Osama Khabab November 8, 2021 In terms of user base, Instagram comes in at number 4 in the mobile app category, which is quite impressive because it’s outranked only by Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger.
The photo and video-sharing app is considered as more of a stomping ground for B2C marketers. Even with its immaculate growth rate, most B2B marketers have not yet started to look at it as a marketing channel with a lot of potential. Especially with video as marketing content.
It may be because creating marketing content for a B2B audience is a bit trickier. That should not be a reason to not avail the opportunity Instagram has to offer as a video marketing channel.
According to a survey, 70% of marketers said that videos showed a positive ROI, and 78% plan to incorporate more videos into their marketing strategy.
So, there’s no denying that video is an important tool in your marketing utility belt. In this article, you’ll learn how to use this medium to engage with a B2B audience.
Let’s go!
1. Product showcase
There are few things as effective as a video when it comes to showing off a new product, and there are few platforms as visual and video friendly as Instagram.
See how Sprinklr has used video to launch their product.
A launch video accompanied with the right hashtags can do wonders for how people discover your B2B service and increase your reach.
It also helps you stay top of the mind, and keeps the audience interested in your future endeavors.
The window of opportunity is small considering the attention economy. Avoid being long-winded and stay exciting while making a video for Instagram.
A product launch video helps pump up the audience and builds anticipation—translating in increased conversion rates.
2. Content distribution through Insta videos
So, you’ve put in the legwork to generate content like a survey or a podcast. Now you need to take advantage of smart distribution to funnel your target audience to that main content.
You can do this by making a short teaser video for your content and then post it on Instagram. Here’s how my team promotes our podcast via video snippets on the Gram.
3. Thought leadership
B2B audiences pay attention to information that can help them achieve their business goals. If you are an expert in your field and have the capacity to provide valuable insights, you’ll be able to build rapport with B2B viewers.
A Founder or a CEO carries high authority and credibility. People would be eager to hear from a person with that kind of stature in the industry.
These thought leadership videos make for great shareable content on social media. They also drastically improve your product positioning.
Here is an example of how I use video on the platform to share tips.
To come up with topics for this sort of content, set up brainstorming sessions with your company leadership and see what comes up.
Chances are that these videos will be very niche and will hold a lot of weight with the target audience. This will prove instrumental in building brand authority.
4. Give your audience a sneak peek into office life
Create and post this type of day-in-the-life content on Instagram to humanize your brand.
You might be wondering if a B2B audience even cares about this type of content. Well, videos like these can communicate company values. And if your values align with your prospects, then there’s a good chance they’ll reach out when there’s looking to partner up with a company.
Another great advantage of doing this is that you’ll attract great talent.
This is how Zendesk does it in a fun and unique way.
Pro tip: Engage your audience by telling interesting stories. Take Sprout Social, a social media tool for B2B customers. They have been using the hashtag #NoTwoDays to tell their audience that when it comes to marketing professionals, no two days are alike. This makes for very interesting content.
5. Bring clients into the picture
Increasing sales is more about social currency than anything else, so establish credibility by sharing client testimonials.
People are more likely to trust other customers than trusting a company. User-generated content like testimonial videos and influencer marketing can prove to be pivotal in understanding the value your brand could provide to their business.
Here is an influencer testimonial ActiveCampaign shared on Instagram.
6. Takeover videos
Social media takeovers are commonplace but did you know that you can do the same thing for Instagram videos?
You can invite an employee, a partner or a special guest (think B2B influencers or thought leaders) to do a video or multiple videos for your Instagram.
7. Use IGTV, Instagram Live, and Stories for different content
Instagram Stories is great for running polls. You can get quick feedback from your audience it keeps people engaged.
IGTV has revolutionized video content on Instagram. You can post long-form content, such as instructional videos, brand stories and more with your audience.
IGTV is also a great way to put out thought leadership content.Your B2B audience willenjoy seeing you get behind new and interesting innovations in the industry. This is why people follow accounts like Interesting Engineering.
Instagram Live can be instrumental in hosting helpful session for your audience. Users often go to the live stream to watch content from their favorite creators.
Holding a Q&A session on Instagram Live can help address the queries about the B2B industry and position your brand as helpful and digitally savvy. It is also a great way to build engagement with your existing following.
If handled right, a Q&A session can also help move your audience down the funnel faster.
The takeaway
On Instagram, B2B companies make up 33% of the total accounts. So, it wouldn’t be wiseto omit the platform from your social media marketing strategy.
The key is to diversify your Instagram with video and stand out from your competition. Start small and experiment as you go. Good luck!
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