No one would like to be left behind and it is undoubted that business has to be on social media. You may be off Twitter and Facebook but are you on Instagram? Instagram is not for photographers and teens only because it has Instagram marketing tools that will help your business grow. There is so much going around on Instagram and you do not want to waste time learning this platform. Use this write-up to learn more about its tools.
5 Instagram Marketing Tools :
1. Social insight :
Social insight is among Instagram marketing tools which run a deep analysis of the account. It is easy to follow the engagement, interactions, and growth of the account. The main feature helps you estimate the required posting time and gain data on followers. You can also see info on average engagement. Additionally, this is more than a business account as this feature allows you to connect with others and compare their analytics. This is a promising tool that business owners use.
2. Repost :
Repost is one of the most essential Instagram tools for sharing user-generated content. When you do this, you show customers that you are appreciating them and their opinion. This tool is easy to use because you just need to click and share content while acknowledging the creator. This tool enables you to bookmark videos and photos you would like to report. It becomes possible to find photos by typing the username or hashtag and reposting by one button. This tool contributes to strengthening business relations with clients.
3. Instagram business blog :
Of late, Instagram has announced the launching of the business blog. This tool will be used as a resource for business so as to contribute to other companies’ success. According to Gramlike, you need to visit the blog to get the required info on the offers of this tool. You need to keep updated with news from the company and learn the way this tool is effectively used. Also, try finding out what other accounts of businesses are doing. Statistics of Instagram marketing show that forty-eight percent of brands have accounts and this includes almost all top one hundred brands. This indicates that Instagram competition is fierce and you need all the Instagram marketing tools to be on top. Nobody knows Instagram better than Instagram.
4. Boomerang :
Boomerang is yet another tool for video creation that appeals to the audience. Possessing a strategy that develops involves engaging the audience in the best way. You have to speak their language. According to liquid creativity, videos of the boomerang are a crucial section of the language. You can use it for purposes of filming videos on one second. The nice thing is that you do not need so much time as there is no need of audio. There is no need of working on dialogues. Capture the best moments behind scenes and make interesting videos about the product. A second can always be the difference.
5. Later :
A free plan is available. It provides thirty posts per month, one user, and one social profile. This is one of the Instagram marketing tools called the Linkin bio that makes it easy to shop Instagram feed. The Linkin bio is a landing page resembling Instagram feed and displays posts as clickable images. It is possible to access videos, photos, and accounts in later and have several media libraries; therefore, you do not have to share videos and photos with team members and Instagram accounts. It becomes possible to manage several accounts in the business plans. You can just have managers in teams to approve content and contributors and team members submitting media.
Conclusion :
It is fortunate to note that Instagram has edited its stance when it comes to Instagram marketing tools when it comes to scheduling. You will realize that these tools supporting scheduling also support direct Instagram publishing, and others help in boosting presence on social media.
I enjoy writing and I write quality guest posts on topics of my interest and passion. I have been doing this since my college days. My special interests are in health, fitness, food and following the latest trends in these areas. I am an editor at Content Rally.
Social media has been the cornerstone of B2C marketing for a long time. However, when it comes to B2B marketing and sales, it is only fairly recently that social media channels have started to dominate.
And while most B2B marketers now realize the enormous potential of this type of marketing, only true experts have figured out that simple presence on social media is far from enough. To raise awareness of your business, you need to be social on social media, which is, after all, very logical.
In other words, you need to initiate relationships, interact with people in a personal way and absorb your customer’s feedback. But apart from this, you also have to showcase your expertise in a humble way, listen to the voices and trends in your industry and keep an eye on competitors.
Marketing your business on social media can help you generate leads, improve website traffic, increase sales and create a brand identity with your target audience.
That being said, the sooner you realize that investing time and money in social media is necessary, the better results you will get. However, this type of marketing, just like crafting a Sales Enablement Strategy, takes time and skills.
Let this article be the first step on your journey to improving your B2B social media marketing. In it, you will find out the reasons why social media is essential for B2B sales and the tips on how to improve your sales through social media channels.
Why is social media so important?
Have you heard of social validation? Social validation is a basic human necessity and its presence has but skyrocketed thanks to social media.
According to the Content Marketing Institute’s report from 2017, as much as 83% of B2B marketers use social media as their preferred marketing channel. And even though increased brand awareness is one of the main goals of social media campaigns, it is far from being the only impact of this type of marketing.
As the matter of fact, social media is right at the top when it comes to the factors making the biggest impact on purchasing decisions, closely following industry analysts and web search. Therefore, it is obvious that social media is essential for B2B sales.
If you want to increase your B2B sales, you need to use the following social media platforms:
Facebook
Without a shadow of a doubt, Facebook is the number one platform. It is important for creating a community, marketing, and advertising, as well as influencing decision makers.
LinkedIn
As a platform originally intended for business purposes, LinkedIn is as influential as Facebook in some segments.
Twitter
Twitter is the final element of the social media triad, but slightly less important than Facebook and LinkedIn.
You may be wondering why Instagram and Snapchat are not on this list. And indeed, these two platforms, especially Instagram, are great for marketing. However, they are more effective for B2C marketers.
Benefits of social media marketing for B2B sales
To give you a clear picture of how social media can increase B2B sales, we will list some of the main benefits of social media marketing.
- Firstly, it builds brand awareness and visibility.
- It serves as an effective distribution channel for your business’ ideas, content and offers.
- You can create PR opportunities, brand loyalty, SEO, as well as positive web mentions by building brand advocates.
- Social media marketing drives new leads into the funnel when combined with whitepapers, fact sheets, eBooks and other content offers.
- Have you tried to use social media to increase the number of email subscribers? If you want to add more people to your mailing list, this will do wonders for your business.
- Moreover, this type of marketing is great for B2B customer feedback program and understanding the needs of your leads, customers, prospects, and advocates.
- Social media marketing can greatly improve your SEO results through third-party links, mentions, and interest in your content.
- You can build trust with your buyers by educating them and helping them understand the major factors that influence their purchasing decisions.
- Social media is perfect for B2B loyalty rewards programs and customer care.
Challenges of B2B social media marketing
There are always two sides of a coin. In spite of the numerous benefits of B2B social marketing, there are also certain challenges that B2B marketers face on a daily basis when it comes to social media.
When in Rome…
If consumers use social media for connection and entertainment, your message needs to address these requirements.
In other words, you shouldn’t slip into business jargon on Facebook or post silly memes on LinkedIn. Apart from that, you should try to establish a deeper connection with your customers by finding out what they read, what they comment on and who they follow.
This will help you better understand your prospects and existing customers, and tell them what they want to hear and how they want to hear it.
Being present 24/7
When your audience needs guidance or asks a question, you should be there for them. It is all about responding when they reach out for help.
The challenge here is to anticipate such moments and be ready to shine. Create a list of tips, reviews, product demonstrations, and video tutorials, and promote them through paid search and social advertising.
For this and similar reasons, you should constantly use social media for real-time marketing, an increasingly popular method which allows you to engage with your customers instantly.
Cherishing your influencers
Finding your perfect influencer and starting a conversation with them is one of the keys to a successful social media campaign.
To choose the right influencer for your brand, you need to study their audience, understand why they engage, what is their reach, style, and many additional aspects.
Getting serious about selling on social media
Once you have put in a lot of effort toward entertainment and connection, you need to sell. After all, that is the main goal of each business.
To grow your website traffic and nurture leads, you need to match your marketing efforts and sales goals. When you engage with the knowledgeable, empowered and well-connected customers, you practically close the gap between the social world and the business world.
The elusive ROI
Oh, the infamous ROI… This is definitely among the top challenges for all marketers, not only in the B2B field.
To get a satisfactory return on investment, you always need to give your customers new and fresh content on social media, as well as attend to their needs and join conversations with influencers. Then, when everybody starts listening to what you have to say, seize the moment and make the final move.
It is all about timing. With the right timing, you can sell everything, even ice to Eskimos.
The future of B2B sales
Everybody is wondering what the future of B2B sales will look like. So far, we can identify three main trends.
The buying process will become easier
In essence, a more open approach to purchasing is obviously emerging, as well as a multi-channel unified experience closely resembling the B2C experience.
Moreover, along with those two, the need for highly personalized interactions will result in increasing buyer trust and lead to more data becoming available.
The focus will shift to long-term customer value
Businesses will have to focus on customer needs and customize their selling approaches, Also, adding value to products and services will be an indispensable part of every sales process.
In addition, selling will become more intelligent. In other words, sales teams will need to educate customers about their needs and engage with stakeholders and decision makers to discover and highlight those needs.
Data and analytics will play a major role in creating customer value
The days of guessing in sales have long gone. To create value for customers and interact with them effectively, social media marketers will have to use data and analytics through:
- science and sales
- AI and the virtual experience
- sales and the social business
In many of these strategies, social media will play an important role. From the multi-channel approach and market intelligence to education and connection, B2B sales will be impossible without social media platforms.
Finally, from a technical point of view, it is evident that outsourcing social media is becoming increasingly popular. This is a strategy that can be very effective, especially for small businesses. However, if you decide to do this, we advise you to be careful and avoid the most common social media outsourcing mistakes.
How to Sell More on Social Media
Now that you have learned why social media is so important for the B2B sales process, you probably want to know how to use social media to increase sales.
Here are the five useful tips on how to sell more and better on social media.
Choose the right social network(s)
Not all the platforms will work for all businesses. When choosing the best social media channels for your business, you need to consider several factors:
- your niche
- your audience
- your goals
For example, according to a study by Google and Millward Brown Digital published in 2015, the number of decision makers aged between 18 and 34 years increased by 19% in only two years (from 27% in 2012 to 46% in 2014).
This is why you need to find out the favorite platform of your customers and tailor your message to them, the network and your brand.
Remember – no business jargon on Facebook or crazy memes on LinkedIn.
Be active on LinkedIn
Whatever other networks you choose, keep in mind that LinkedIn is a must. When it comes to B2B marketing, this platform is essential and you can’t risk not using it.
To shine on LinkedIn, you will have to be very active. This means that you should:
- use LinkedIn’s Saved Search feature in order to create a search based on your ideal customer profile and be notified each time such a person signs up
- join and participate in LinkedIn groups to build your network and referrals
- connect with potential customers to start conversations
Contribute to existing conversations
This goes for all the social media networks you are active on. When you contribute to conversations about your brand and interesting topics in your industry, customers see this as adding value.
The best way to do this is Twitter and its search function, but you can use other networks too.
Share relevant content
More and more B2B buyers search for information on services and products on social media. Your answer to this should be simple ‒ sharing relevant content.
This is another way to add value, and you can do it by providing white papers, product sheets, case studies, webinars, comparison worksheets and so on.
In addition, you can share useful blog posts, infographics, tutorials and other types of content. In a nutshell, you can share anything that you think could help your customers.
Use the right tools
Finally, using social media for marketing purposes without different kinds of tools is practically impossible. There are so many aspects software tools can improve and so many ways they can help you rock your campaigns that not using them is a real waste of time.
Using effective social media marketing tools will help you find more relevant content, schedule your posts, measure and analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns, as well as use that data to improve your future campaigns.
Wrapping up :
Social media networks are becoming an essential part of every B2B sales process. However, in order to sell more on social media, you need to understand all the benefits and challenges of this process.
This is definitely not a one-time activity. Rather, think of it as of a long journey that includes a lot of small steps. It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock your B2B social media campaigns.
But if you take all the steps that we listed, you will find that the results will follow. This is one of those journeys that you have to enjoy if you want to reach your destination.
Read Also :
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Instagram took only a year and a half to report more than 1 billion active users. Instagram is known to be the most visual of all platforms, and it plays a vital role in the success of small businesses. Instagrammers and consumers visit the platform to comment, like, and engage with established and growing brands like yours.
As a brand, besides posting engaging content, you should also use an Instagram growth service to gain organic followers. According to recent studies, Instagram has been shown to have more engagement than Facebook and Twitter.
Because of this, Instagram is considered a viable social platform for your marketing. However, there are mistakes that a lot of brands make on their accounts which leads to fewer followers and reduced engagement. Here are some Instagram marketing mistakes to avoid.
Top 5 Instagram Marketing Mistakes To Avoid
1. Lack of Goals
If you haven’t set up your Instagram or brand goals, you don't have a plan, which means you have no direction. Lack of focus means zero consistency which is a turn-off to your followers. Consistency helps in building trust with your customers.
Additionally, if you don't have clear goals, it shows you don't know what you want from your followers. And your followers will not understand what you require from them, leading to a disconnect that may get you unfollowed. Without a certain goal, even if you plan to buy Instagram accounts in bulk to enhance your engagement won't help you anyway. Therefore, outline your goals before starting your Instagram account. For example, do you want brand exposure or boost sales?
2. Duplicating Content
Instagrammers are quick to unfollow accounts that constantly post duplicated pictures and videos. While there might be a good reason to repost a photo or video occasionally, it's good that you keep that to a minimum.
Research shows that Instagram users can quickly unfollow and stop interacting with your page, products, or services if you don't have unique or engaging content. Therefore, mix your content up by adding memes, quotes, or videos.
3. Lack of Engagement
Most consumers abandon brands due to poor customer service. You will lose out if you fail to engage with your Instagram followers. Your followers support you by liking your brand and commenting on your posts. Ignoring their comments by not replying or liking them will make you look disinterested and neglectful. Improve your customer relationship by engaging and communicating with your consumers, and take at least thirty minutes daily to reply to some of these comments.
4. Misusing Hashtags
One can easily misuse hashtags on Instagram or mislabel posts with the wrong hashtags. Having promotional hashtags is a way to create awareness of your brand. However, there are several rules you should consider before using your choice of hashtags. While Instagram allows up to thirty hashtags per post, you shouldn’t bombard your posts with tens of hashtags as it can overload your marketing strategy.
Similarly, you should be careful not to put too few hashtags. According to the ultimate guide to hashtags, using eleven of them in a post will give you an interaction of about 80% compared to those that only use two hashtags per post.
5. Ignoring the Latest Trends
Social media trends aren't just for influencers and Gen Z. As a brand, you should be aware of Instagram trends and use them in a way that is true to your products or services. However, this doesn't mean you must join every trend. Find those that best fit your brand’s image and then create videos and reels in line with the trends.
Conclusion
Instagram is easy to navigate. However, when it comes to the marketing part, it can be a hard nut to crack. You can use the platform to generate traffic to your website, build a loyal audience, and grow your followers and brand. By avoiding the above mistakes, you can improve your page and increase your chances of gaining more followers.
Additional:
Instagram Advertising For Beginners
6 Best Practices When Buying Instagram Followers
Picuki Reviews – Popular Instagram Editor & Viewer
How To Improve Your Social Media Branding By Getting More Instagram Followers And Likes
Innovation is essential to attain success in any field. It becomes all the more important in the business sector. Trade and E-commerce are always evolving and is hardly ever stagnant. Over time, there has been a massive change in the mentality of customers. Thus, it is necessary for business owners to keep up with these changes and alter their marketing strategies accordingly. Failure to do so will result in losses in business. If you are catering to millennials and Gen Y, then you have to understand their psychology. You have to think and perceive things like them. The new generation is dependent on technology and electronic gadgets. They hardly get time to go through day’s newspaper. So, if you limit your advertising strategies to traditional media, then you will fail to make a mark on the minds of new-age buyers. Invest time and effort to understand their mentality. It will offer valuable insight that will come in handy to revamp marketing strategies, with the help of social media.
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Keep an eye on customer behavior :
Charting the behaviors of the customers on your site is a must if you desire to target the new-age clients correctly. If you can influence these people positively, then your advertisement techniques will be successful. Specialized software and digital tools are available, which help online business owners to watch and monitor client behaviors. Not all clients will offer feedback or take part in online surveys, which help traders to finalize their marketing strategies. If you can monitor the online behavior and activities of a prospective client, you will be able to understand his/her needs. Depending on the analysis of this data, you will be able to chalk out the perfect advertisement strategy on social media.
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Using online influencers :
Their idols greatly influence youngsters. Whether it is pursuing their aspirations or taking pointers for the latest fashion trends, millennials depend heavily on the virtual world. It is here that online influencers play a massive role in manipulating a person’s purchase decisions. Youngsters have a particular liking towards action stars. If you come across a picture of Vin Diesel, sporting lotto shoes, then you will try to copy the same look. Thus, your search for the perfect lotto shoes online will commence. Such individuals, who have imminence following on the social media, can later customer behaviors easily. Business houses, big or small, have recognized the importance of social media influencers. Thus, companies are approaching these individuals to promote the products to the target clients.
Special offers on social media platforms :
If you think that social media is only useful as a marketing platform, it is about time you shun that notion forever. This platform will also assist a business owner in increasing his/her sale of products. Yes! By now, you must have understood that social media platforms are millennials’ and Gen Y’s playground. Thus, the best way to attract their eyes and compel them to make a purchase is by announcing special offers or new launches, which will feature exclusively on social media. As these individuals are always hooked on their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or MySpace accounts, advertising or offering exclusive discounts on these channels will ensure that your target customers don’t miss out on the opportunity. New-age buyers are always looking for a good deal on quality products. If you offer the best goods and services, at exclusive discounts, there will be an immediate rise in your overall sale. Sending the word out to millions, with the touch of a button, would not have been possible without access to social media platforms.
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Create exciting and visually appealing contents :
Creating and posting content, on social media are mandatory for any business operator. Online marketing has surpassed traditional shopping. More and more people, especially millennials and Gen Y depend heavily on online shopping because it is convenient and saves time. If you desire to stay in the limelight for all the right reasons, then publishing interesting content about the company and the brand is a must. But dry words alone will no longer make the cut. You need to spice things up with visual stimulators. Graphs, infographics and related images will not only enhance presentation but will also add value to your content. Presence of infographics offers the information in a summarized format.
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Social media will strengthen the communication bridge between the sellers and the buyer. The producers can inform clients about the launch of a new product or the positive aspects of existing goods, while customers will be able to send their feedback to the manufacturers. The business owner has to pay heed to these feedbacks and make changes accordingly. If now, then clients will switch over to another company in no time. If you continue to lose customers, it will harm the goodwill and status of the company in the business arena.
Read Also :
How To Boost Traffic To Your Small Business
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