B2B Monday Myth: B2B and Instagram Don’t Mix Well
by MGB2B
The Myth: B2B and Instagram Don’t Mix Well
The Truth: There are Lots of Creative Ways B2B Brands Can Engage with Instagram Users
Many B2B companies feel it is unnecessary to use Instagram. If you are one of the many, you are likely missing out on a significant chunk of engaged users. The platform has over 500 million users. And when it comes to B2B marketing, Instagram has some of the most engaged users in the world of social media. This is a quality over quantity story.
Here Are 5 Instagram Tips for B2B Brands:
- Don’t Make It about Your Products. It’s a mistake to use Instagram as your product portfolio. Get creative and tell a story about your brand. Build a relationship. Perhaps you tell stories about craftsmen at your company to highlight their attention to detail. There are so many possibilities.
- Talk About Your History or Your Philosophy. Customers and clients connect with your brand more deeply when they see that you are authentic. Or amusing. Or smart. Instagram is where your brand voice can come to life.
- Include People in Your Photos. Whether it’s a buyer or a CEO looking at your Instagram feed, the one thing you can count on is that it’s a person. People do business with people, not with the business itself. So be sure to feature the people that make your organization great wherever you can. For instance, show a photo of your CEO with a quote from him or her. Show hands operating machinery. Post a photo of your Administrative Assistant on Administrative Professionals’ Day. Again, this is an opportunity to show that your brand has a good culture behind it, IN ADDITION to good products or services.
- Use Hashtags. This is important. Hashtags provide prospects a way to find your brand on Instagram. You can jump on the bandwagon with popular business hashtags, or even hashtags for the masses like #MotivationMonday as long as what you post is relevant to your audience. You can use them to promote events you’re hosting or simply to categorize your posts (e.g. #manufacturing, #construction, etc.). Do a little research to find out what is popular in your industry.
- Put Links in Your Bio. When you want to promote something in particular, you can put a link in your company bio and drive people to it in the comments section of the photo you’re posting. You can use this approach to promote events, new partnerships, and even new products, on occasion.
B2B and Instagram can be best friends when the platform is used to project company values and brand character. Emotion, values and brand character play a bigger part than you might think in the B2B decision-making process. And Instagram is a great place too influence that process.
Continue ReadingThe Right Creative Media Mix to Feed Your B2B Sales Funnel
by MGB2B
With so many advertising options out there, it can be difficult to sift through the clutter and decide what the right B2B media mix is for your business. A media mix is the combination of communication channels you can use to market your business. It can include print and online ads, radio, television, billboards, websites, email, and social media. The mix will vary depending on your specific marketing goals; however, there is always one commonality: we want the consumer to take action.
That action could be visiting a landing page, filling out a contact form, or making a purchase. Whatever the desired action may be, the goal of your marketing mix is to drive as many customers as possible to that action. How? By feeding each step of the sales funnel with the right media tools.
Step 1: Awareness
What It Is – The customer is aware of the existence of your product or service, but doesn’t know much about it. Yet.
Media Tools – Broad reach media such as print ads in trade publications, radio, and television ads on targeted channels.
Step 2: Interest
What It Is – The customer begins actively expressing an interest in your product or service, but may still be skeptical.
Media Tools – Targeted, informational media such as paid social media posts with industry-related topics, informational webinars with affiliate trade publications, sponsored e-blasts through trade publications, paid search.
Step 3: Decision
What It Is – The customer is interested, engaged, and ready to make their decision. The goal is to make sure it’s you they are choosing.
Media Tools – Targeted, sales-focused media such as direct email campaigns, paid social media, targeted online display advertising, paid search.
Step 4: Action
What It Is – The customer is ready to take the next step towards purchasing your product.
Media Tools – Continuation of media from Step 3, with renewed focus on driving customers to your point of sale (website, contact form, phone number, etc.).
There is no absolute formula for making a sale. But by putting together an enticing media mix instead of putting your eggs all in one basket, you can guide your potential customer through the sales funnel – and increase your likelihood of closing that sale.
Having trouble getting started? We’re here to help!
Continue ReadingA Call to Arms: AdWords Ad Extensions Can Be Your Greatest B2B Digital Marketing Ally
by MGB2B
HEY YOU!!!
Did I catch your attention? One of the overall goals of any B2B digital marketing campaign is to catch the audience’s eye and stand out from the competition. In a highly competitive arena like Google paid advertising, where our opportunities to attract quality attention are governed by strict rules like not being able to write something cheesy like “HEY YOU!!!” in an ad’s headline, and even stricter character limits, although this is getting a bit better lately with Google’s addition of new Expanded Text Ads, finding a way to separate yourself from the playing field can often be daunting. But fear not: Ad Extensions are here!
Any AdWords marketer worth their digital salt knows about ad extensions. They’re those complimentary bits of information that can show next to or below a text ad. There are a wealth of these extensions, and each allows the marketer the opportunity to give their audience a bit more info connected to their ad. But let’s focus on two that often go overlooked when setting up a B2B digital marketing campaign in AdWords.
AdWords Ad Extensions: Your Greatest Ally in the Fight for B2B Audiences’ Attention
Call Extensions: Call extensions allow you to show the phone number of your company alongside a text ad. This is a great way to improve your audience’s engagement with your ads. If a customer is using a desktop computer, your text ad will show your company’s phone number below the headline. If they’re searching on a smart phone, a “Call” button will show next to the add, allowing the customer to call you directly from the Google search results page with just one touch of their screen. This can be particularly handy in the B2B market, where an on-the-go salesman or contractor is searching for your company’s offerings.
Callout Extensons: Callout extensions run below a text ad providing added details about your company or offers, like the “Free Shipping” etc. in the ad below. These extensions offer you a fantastic way to highlight the key elements of your business in a structured line, and can be set up on an account, campaign or ad group level. And unlike their cousin Sitelink extensions, Callout extensions aren’t a clickable link and don’t require a unique attached URL. This allows you to single out special offers and calls to action, while still directing the audience to the landing page you’d originally chosen for your text ad. When trying to catch the attention of a busy B2B searcher, this can make or break an ad’s performance.
While both of these extensions offer their own specific audience engagement opportunities, they also provide an even more valuable service: they grab the searcher’s attention and make your ad stand out from the rest. On a search results page any available space is valuable, and both of these extensions allow you to take up more space than a stand-alone text ad would. And they add an air of authority and credibility to your ads, encouraging click confidence in your audience.
Historically, ads that show extensions like these can expect to see above average click-thru-rates and lead to conversions with lower cost-per-acquisitions, which are metrics any B2B digital marketer likes to see. Couple Call and Callout extensions with a well written, relevant text ad and you’ll be seeing better return-on-investment in no time.
The B2B paid advertising landscape on Google can often fell like a battlefield. Call on these ad extensions to help you win the fight! Need reinforcements? Drop us a line.
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