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Instagram: 16 Best Practices for BtoB Publishers, Continued

March 23, 2015

In our last post, we talked about why Instagram has great potential for BtoB Publishers and shared some basic best practices. Let’s get right to the nitty gritty:

Watch The New York Times: Ever since the release of the NYT Innovation Report, the publication has been experimenting heavily in social media. Instagram is no exception. Even though they launched their first and most popular (@nytimesfashion) Instagram account in 2011, they now have 8 different teams with 8 different accounts. The strategies vary from team to team. Some repurpose existing content for Instagram, while others develop exclusive content for the platform. But, it’s important to note their approach: for them, it’s about building awareness and loyalty. And they don’t ignore the fact that most of the Instagram users are young, wealthy and engaged. The Times is looking to the future readership and priming them, with post that are relevant to that audience. Why is their fashion account so popular? They attribute it to their passionate editor who has maintained a very specific visual voice. With 727,000 followers and post that glean thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, you can’t really argue with that.
Pay Attention to BtoB Publishers with High Engagement. It’s nice that you don’t have to blaze the trail on Instagram. You might as well take advantage of that fact. There are numerous BtoB companies already on the platform. And conveniently, here’s a list of the 10 who glean the highest engagement. Follow them and see what works. Of course, you may find others who are more relevant to your brand—but the point is, watch and learn. You’ll pick up on plenty of do’s and don’ts. Bonus tip: there is a lot of hype around what General Electric is doing. Check it out and decide for yourself.
Use the Video Function: Instagram’s 15-second videos allow you to deliver concise, targeted messages and information. Use the function to its fullest potential and create video series that are useful and enlightening (look to the next few in the list for ideas of how).
Introduce Your Team: Snapshots are a great way to provide a sneak peek into someone’s way of working or how they build their expertise. Let your audience get to know the people in your company and the experts on your team through a series of snaps that put bring the audience to your door without making them travel. Highlight employee accomplishments and quirks.
Share Company History: Sharing the history of your company is a great way to give your audience insight to who you really are. Use that #throwbackthursday or #tbt tag and see what happens.
Do Demos and Tutorials: Those 15 seconds of video can be rich in information. Use them to show your readership how to use your products to their fullest potential. Invite your audience to develop some of their own, and contribute to the series.
Do a Q&A Series: This is a great way to demonstrate your thought leadership or provide more personalized insight into your company. Design a series that not only provides useful information, but let’s the audience get to know someone in your company.
Share News: It’s true; a photo is worth a thousand words. Share company news with iconic photos or images. Did you move? Launch a new product? Hire a new employee? Win an award?
Promote Events: Your images can be a flyer or poster, or an intriguing place. Your videos can introduce presenters or ideas to build interest. There are numerous ways to promote your events on Instagram.
Share the Journey: What is the experience of your company? Are you taking your products out into the world? If your staff is traveling, let them share the journey via photos and video. Make sure you geotag those posts to attract local audience members.
Have Fun! Everyone loves multimedia and you should love using it for your business. Have fun with it and your company culture and personality will show through.

Take some time to experiment with these best practices and soon you'll have a strategy perfectly suited to your team AND your audience.