Instagram Sales
Marketing strategies and advertising have changed a lot since the rise of social media platforms, especially Instagram. Due to the enormous global reach, social media has developed over the years, every business inevitably needs to be present on different platforms and share their message all around the globe. The same goes for an e-commerce business, looking for ways of reaching more people, increasing their sales and rising above their competitors – Instagram sales would be all you need to boost your product online.
So, which Instagram features can help you grow and enrich your e-commerce business?
The answer is not farfetched, it’s already embedded in your scroll button.
Instagram Sales: 13 ways you can exploit Instagram features for your business or e-commerce products growth and sales
Set up a Business Account
The first step to drive sales is to create an Instagram business account separate from a personal account. If you already have a separate account for business, you can switch it to an Instagram business profile easily:
- Go to ‘Account Settings’
- Click on ‘Switch to Business Profile’
Promote your Brand
Instagram is a great place to advertise, especially if you have started a new business. This is because photos can drive sales without the need to say much about them. These ads come on the users’ news feed and it will not seem obvious to them, as they look very similar to regular posts, except with tiny sponsored tags on them.
Diversify your content Approach
Content on Instagram has a very diverse, creative and vibrant approach! More often than not, businesses do get confused with what needs to be posted on Instagram? So, here are the top posts which get maximum likes:
- Posts with faces (they get 38% more likes comparatively!) & food
- Event-related posts
- Product posts
- Team pictures
- Behind the scenes images
- Short Videos
- Memes
- Other User Generated Content (UGC)
Add Clickable Hashtags and Links
Your Instagram account needs to be the core of the action when it comes to connecting to your audience and customers. However, it also serves the purpose of redirecting your people to where you want them to be.
To help you guide your customers and those interested in your brand to other web pages, you can use clickable links.
Adding a link in your bio or as a caption to an image is a profitable practice when you want to inform people about:
- Sales
- Giveaways
- Restocking
- New collection
- Special offers
Simply add a link to your website, Facebook account or any other web addresses you want your customers to visit. It’s a simple yet effective call-to-action that will help you engage your audience.
Also, you can use clickable hashtags to turn your customers into your advocates. By creating a special brand hashtag and sharing it with your customers, you are creating a base of posts revolving around your products. Anyone who clicks the hashtag will be taken to the base of a separate post with all the images using the same hashtag.
Also, by inspiring your customers to use the same hashtag, you are securing that they spread the word about your brand and help you expand your reach.
Take Advantage of Instagram Stories to Build More Personal Rapport
Ever since their creation back in 2016, Instagram stories have become a huge hit. They are posted separately from the regular pictures and videos, and they last for 24 hours. After that, they disappear from your profile.
E-commerce brands use them to publish all kinds of engaging content from silly memes, product images and influencers they collaborate with to different calls-to-action and specific instructions.
Here’s how stories can help your e-commerce grow: It helps;
- Develop a more personal relationship with your customers
- Ensure they receive updates from you regularly
- Analyze data about which type of stories got the most views
Also, you can pin down the most engaging stories to your profiles highlights section. That will ensure they stay there forever and your audience has them available at all times.
Use Swipe Up Feature
Another form of helping your customers get what they want in less than a couple of seconds is using the Swipe Up/See More feature in your Instagram stories.
This feature (providing you have a minimum of 10,000 followers) enables instant redirecting to your customers’ desired landing page. For example, when you feature a product on your story, your goal is to evoke interest in your customers and have them buy the product.
Now, imagine they have to go to your website and type “women’s dress”, then scroll up and down until they find it. Luckily, you can just add the swipe up feature and lead them directly to the product they chose.
Tag Your Most Demanded and Appealing Products
Now, this is a fantastic feature for an e-commerce business account and you need to start using it ASAP. When your customers find something they like on your Instagram and they are considering buying it, you can now create the shortcut to their favorite products. It’s even faster than clicking the link in the caption.
You can tag a product on the picture itself and enable your clients an instant connection to the product from the image. All they need to do is click the tag and it takes them directly to your e-commerce website where they can purchase it.
This is perfect because it’s simple and quick which leads to more people making the purchase. The best part is? You can do this in both pictures and stories.
Use IGTV
Up to not so long ago, you could only post 1-minute-long videos to your Instagram accounts.
Although short videos perform excellently with Instagram users, the 1-minute length was kind of limiting for marketing creators. However, now there’s a whole new door open for those interested in posting longer videos and offering their audience a richer in content kind of materials.
Instagram TV is the latest addition to Instagram features and it offers you the chance of posting up to one hour long videos in full size.
You can use IGTV to publish rich in content videos about;
- The latest products
- Your retail store
- Influencer collaboration
- Fun facts
- Your team
Whatever comes to your mind, you can create it and publish it on Instagram, without thinking of the 1-minute time limit.
Employ Live Stories
“It’s a known fact that people enjoy bonding with their favorite brand and connecting with the people behind it on a more personal level,” says the CEO of PickWriters.
Instagram offers a feature for live streaming which allows you to interact with your customers in real-time.
You can create a live stream of basically everything:
- Product unboxing/unwrapping
- Q&A session
- Sneak peek to the latest products
- Important announcements
You can also read messages people are sending you and answer their questions. It’s extremely popular and beneficial for engaging your audience and having them feel like a part of your brand’s family.
Run Contests
Running an Instagram contest is one easy way to promote business and drive sales subtly. Also, this way your brand gets recognition, engagement, an increased number of followers.
Go for Influencers
So do you know what influencer marketing means? Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that uses people with influence to convey your brand’s message to a large number of people. You can hire an influencer instead of directly marketing to a large group of people.
Go for Instagram Paid Ads
Once you’ve used the above-listed promotion tactics the last option for you is to market your store with Instagram ads. While you can attract buyers organically, let’s be honest: You need to pay to play! See our recent post on how to promote your product with Instagram advertising.
Support and Reward your Brand Advocates
Flattery will get you everywhere! Your brand advocates play a vital role in social selling; they’re the ones telling your story as they see and experience it. Reposting their content is a powerful selling tool. Not only are you sharing customer endorsements for your products but you’re also showing your appreciation by recognizing those customers on social media. It’s like a thank-you note for purchasing.
Create real-life scenarios that will encourage advocates to represent your brand and share their love for your products. You can do this by supporting them, celebrating them, and offering them perks and benefits. Giving them gratitude and consideration for who they are will get you everywhere. It encourages them not only to embrace your brand but also to amplify it to their networks of followers.
Over To You
Looking back at all the features we’ve enlisted, you may be asking yourself: So which ones should I use? Well, the answer is simple: the ones best suited to your content strategy – the more the result.
Instagram offers so much for your e-commerce and your marketing strategy that you simply need to go all in and take advantage of as many exceptional features as your content strategy allows you to. Also, make sure to diversify and publish content in all forms to avoid becoming monotonous.
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