February 2017

Oftentimes, we think of live video as a B2C marketing tool. Brands can use live streaming to interact in real-time with the customers who will directly use their services or purchase their products. As a result, live video is a largely untapped tool in the B2B marketing world—which is why you should be utilizing it.

General Electric (GE) recently spoke about why their executives utilize Facebook live to connect with other businesses. “You have to go where the world is, and everyone’s on Facebook,” said Beth Comstock, GE’s Vice Chair. Communications Specialist Alaynah Tombridge adds that live video “is a real-time feedback loop…the conversation can sometimes go in different directions. And there’s something much more authentic about that.”

Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and other live stream media outlets are ideal for B2B marketers because conversations among businesses can develop organically, similar to a face-to-face meeting. B2B marketing is about transparency, honesty, and accessibility, and all of these things are present in video live streams. Your credibility and trust level increases when others can connect with you live.

Not only are there tons of things you can capture on live video, but you can repurpose those videos to generate YouTube videos, blog posts, and website content. Going live at a seminar, conference, or company event allows people to connect with your business and industry in a way that they couldn’t before.

Live video can be used for a variety of B2B marketing strategies:

• Entrepreneur/startup community: share and learn with one another
• Recruiting: share culture, employee testimonials to connect with passive candidates
• Career and talent coaching
• Education (share webinars, meetings, conferences, recap discussions, etc.)
• Going “behind the scenes” to learn more about a company/industry
• “Ask an expert” to share your passion and knowledge around a topic

The importance of live video in B2B marketing is just another example of why professionals need to get comfortable with being in front of a camera in 2017. Sharing your thoughts, passions, and insights via visual and audio elements is the ideal way to connect with other businesses, your customers and peers.

In the past, we have considered the big 3 in digital as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Now, the big 3 are LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. According to a study conducted by Webpage FX, Instagram is quickly outpacing Twitter and becoming the next big platform for marketers. The study cites that Instagram currently has 600 million monthly active users, growing 4x over the past two years. Furthermore, brands get 120x more interactions on Instagram than on Twitter, and 58x more than on Facebook.

Simply put, engagement levels are higher on Instagram. The simple feed design allows users to quickly access the posts of those they follow without having to sift through things their friends have liked, commented on, etc. Instagram also gives brands an outlet to be more creative than on other social media sites. Utilizing hashtags and photo campaigns is an easy way to engage customers and gain followers.

Additionally, the inclusion of Instagram Live in the app’s newest update provides a more organic way for brands to reach out to their customers. With this new feature, users can live stream a video that appears at the top of each of their followers’ home pages. Followers can click on the live button and watch what is happening in real-time. They can comment and like throughout the video, and these interactions appear to the user posting the live stream.

Instagram also offers paid sponsored posts that appear in the feeds of every user, regardless if they follow the advertiser’s account or not. Some posts even allow brands to post multiple pictures within one post that users can scroll through by swiping left or right. Instagram For Business also allows brands to put a “contact” button next to the “follow” button on their profile page, allowing users to quickly and easily email or call the brand.

Humans are highly visual, and the emphasis that Instagram puts on visual elements makes it an ideal platform for sharing information with current and potential customers. Webpage FX also created a list of best practices for creating Instagram posts, and recommend brands post more photos than videos, show faces and color, and utilize negative space.

There are, of course, some downfalls to using Instagram as a way to promote your brand. For example, the app is not very link-conducive. You cannot add hyperlinks to post captions or in comments. The only place to post a link to a website, body of work, or video is in the profile bio; however, with the app’s exponential growth and engagement, especially among brands and their customers, it is a strong possibility Instagram will fix this issue in 2017.

If your company does not currently have an Instagram, it may be time to consider creating one. Instagram is only expected to grow in the coming year, and it’s intense popularity may cause other social media outlets, especially Twitter, to become obsolete when it comes to marketing.