Instagram for Business: A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Robert Katai

Instagram is hot right now. Vibrant imagery. Stories. IGTV. Users are heading to the platform to be inspired by content created not only by family and friends but brands too.

Don’t believe me?

Over 500 million Instagram accounts worldwide are active daily. And 80% of accounts follow a business. Today, it’s not a question of whether you should be using Instagram, but how you should be using it.

So how can brands expand their reach and best drive results? We went to Bannersnack Content Marketing Manager and CMI blog contributor Robert Katai.

We had a fast-paced #CMWorld Twitter chat with Robert, as he and many members of our community shared their experiences with Instagram. A look at two of our most-talked about questions is below. For more tweets and responses from the discussion, check out our Twitter Moment.

If your product/service/industry is not highly visual, can Instagram still be useful for content marketing?

A6) welcome to the problem so many companies have. But you know what? Blenders weren’t interesting until Will it Blend. Where there is a will, there is a way. #cmworld

— Jenn ??⚪️?? (@Renoe) November 13, 2018

A6 If it’s not visual, you can use Instagram to engage with your audience via Instagram Live (you can do short Q&A) or just taking the discussion private on DM #CMWorld

— Robert Katai (@katairobi) November 13, 2018

A6: IG can be useful if you find the right way. Is there a niche part of your #B2B brand that is more relevant to an Instagram audience? (Employee dogs? ?)
Look for those opportunities.
Don’t do IG for the sake of it, there’s too little time and too much #SMM for that! #CMWorld https://t.co/7KHBzx4Wtd

— Kristen McCabe (@AusmericanGirl) November 13, 2018

Photos, videos, going live: How do you know if Instagram Stories is best for your brand? How much effort should you devote to content that disappears after 24 hours?

A5. I think this falls under the commandment:
Know Thy Audience
Your followers (and especially those raving fans) will be a good guide. If they ask for more, do more. If they don’t, maybe you can ease off of it. #CMWorld https://t.co/Rq5gNXqCgQ

— Gene Petrov – Leadership Coach to Marketers (@GenePetrovLMC) November 13, 2018

A5: We’re honestly still figuring that out for ourselves, but we’ve seen some brands do really well with more editorial type stories, that literally read like interactive spreads. Others thrive better with on the fly stories of their office, people, and product/service. #CMWorld

— Click Ctrl Marketing (@ClkContrl) November 13, 2018

A5: I love doing stories for events or special offers. Something that is timely and isn’t a “static” part of your brand. Fresh content always works great for stories. Photo / video posts, to me, are great for ongoing culture / brand / user value content. #CMWorld

— Patrick Delehanty (@MDigitalPatrick) November 13, 2018

How are you leveraging Instagram? Are there brands doing it right? Let us know in the comments below.

Can you picture yourself on the Content Marketing World stage? If you said “yes,” then why not consider applying to become a CMWorld speaker. We’re accepting session proposals until December 14.