Instagram

Instagram is constantly innovating to support small businesses in an unprecedented climate for entrepreneurs, and it’s mission in Spring 2021 was to ensure they were firmly aligned with small business success as the UK economy recovers. Instagram also wanted to directly support and communicate with independent small business owners – of which there are more than ever before, improving awareness of their tools, increasing understanding and positivity, and ultimately aligning with their values, ambition and goals in a supportive and practical way.

Our response to this challenge was twofold: we established a dedicated small business press office, which executed the media relations around globally led news and functionality updates relevant to the UK SMB market, case study development, advertorial partner liaison, proactive pitching and news scanning.

We also established Instagram’s first ever UK Small Business Mentorship programme: a tangible demonstration of Instagram’s commitment to helping small businesses around the country, with genuine positive impact. The programme was run in partnership with Small Business Britain, and turned around in just two months. To promote the programme’s aims, it’s values and ultimately encourage sign ups, we developed a compelling mentorship package for the winners, hosted a webinar with a range of experts – including two small business owners – and developed bespoke social assets. The response from the small business community has been overwhelmingly positive.