed and pay attention.
With 58.5K followers, it’s obvious that Paypal is killing it with their Instagram for business storytelling. “This is life with Paypal.” They understand the power of harnessing the human connection, of showing their audience what kind of life is possible by using their product. It’s not about the numbers, at least not when you’re promoting your brand on such a visual medium. If they were talking face to face with a large potential B2B client in the banking industry, the vibe might be different. But Paypal understands that the game changes depending on the field you’re playing on.
FedEx shows you how they’re making the world more connected. They feature their transportation vehicles, trucks and planes. Sometimes, focusing mainly on the product can actually be the wrong thing to do, but FedEx does it the right way. They have beautiful pictures from all around the world, at all times of the day. It seems to suggest that no matter where or when, they’re working hard and diligently to deliver your important business and personal packages so you don’t have to. And they have 49k followers to show for it - not bad for a shipping company.
MailChimp reinforces their brand identity which is cute, lighthearted, and quirky, with light coloured imagery and figurines. They use social media as a way to entertain and stay top-of-mind instead of try to sell-sell-sell. This way, they can maintain a dialogue with their audience without boring them or suffocating them with stale B2B concepts.
Adroll is using Instagram for business creatively by showcasing its team members. They show them at parties, laughing, working, and enjoying each other. This demonstrates how well they get along, strengthening their customers’ belief in their ability to work together and deliver on B2B promises. It also makes them appear more real, accessible, and relatable.
412,000 followers. That’s how many followers the tech giant HP has. And it’s not because they’re wowing people with stats about hardware or screen resolutions or battery life. It’s because of stunning photos. Their photography on Instagram rivals that of many fashion companies. And they’re leveraging it to showcase their product being used in a variety of activities, from travel, to school, to music, and more. It’s creativity at its finest.
Whether you sell office supplies, financial software, services, or anything in between, you should be excited about the amazing interaction you can have with your B2B market on Instagram. You may have been concerned about being out of place on social media before, but now you see just how doable it is to be authentic and engaging with visual content, no matter your industry. Use the above examples above and apply your creativity to making your company’s Instagram for business efforts shine.
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