Social Media

How to Use Instagram for B2B Marketing

by Rebecca Bleznak August 28th, 2014

With more than 75 million active daily users and 200 million monthly users, Instagram is a marketing channel that’s too significant for B2Bs to ignore, both for its filtered images and short video features. Even if your company is not selling a product that looks great when it’s photographed – like the clothing, food, or household objects sold by B2C businesses – your company can still leverage Instagram to build awareness around your services, corporate culture, and brand values.

Major B2B providers including General Electric (GE), Intel, Maersk Line, VMware, and Cisco have been utilizing the visual medium’s video capabilities. At only 15 seconds long, Instagram videos allow companies to deliver their brand’s message in a concise manner with innovative, creative, and sharable content that makes a major impact in just 15 seconds.

If your business is new to Instagram, it’s natural to wonder how to use Instagram for Business for B2B marketing. Focusing on GE, they’re a company that continues to communicate their core message of innovation through its use of social media. In addition, GE Works is GE’s mission to showcase not just their technology, but also the people, places and stories behind this technology. Here’s what they and other companies are doing right – and what your business can use for inspiration:

1. Showcase your products. 

Let’s be honest: your latest technology may be truly revolutionary at solving an industry problem, but if you can’t clearly communicate what this technology does, it becomes hard to convey its value. Breaking things down in short “bite size” tidbits will help you produce a series of content that becomes informational. This can be helpful in understanding your latest technology while at the same time controlling the message, benefits and value.

Additionally, if you are pitching a reporter a story for some publicity, most reporters don’t have the time to do all of necessary research in order to fully understand your technology or product. This is where an Instagram campaign can really come in handy. Intel, for example, introduced businesses (and consumers) to the company’s new tablets with a series of clever Instagram posts where the new tablet “frames” famous cities and landmarks, like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

2. Provide demos and tutorials.

In addition to showcasing new technology or your company’s services, Instagram video can be a great platform for introducing your current customers to new product features. The social media management software company Sprout Social uses Instagram to roll out new features to its software platform, such as this simple video that shows users how easy it is to drag and drop images into posts directly from the Sprout browser extension.

3. Get innovative.

GE has taken on the difficult task of presenting somewhat boring information in an attention-grabbing way. Their popular time-lapse “Juice Train” video, for example, follows a train delivering orange juice from Florida to New Jersey. The video showcases GE’s on-board analytics that make the trip operate smoothly, and a short version of it could now be created with Instagram’s new Hyperlapse app. Cisco also knows how to make technology humorous, posting holiday-themed images created from systems hardware and hardware jokes. Popular posts include the Bruce Springsteen tribute “Cabling in the USA” and a “motherboard” Mother’s Day card.

4. Showcase the people and culture behind your products.

Instagram can easily provide and inside look at the people and core values that drive your business from behind the scenes. Oracle, for example, uses its Instagram account primarily as a “community and culture” channel, with videos and images that feature a staff member cruising through the office on a scooter, office ping-pong battles, and summer BBQs.

5. Share company news. 

Did your business just win a major industry award or land an amazing new hire? Are you celebrating a major company milestone? Rather than putting out a generic press release, use Instagram to share your big news with followers. Check out how MailChimp used Instagram to announce being named “Atlanta’s Most Bicycle-Friendly Business“.

Social Media Marketing Crimes

by Rebecca Bleznak August 19th, 2014

For both new adopters of social media and those who have had a fan page since their conception, blunders are inevitable. Like many other elements of marketing, trial and error is necessary for discovering what works best, and as our expectations and ideals continue to grow and evolve at a rapid pace, so must our best practices. Take the time to learn from the mistakes of others and the findings of social media marketing experts in order to avoid a slip-up that might cost your brand its good name.

1. Failing to Treat Your Customers as You Would in Person

The conversation element of social media is essential. Today’s customers expect a particular level of customer service from brands on social media. Despite the screens that separate us, everyone your brand interacts with deserves more than an impersonal auto response to their questions and concerns online. If you were speaking with customers at a help desk in a store, you wouldn’t give them all the same generic answer. Taking the time to respond properly to each tweet or comment is essential to managing your online brand.

That being said, you would also be expected to respond as quickly as possible to each customer. While there is wiggle room here, a recent study showed:

• 32% of customers expect a response from a company on their social media site within 30 minutes
• 42% of customers expect a professional response within 60 minutes
• 57% percent of all respondents expect the same response during the night and on weekends as they would expect during business hours

In other words, the fast-moving world of technology expects the same on both ends. If you’re unable to answer a question immediately, you should still always reply with a simple “I’m sorry, I will get back to your shortly” – and then do it.

2. No Long-Term Strategy

In order for long-term success, you should be committed to developing a plan for your social media marketing that helps you to meet your goals. The first step towards a strong social media marketing plan includes committing to at least 12-24 months of solid engagement and posting. It generally takes time to develop a fan base, and in order to measure your success, you need to track your efforts over a lengthy period.

This strategy should also consider whom you are trying to reach and what you are hoping to accomplish. If you have an online store, this is where you may be looking to point your customers. And if your target demographic is adults over the age of 30, Facebook is where you’ll want to focus most of your efforts. Social media can improve your business, but you have to pinpoint the specific direction you plan to take.

3. Forcing a Message

Your followers will soon dismiss a tired message that simply promotes your products or services. Red Bull’s marketing is a great example of this: Instead of focusing their promotion on their beverage itself, they dug deeper, and connected with a fan base that was interested in a fast-paced, active lifestyle. Rather than focus on what you want to get from your customers, focus on what they are looking for. Share powerful images on Instagram, ask questions on Twitter, and display quotes that invoke emotion on Pinterest. By keeping your customers engaged and interested, you will prove brand value and authority.

4. Carelessly Auto-Posting

When you link your social media accounts, you might think you are saving time and being efficient by auto-posting from one platform to the next. You write a tweet and also post it to Facebook, or you create an Instagram image and simultaneously tweet it. However, these platforms all work in different ways, and content should be tailored for them specifically.

For example, a tweet is generally short, and may include one or two hashtags in order to give it context. On Facebook, hashtags are still new (and used improperly, some may argue), and you have more characters to give your post context. When you share an Instagram post to Twitter, the user must click on the image and leave the platform in order to view it, which most users are not fond of.

5. Focusing on Quantity, Not Quality

Whether it’s followers or blog articles, too many companies measure their numbers and not their results. Quality content and leads are much more important than racking up a large number of followers and frequently adding mediocre posts to your blog. When the focus turns to meeting numbers and not pure quality, you will draw a less engaged audience and fill your website with content that does more to hurt than help you.

The ever-shifting popularity of social media platforms and etiquette may seem overwhelming, but your business can profit greatly from increased target audiences. Start with one platform where you believe your target audience spends most of their time, and work to build a strong presence there.

The Awkward Auto Respond: How To Avoid a Twitter Slip-Up

by Rebecca Bleznak July 31st, 2014

Automated social media tools can take the guesswork out of your social media strategy and save you time to focus on the big picture, right? This is certainly true, but it’s important to make sure a dedicated human being is still monitoring your automated social media processes. Even big name brands goof up from time to time, and sometimes these errors come from an over reliance on apps and the lack of a dedicated staffer to provide a human touch to your digital footprint.

Tools You Can Use…With Caution

Using apps to stay on top of your Twitter notifications can seem like the perfect time-saving solution, but keep in mind that using this can open a Pandora’s box of reputation management concerns. Many users report that automated direct messages (DMs) can feel like spam, so limit your messages to friendly greetings with no sales language at all. If you can, avoid mentioning the product or service altogether and stick with a simple “Hello and thank you!”

If you need to keep up with a high volume of followers and decide to use a tool to automate your responses, ShoutMELoud offers a round up of 4 social media tools. Of the 4 tools they cover, Twitter DMer may be your best bet, because it will customize your automatic DM to include a few details from the person’s account to give the message a more personalized feel.

Beware the Robot Reply

When it comes to interacting outside of private messages however, use caution when allowing an auto responder to do your social media marketing work for you. Several high profile companies have given us all a master class in what not to do when using social media tools. Media Bistro reports major snafus from Oreo, Bank of America, and, in one of the most infamous cases, insurance giant Progressive, who coldly auto responded nearly 20 times to users expressing concern over the way the company handled a claim following someone’s death. In addition, your auto responder likely won’t be able to weed out legitimate customers from “trolls,” so if you leave your replies in the hands of a machine, you may find your account responding to parody accounts and users with offensive usernames which can affect your brand identity.

As a general rule of thumb, avoid auto replies. Always keep a live person responsible for monitoring Twitter, especially during high traffic or high stress moments. A real person on the end of that tweet might take more time, but it can make a world of difference in preserving your online reputation. And, after all, customers are more likely to trust a brand that personalizes their content for authentic communication. Stick to scheduling your tweets, following a pre-approved list of responses and content calendar, and ask for advice when you’re unsure of how to reply to a particular customer or situation.

Is Facebook Still Relevant for Brands?

by Rebecca Bleznak July 24th, 2014

For years, Facebook has been the go-to social media platform for companies that want to build brand awareness. Then, recently, Facebook adjusted its algorithm to show brand content to a smaller number of people. The reason for this change? According to Facebook, the decision to adjust its brand algorithm was made to encourage brands to focus on building smaller audiences that are more highly engaged with the brand, rather than a broad group with minimal to no brand engagement.

Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm has long been a source of frustration for business owners, and many brands have not responded positively to the new changes. In particular, brands have expressed frustration that their overall reach is significantly down. A recent study published by the Copenhagen-based company Komfo confirmed this decrease in reach with the following statistics:

• Fan penetration decreased from 25.2 percent in August to 11.3 percent in March 2014.
• Viral amplification decreased from 0.42 percent in August to 0.39 percent in March 2014.

However, the same study showed that brand’s click-thru-rates actually increased over this same period, rising from 5.62 percent in August to 8.33 percent in March 2014. While organic reach has declined, it seems that Facebook’s adjusted algorithm is doing a better job of showing content to a higher percentage of people who are interested in this content. In short, Facebook and brand building still go hand-in-hand.

So, how can your brand make Facebook’s new algorithm work in its favor? Here’s what your business needs to know about the Facebook algorithm and brands:

1. Quality content drives engagement. Brands benefit from having smaller fan bases that are more highly engaged with their content. Interactivity is important for increased engagement. Rather than pumping out a steady stream of call-to-action posts, instead focus on creating content that drives fan interaction and comments. Facebook’s algorithm now aims to reward businesses when their fans are willing to engage with their brand, regardless of fan base size.

2. Local pages matter. Even for brands with national or global reach, these companies will still benefit from having local pages that speak specifically to one community. The same goes for brands that offer a range of different products or services. Consider creating multiple pages targeted at your different fan bases in order to tap into local search results (e.g., a page focusing on lifestyle content versus a page dedicated to your technical service offerings).

3. Buy ads, not fans. When it comes to metrics, you may be focused on the number of “likes” your fan page has over all else. It’s understandable: The more popular you appear, the more others may be persuaded to check out your brand. However, Wordstream.com did some investigating, and discovered that the value of a fan that you’ve purchased does not equal that of one that you’ve earned.

Instead, focus on your content. Create sharable content with sticky headlines that grab the attention of the followers you do have. And when you write something exceptionally good, use paid ads to amplify its reach, having faith that Facebook’s algorithm will do its job.