B2B marketers in 2024 have a seemingly endless list of channels for growing their business.
Many invest in software as a service (SaaS), complex analytical tools, and other technologies to engage their target audience. While these are sometimes necessary, you should not ignore the more cost-effective options.
Social media is among the fastest-growing B2B marketing channels. Once thought of as a predominantly B2C tool, social media, and in particular Instagram, is a powerful resource for B2B organisations.
To empower you to take your social media efforts to new heights in the upcoming year, we’ve put together this article to show you how to use Instagram for B2B marketing. Our guide includes 10 actionable tips to help optimise your approach.
Gone are the days of B2B marketing consisting of solely offline channels. In-person relationships, sales events, and local marketing are still important. However, the digitisation of marketing efforts is now a requirement for the majority of businesses.
If you have doubts about Instagram’s relevance to your company, consult the data. Social media use is at an all-time high. With two billion monthly users, Instagram is one of the most lucrative platforms.
Instagram users don’t just interact with one another, they also engage with brands. 62.7% of users follow or research brands on the app due to social media platforms acting more and more as search engines. Whatever businesses you deal with, the reality is that you’re probably dealing with a regular Instagram user.
Now, let’s take a deeper dive into why you should consider Instagram as a primary marketing channel for your B2B business.
Increasing brand awareness is among the top social media goals for businesses. 62% of marketers list it as a major objective.
In many cases, your target audience won’t buy directly from Instagram or click through a link. That said, they’re more likely to consider you for future purchases if you’re reaching them with social media posts.
Although LinkedIn is widely regarded as the leader in B2B marketing, Instagram is a more influential platform. In fact, only Facebook is deemed better in terms of the top social media marketing platforms.
Furthermore, Instagram’s year-on-year growth is 25%. This places it ahead of most other apps, including Facebook, Snapchat, X (Twitter), Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube. It’s a continuously growing platform with enormous commercial potential.
Instagram users are accustomed to consuming content in a variety of forms. For example, in a two-minute session on the app, you can view a story, a reel, a singular image, an image carousel, and an ad. This gives you the creative freedom to promote your brand in as many ways as possible.
Depending on the message you’re portraying, you can try out a specific type of post. As a visual platform, you can leave lasting impressions among the audience.
Modern marketers work strategically. They rely on data to make decisions and come up with effective content. The best place to source data is your own social media platforms and website. Instagram provides business profiles with a range of analytics.
By tracking data, you can understand what content and messaging works best with your audience. Over time, by compiling information, you will have a good indication of how to tailor your content to resonate with your customers and attract new followers.
Important Instagram metrics to pay attention to include:
Note that the weight of importance for each metric will depend on your goals. Avoid getting sucked into vanity metrics, such as likes. It’s more important to get a holistic point of view by comparing multiple metrics against your targets.
Lead magnets are specific offers meant to entice potential customers to share their contact details. For example, a company might offer a discount code or sample to receive an email address. This places the customer in the sales funnel, giving the business a chance to convert them.
With B2B companies, lead nurturing is often essential. Therefore, you can’t necessarily put out a direct offer to your audience like you would with a B2C business. This is a key strategic difference between B2B and B2C companies.
Consider using Instagram to lure leads with your lead magnets. It’s a subtle but effective method of attracting customers.
Pro tip: Lead magnet posts should be part of your evergreen content. This means that you can re-promote them from time to time. Fortunately, Sendible allows you to automate this process with Smart Queues.
Instagram is a persuasive advertising platform, with its paid ads gaining noteworthy success. 98% of paid campaigns result in significant increases in advert recall. This is 2.8 times higher than the Nielsen standard for digital adverts.
The Instagram advertising suite allows you to customise your paid posts and target specific demographics. You can also include call-to-action buttons, taking users to whatever destination page you like. This is important for B2B companies as the audience typically needs more information before making a purchase.
Most marketers understand that Instagram’s visual and entertainment focus appeals to B2C businesses. They can create attractive content that resonates with casual users, improving their standing among the target demographic.
Although the algorithm is subject to change (as are consumer trends), short and easily digestible content has been king for some time. This is evident with the popularity of stories, reels, and even live video. Interestingly, this same approach leads the way in B2B industries.
B2B marketers can use short-form content to create product demonstrations, unveil new releases, publish instructionals, and promote live events. Essentially, Instagram marketing is useful at every stage of the buyer’s journey, from attracting new customers to encouraging repeat purchases from existing clients.
The average Instagram user’s feed is filled with cute pet photos, cooking instructionals, and fitness tips. But, this doesn’t mean it can’t be an effective B2B marketing tool.
By now, you can see the value of using this popular app to promote your products and services. However, nailing your B2B Instagram strategy is another story.
Below, you’ll find 10 tips on how to use Instagram for B2B marketing. They can act as your guide for creating a fruitful social media strategy.
Before you start posting, it’s important to set goals for your Instagram content. Having specific targets not only makes it easier to come up with topics and ideas but also helps with consistency. You’re less likely to post for the sake of it and potentially devalue your content.
While B2C companies should also have Instagram goals, they can be more free with their posts. Entertaining content produced solely for engagement has its place in many B2C niches.
With B2B marketing, you must consider how your strategy impacts the bottom line.
Increasing brand awareness is likely to be a goal but you should also work toward something more tangible. Once you have clearly outlined your goals, you can get to work on finding the right mix of content to achieve them.
Examples of B2B Instagram marketing goals include:
Pro tip: if you need help setting goals for Instagram or any other social media platform, check out our article on setting measurable social media goals.
There are several ways to optimise your Instagram profile that won’t cost you a penny. The following tips will make your account appear more professional, aesthetically pleasing, and useful to a B2B audience.
Your profile requires ongoing maintenance. Occasionally, check that your bio is still relevant, that the links in your Linktree still work, and that the information on your profile, feed, and highlights are still relevant.
Whether you’re an influencer, a business, or a regular Instagram user, deciding what to post is demanding. Furthermore, maintaining a consistent schedule of content that resonates with your target audience is even more difficult.
The truth is that the type of content you should post depends on your brand and target audience. There’s no one-sise-fits-all when it comes to marketing.
That said, in B2B markets, showcasing your expertise and reliability is always a good approach. Consider putting your company experts, like engineers, designers, or scientists, front and centre. Your experts can take the audience through how the software works or how a product is made.
For example, Slack is a communication software used by businesses and teams. In addition to posting graphics about its features, it also publishes selfie-style videos from its experts.
Content curation is a topic you could discuss all day. To point you in the right direction, our team put together 14 B2B social media content ideas. Use this guide to begin assembling your content list.
Your B2B audience doesn’t want to see generic content, stock photos, or promotional sales graphics. This gives the impression that you’re being pushy. Instead, you need to be authentic and demonstrate what makes your business different.
According to Shopify, B2B buyers are influenced by three key factors:
If you’re targeting decision-makers in the B2B space, design content around these three pillars.
Show the audience that you’re an industry leader and that your products and services solve problems. The human element and expertise help create a genuine connection between your business and Instagram users.
You can even leverage user-generated content to promote your products or services. For example, ask customers to share reviews or create short testimonials you can convert into posts.
Build trust through authenticity.
Consistency is key with all social media channels. It’s not only important for your audience to see your content regularly. You also have to keep Instagram’s algorithm satisfied.
Occasionally, you’ll recognise an opportunistic moment to create a post or you’ll act quickly to join in on a trend. However, for the rest of the time, you’ll need a content calendar to keep you on track.
With a calendar, you can plan content in advance. This gives the marketing team ample time to come up with quality campaigns, enticing graphics, and an effective schedule.
Sendible’s Instagram scheduling tool makes this entire process effortless. Create, schedule, and share a range of content from one place. You can also use Sendible’s integrated technology to find the best schedule times for your audience, use the most effective hashtags, and analyse content performance.
A key benefit of Instagram for B2B companies is relationship building. Ultimately, social media provides an avenue to do this. You establish credibility, draw in customers, and eventually convert them.
Partnering with creators, influencers, and other businesses can be an effective Instagram marketing strategy.
Firstly, it expands your audience through collaborative posts with other profiles.
Secondly, it’s a form of social proof, as your partnered creator is essentially signing off on your business.
Thirdly, it opens up opportunities for future collaborative projects.
Red Bull and GoPro’s partnership is a perfect example of a B2B relationship built for Instagram. Both companies share similar values and complement one another
Influencer marketing is effective for B2C and B2B companies. The key to a successful strategy is finding suitable influencers that align with your values and budget. Again, the more authentic your relationship with a partner or influencer is, the more impact your campaign is likely to have on potential customers.
The Instagram algorithm is a topic of conversation among all creators, especially after an update. While the algorithm is extremely important, it’s frequently misunderstood.
According to Instagram, it uses more than one algorithm. There isn’t a singular algorithm dictating what you and your followers see. Different parts of the app are dictated by their own ranking systems according to user behaviour.
Certain metrics are always in favour of the algorithm, however. Engagement is always important. Instagram values content with high engagement, meaning posts that garner a lot of likes, comments, shares, and views are prioritised.
In addition to creating images and videos that drum up a lot of engagement, you should get involved in the discussion. Follow relevant accounts, like their content, comment on posts, and engage with other users.
Keep an eye on your page’s analytics to monitor engagement levels. For in-depth analysis, use a tool, like Sendible. It rapidly generates reports (for all major social networks), giving insights into your Instagram marketing performance.
There’s no special number to indicate standout engagement on Instagram. However, for B2B companies, somewhere between 1% and 5% is deemed good.
As a marketer, it’s your responsibility to bring multiple channels together. They should work in harmony to help your business achieve its overall goals.
Cross-promote your Instagram account on other networks as well as your website. If you have an email newsletter, be sure to embed a link directly to your profile.
Repurposing content is another worthwhile strategy for all businesses. Essentially, it means using the content you post on one platform and redesigning it for another channel.
In B2B markets, repurposing is extremely important.
Carry out a content audit and compile a list of information that may have value for your audience. For example, case studies can be repurposed as videos or Instagram carousels, telling success stories. Blogs or white papers are ideal for converting into eye-catching graphic content.
Most marketers appreciate the value of Instagram as an organic social network. You can increase your following, improve brand awareness, and achieve your social media goals without spending a pound.
That said, Instagram boasts a comprehensive paid advertising system that gives your marketing efforts a major boost.
Keep track of your post metrics and note the highs, lows, and averages. When you want to promote a specific message or post, you can add funds to increase performance.
Instagram provides an estimate of how your post will perform, giving you more control over your spending. You can customise your ads by including CTA buttons or targeting a specific demographic.
Trial and error play a role in Instagram marketing. Although you might have an idea of what your audience will like and resonate with, you won’t get it right every time. That’s why you must approach Instagram with a learning-based mindset.
Research competitors, analyse the marketplace, and perform a content audit to come up with your content list. Carefully design each post, write engaging copy, and use a scheduling tool to plan your Instagram posts ahead of time.
Monitor the performance of every post, keeping an eye on the key metrics we mentioned earlier. Use the data to gain insights into what works best for your audience. Sendible’s analytics tool is perhaps the fastest and most convenient way to do this. It generates detailed reports in one click, providing you with what you need in a digestible format.
You’ll notice trends or spot which types of content are helping you toward your goals. Learn from all of your posts and adapt your Instagram marketing strategy as needed.
If you considered Instagram to be a primarily B2C marketing platform, you were not alone.
However, as this article has shown, it’s a powerful social network for B2B companies too. It’s an excellent outlet to reach key decision-makers, build leads, and secure conversions. In fact, whatever your goals are, Instagram can help.
B2B marketers must recognise that their approach should be different from standard users or B2C organisations. Curating authentic, B2B content is essential unless the goal of your profile is entertainment alone.
To best utilise Instagram for B2B marketing, three of the most important factors are planning, scheduling, and analysis. Getting your hands on a comprehensive social media management tool helps you optimise each of these processes and make the most of your Instagram marketing efforts.
Sendible’s management tool has multiple built-in features that will take your Instagram marketing to the next level, such as
If you’re unsure about investing in social media management tools, don’t worry. At Sendible, we offer a 14-day free trial to fully test our product. With no credit card and no obligation needed, you’ve got nothing to lose.