UPS Store Takes B2B Marketing Outside the Box

The UPS Store is showing business-to-business (B2B) companies what brand activation looks like on social media, and on an unexpected platform at that.

Recognizing that pictures of brown boxes and packing peanuts don’t exactly make for the type of visually stimulating posts that attract over one million users per month to Instagram, the retail arm of the world’s largest package delivery company used the photo-sharing app to showcase their customers’ unique stories.

Last year, the #TheUPSStoreCustomer campaign received multiple accolades for its use of user-generated content (UCG) “to tell their brand story in a way that feels authentic and charming.” ⁽¹⁾

A blog article making a case for B2B use of Instagram, recommends that if a business is focused on brand activation — gaining affinity and inspiring consumers to act — Instagram is the place to be. “When evaluating Instagram, please eliminate the notion of B2B versus B2C. It’s all P2P (person-to-person),” the author advises.

The article, The Curious Case of B2B Marketers Avoiding Instagram, says “Brands that are successful on Instagram align their values with those of their customers and make their customers the focus.”

The franchise division’s Instagram channel feed features the unique stories of their small business customers. And it doesn’t get much more customer-centric than the company’s bio: @TheUPSStore: Here to champion America’s makers, crafters & small business doers. Celebrating all who’ve chosen a life of entrepreneurship.

Now two years old, #TheUPSStoreCustomer campaign is still innovative. According to a 2018 survey by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) only about 25 percent of B2B respondents use community building and audience participation to nurture their audiences.

Instagram is an ideal platform to build a sense of community and drive engagement, especially if you’re marketing to millennials. Statista, the statistics portal, reports that 62 percent of Instagram users are 24 or older. Think with Google, the tech giant’s research site, says that 89 percent of B2B researchers use the internet during the research process and that nearly half of all B2B researchers are millennials.

As adoption by older demographics rises, I expect more B2B marketers will consider featuring UCG on Instagram as a way to connect with their customers.

“This, may come as a shock, but people like to share their opinions and BE SEEN on social media. When a brand empowers them, enables their behaviors and needs, AND gives them a broader platform to showcase it, then it spreads like wildfire.” ⁽²⁾

^References:

^{(1)“9 Standout Examples of UGC Marketing Campaigns.” CrowdRiff, crowdriff.com/ugc-marketing-campaigns/.}

^{(2) Anderson, Chad. “The Curious Case of B2B Marketers Avoiding Instagram.” Medium, Strategic Content Marketing, 19 May 2017, medium.com/strategic-content-marketing/first-things-first-can-we-agree-to-make-a-pact-to-stop-making-excuses-and-dismissing-why-your-b2b-78ebc11af5aa.}

^Sources:

^{“2019 B2B Content Marketing Research: It Pays to Put Audience First.” Content Marketing Institute, 11 Oct. 2018, contentmarketinginstitute.com/2018/10/research-b2b-audience.}
^{“7 Of the Best B2B Social Media Marketing Campaigns of 2017.” MESH Interactive Agency Blog, 2 Oct. 2018, blog.meshagency.com/7-best-b2b-social-media-marketing-campaigns-of-2017/.}
^{“9 Standout Examples of UGC Marketing Campaigns.” CrowdRiff, crowdriff.com/ugc-marketing-campaigns/.}
^{Anderson, Chad. “The Curious Case of B2B Marketers Avoiding Instagram.” Medium, Strategic Content Marketing, 19 May 2017, medium.com/strategic-content-marketing/first-things-first-can-we-agree-to-make-a-pact-to-stop-making-excuses-and-dismissing-why-your-b2b-78ebc11af5aa.}
^{Bernazzani, Sophia. “The 10 Best User-Generated Content Campaigns on Instagram.” HubSpot Blog, blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-user-generated-content-campaigns.}
^{“Global Instagram User Age & Gender Distribution 2019 | Statistic.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/248769/age-distribution-of-worldwide-instagram-users/.}
^{“Instagram: Active Users 2018.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/.}
^{“The Changing Face of B2B Marketing.” Google, Google, www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/the-changing-face-b2b-marketing/.}