Should Your B2B Be On Instagram?

While Instagram is a perennially obvious choice for consumer-focused companies and influencers, B2Bs may be wondering whether the social channel holds any marketing benefit for them too. The answer is a resounding yes.

Increasingly, in fact, B2Bs need to be on Instagram.

Why? The reason is simple: your audience is there. While LinkedIn remains the number one B2B networking platform, many of those within your audience likely are on Instagram too. After all, Instagram has some 600 million users.

Instagram is actually one of the best places for connecting with younger business professionals. This is important, since it’s estimated that in 10 years, over 70 percent of the workforce will be comprised of millennials.

Bottom line, Instagram is another social channel that B2B marketers shouldn’t ignore, especially as Baby Boomers continue retiring.

The Power of Imagery

While there are similarities between LinkedIn and Instagram, such as the ability to use hashtags, conduct ad campaigns, and direct message other users, the biggest difference is Instagram’s focus on the visual—photos, graphics, and video as well, including Instagram Reels. To this end, a recent survey found that 33 percent of marketers plan to leverage short-form video for the very first time this year, and some 30 percent plan to invest in it more than any other social media strategy.

Still or moving images can capture an audience’s attention in ways that words alone cannot. In particular, they increase engagement by “showing instead of telling,” to take a phrase from novelist-speak. What works better? Telling your audience that a village by the sea is old, or showing them cobblestone walkways and narrow streets lined with crumbling brick buildings against a backdrop of blue-green sea?

Imagery is especially important to B2B tech companies, since they want to connect with their audiences but can sometimes seem more focused on digital than human interactions. Visual content shows a company’s personality, a human quality important for building relationships. Further, using images reflects that your company is up to date and on trend compared to longer-form, text-only posts.

How B2Bs Can Use IG

There are myriad ways B2Bs can leverage Instagram to connect with their audience and tell their story visually. For one, think of the customer support agent or inside salesperson that your customer interacts with regularly, but primarily as a disembodied voice on the phone. Using photos of these team members, Instagram can give a “face” to those within your organization. “Day in the life” or “behind the scenes” looks that visually tell the story of how your company does business can also work to engage your audience, so they feel more personally connected.

Our client, venture capital firm Panoramic Ventures, uses Instagram to promote its monthly Startup Showdown pitch competitions, including posting video from actual events, promoting upcoming competitions, and sharing winner photos:

 

Another of our clients, Moloco, uses Instagram with the theme of “take a look inside Moloco” and using a wealth of image-based content. For instance, this post introduces two new team members while including the #wearehiring hashtag:

This post draws attention to a recent recognition:

Some of Moloco’s Instagram posts also show the company’s fun side and personality:

While Instagram favors shorter-form content, keep in mind that posts can contain links to longer pieces, such as white papers or blog posts. Whatever you do, the point with Instagram is to keep things visual.

While Instagram probably shouldn’t be the sole social channel for your B2B, it can be an important secondary platform that can help you to form stronger connections and reach a larger (and yes, younger) audience than you can with LinkedIn alone.