How to Use Instagram Stories for B2B Growth [With Examples]

Instagram may not be the first platform that comes to mind when marketing your B2B businesses. But the fact of Instagram’s popularity is clear—your target audience is likely on the platform. Yes, even B2B decision-makers are scrolling through Instagram.

Since Instagram is believed to be more for B2C companies, competition isn’t as crazy (yet). Only 33% of B2B companies are on the platform, so you can still be one of the first in your niche.

Instagram Stories, in particular, is one of the features B2B marketers should consider utilizing. With over half a billion daily users, It’s the best place to get discovered. Its limited-time nature makes it an excellent tool to speed up your target audience’s decision-making process.

Here are seven ways to use Instagram Stories for your B2B’s growth:

1. Improve Customer Experience with Instagram Story Highlights

While Instagram Stories’ defining feature is its 24-hour expiry, this doesn’t mean you can’t save relevant Stories to your profile for easy access. With Stories Highlights, you can recreate the menu tab found on your website so customers can easily navigate your profile and find the exact information they need.

Take a look at how Hootsuite’s uses its Instagram Story Highlights:

 Hootsuite, one of the best social media management tools out there, uses important categories such as resources, new features, and social updates for its Instagram Story highlights. Customers may want to easily view these types of information without having to scroll through Hootsuite’s entire feed.

Another notable Story category is social proof, which can help build trust and increase the chances of conversion.

It would also be an excellent idea to highlight your services and pricing information. If you want your followers to convert, important information like this should be easily accessible. 

2. Generate More B2B Leads with Story Lead Campaigns

In the last few years, social media platforms have become a valuable place for B2B companies to generate more leads. The recent report by Belkins says that the average B2B cost per lead is $100 if running social media ads, but there are more ways to generate more B2B leads - leverage the fear of missing out with Instagram Stories.

Through the years, Instagram has added features that are especially valuable for B2Bs, including lead generation ads. Unlike a regular boost, a lead generation ad has to be set up through the Meta Ads Manager.

Lead ads come with instant forms that can be set to be pre-filled with your audience’s information, making submission easier and hassle-free. Instagram ads metrics collected from your lead ads can be downloaded from Ads Manager.

You can choose placements purely on Instagram Stories or utilize the entire Meta Ad Network, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

Korean HR tech company Wanted Lab ran lead generation ads with placements on Instagram Stories to generate more registrations for its new analytics service.

A lead ad doesn’t necessarily have to include a form. You can also run a regular Instagram Story ad that aims to generate more messages or calls, if you have an action button ready.

Of course, you can also generate more leads without running ads. Using the link sticker on Instagram Stories, you can include a clickable link so viewers can quickly visit your sign-up page or lead capture form. 

3. Feature Happy B2B Customers & Their Success Stories

Since a B2B purchase is—more often than not—a major business decision, it’s crucial to build trust with your target audience. One effective way to show that you’re trustworthy is through social proof. The assurance that you’ve had successful transactions with other customers is more powerful than any other form of marketing content.

Take a look at how CRM software solution Salesforce utilizes storytelling and shows customer success stories and social proof on its Instagram Story highlights:

Salesforce highlights its big-name customers on its Instagram Stories, so leads still exploring its services can quickly see that the company has a proven track record of happy customers.

Beyond the usual written testimonial, it’s an excellent idea to include a photo or a video of your actual client sharing their experiences with your product and services. Adding a human face to customer reviews makes your business more relatable.

In the Salesforce example, brands like Mercedes and L’Oreal shared how the platform works specifically for their needs. Since not all businesses will have deals with such huge names, including a human element in your social proof content is even more important. Your Instagram stories can be a bite-sized version of long-form videos or case studies.

Nearly 100% of consumers will research a brand or a product before making a purchase decision. This is especially true for B2B products requiring a more in-depth understanding. Part of the considerations will always be reviews and a history of work. 

4. Announce New Product Launches

Instagram Stories is one of the best tools for creating hype around product launches or new features. Because Stories occupy the entire screen, your announcement becomes more immersive and entertaining. Plus, your customers are more likely to visit Instagram than any other platform or channel you have.

You can even use the countdown sticker for significant releases to get your followers excited and give them the option to get notified when your launch goes live.

Aside from the usual video promo announcement, you can show customers how to use your new product through a step-by-step tutorial.

Tech company Intel uses Instagram Stories to answer questions about its products. Leading to the launch of its newest processor, the brand used the “Ask me a question” sticker to invite followers to ask anything about the product. 

5. Understand Your Target Audience Better

Social media is the best place to get to know your target audience. You can learn more about your prospects by checking out their pages and getting information through Instagram or other third-party analytics platforms.

Through analytics and generative AI solutions, you can learn what type of content resonates with your audience to guide you in creating content that increases conversion.

In addition to the valuable analytics tools, you also have interactive stickers that make it easier for your audience to engage with you and vice versa. You can use the “Ask me a question” sticker, poll sticker, or quiz sticker to learn more about your audience.

Interactive stickers are a game-changer for B2B customers because they typically have to send an email, which may take some time before they receive a response. Or schedule a call to learn more about your products and services. Most early-stage customers won’t want to hop into a discovery call immediately.

Through interactive stickers, you can learn more about your audience in the earlier stages of their customer journey.

Aircraft company Airbus uses interactive stickers to get useful insights about its audience, such as design preferences and customer behavior. 

Not only does this tactic help to understand the target audience better, but it also improves user engagement, as Instagrammers love sharing their thoughts on the platform. Plus, you can always rely on social media listening tools to track brand mentions and better understand your audience.

The company has a dedicated Instagram Story Highlight album with the results of their polls where visitors can see other polls and the company can get quick access to the results, too.  

6. Show Your Niche Expertise

For B2B decision-makers, they need to know that they’re working with the best in the business. Instagram Stories is an excellent platform to discuss your product and showcase your thought leadership or niche expertise.

Email marketing platform Mailchimp has an aptly named Story highlight called “Leadership” where it posts all informational stories that can bring value to its audience.

To establish your thought leadership, it’s important to create content that doesn’t just sell your product and educates your audience.

Thought leadership posts can be anything from industry news and insights, studies, and content that prove your knowledge within your niche. You can also publish these niche researches on your blog and drive more traffic with the help of clickable Story links.

You can also host Instagram Story Q&A sessions where your Founder or any key person in your company can answer questions sent through the question sticker. Or you can choose from a variety of live streaming platforms and then repurpose your live sessions for Stories. What is more important is to remember that these Stories should be candid and unedited for a more “organic” feel.

7. Leverage Influencer Marketing

Influencers are just as important to B2B marketers as to B2Cs. Some might even argue that  B2Bs need influencers more than B2Cs do. This is because influencers are key to building trust with your audience, and trust is possibly the first thing a B2B decision-maker would look for in a partner.

According to a study by Ogilvy, 40% of B2Bs experienced an increase in lead generation and sales after running an influencer marketing campaign.

Instagram recently added a collaborative feature for Stories, which was created with partnerships in mind. You can also host an Instagram takeover where the influencer takes over your Stories for the day or simply ask the influencers to post about your brand on their page.

The project management platform Monday.com has a regular stream of influencers who post about it on their Instagram Stories.

When choosing an influencer, it’s not just important to partner with someone who has the right audience for your business but also someone whose content style and branding aligns with yours. 

Instagram Stories Have Great Potential for B2B Growth

The beauty of Instagram Stories is in its flexibility. You can post everything from videos, photos, candid Q&A sessions, animations, and more. Not to mention, there aren’t many platforms out there that boast 500 million daily users.

At first blush, Instagram Stories seem to waste time as this content format disappears within 24 hours. But they create the sense of missing out, so people pay close attention to ephemeral content. Moreover, there are many examples of using Instagram Stories for B2B growth, from providing social proof to showing off your niche expertise and working with B2B influencers.

Like in any platform, persistence is the key to achieving growth and success through Instagram Stories. So, post regularly, experiment with different formats, analyze your performance, rinse, and repeat.

By implementing the above-mentioned tactic, you can help your B2B company achieve business growth. And if you have doubts on how to do it right, you can always find a reliable social media marketing agency on The Manifest.