Even though I’m a graphic designer by trade, I like to read articles and educate myself on the goings on of the social media and digital world so I can more effectively collaborate with my team. And it helps me see the campaign goal as a whole and how each piece contributes.
This week I read a great article on HubSpot talking about Instagram and using it for B2B engagement. Great tips by the way, but it then prompted me to ask myself, “What changes to these tips would be made to increase the efforts of B2C?” And so, instead of waiting for another article to come along, I decided to take the question to our resident Social Guru Erica Skrivan to have her help me understand the sometimes subtle differences in the approach.
Erin: Good afternoon your Greatness. I hope this day has blessed you with added intrinsic knowledge. I’ve come to you today in hopes of gaining knowledge on the interactions required for a successful Instagram B2C engagement. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for me?
GURU: For you, I would answer anything.
Erin: So one of the tips I read was that stock imagery is frowned upon in the B2B Instagram market and that real-time content is king because it adds the human element. Is this the same for B2C?
GURU: I would say even more so for B2C! Customers can tell if it’s a stock, posed, fake photo, and what they want more than anything is to build that relationship and feel like they KNOW you, or feel like they’re being seen and heard by the company. Using photos submitted by customers is not only a great idea, but it also means you have tons of content!
Erin: “Go fast and Mix it up” was something else I read. Why is this important for B2B & B2C?
GURU: Time is money. Instagram is a quick and easy way to reach your customers in just moments. Not only is it quick to publish, but it’s simple to create an image to post. You can easily mix up the type of image, share a video, etc., and see what gets the most engagement with your customers with ease and very little commitment, if you will. Like online dating.
Erin: Instagram is image and video based, but engagement is key. I feel like regardless if you are B2B or B2C this is important to do. Tell me about why you feel this part is crucial.
GURU: It’s always important to interact with your customers and engage. You want to hear from them, what it is they like, dislike, improvements they might want to see, their interests, to help you better build your brand. But they also want to hear from you and build a relationship, to know that there is a face (or many happy faces) behind the account. Regardless of the photo you post, it’s huge to engage with the users, ask them questions, tell them a story, and invite them into your community. In no time, you’ll have rabid fans who want to interact and talk, meaning they would happily share your message!
Erin: I’ve honestly never used Instagram’s “Stories” and this is mentioned in the section regarding the importance of story-telling with each post. Do people really engage with these?
How much content is needed?
GURU: Instagram Stories are huge, especially with the popularity of Snapchat. In fact, my prediction for 2018 was that Instagram Stories would overthrow Snapchat and I’m standing by this prediction! It’s simple to post a story, it’s just a quick video or photo that you can draw on, link to your website, tag people or companies, and get your message across. People tend to flip through the stories and it’s a nice way to get in front of them and humanize the brand! It doesn’t have to be formal, it could be a quick video showing your office staff or the owner of the company blowing out his birthday candles, it doesn’t matter! People want to get to know YOU.
Like most, I started out using Instagram as a fun way to share pictures, and yet it has now blossomed into another fantastic way to share content and engage with your audience – both personal and business oriented. And it sounds like if you haven’t yet gotten on board with this free tool, now might be the perfect time to dive in! I hope you found this blog insightful. See you in the cloud!
Until next time!
*https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/expert-b2b-instagram-tips
