Instagram is becoming a social platform that every business is using to market and sell its products. It is an interesting platform that has over 1 billion users and still growing. The age group of these users is young people between the ages of 18-24.
Having started as social platform for sharing photos, it has grown to become a leading platform for businesses that target the youthful generation. Here they research, learn and share about booming brands and new products in the market.
As easy as it may sound, selling on Instagram isn’t. Remember your audience is very dynamic. You don’t just post photos of your products and call it a marketing day. No, you have to have a strategy that will help you turn your fans into real consumers for your products.
In this article, we will discuss about these strategies. Some will make sense depending on the product you are selling and the targeted audience. We will start off with strategies that will give your page and Business account more visibility.
Tips of Increasing Your Instagram Business Page Visibility
1. Use of photos and Promotional Posts
Remember Instagram began as a photo-posting app. With over 60% Instagram users using the social site to shop, and as a business person looking to use this platform to make sales, you will need to use photos to reach fans and potential consumers of your products.
Apart from just using photos, you may choose to run promotions. You may choose to have a time sensitive kind of promotion that would be for a day(s) or even hours. Or point out your followers to your bio and they can check out your latest product releases.
Instagram stories, is another interesting avenue for selling on this platform. If you are starting out on this, note you need over 10,000 followers to use this feature. It will allow you experiment with your brand in a few ways for example how you will call-to-action, share story-specific products that is different from your normal feeds.
Making use of product photos and promotional posts is a perfect strategy for creating conversations around your products and not just drive clicks.
2. User-Generated Content: Customer Photos
This is strategically using your customers’ photos as your best-selling billboards. Using these photos come in handy as it helps create high engagements around your products. It’s interesting noting that you only need to ask your fans to share photos of their latest purchases and you are good to go making use of this user-generated content.
Many companies are making the user-generated content strategy their pillar in sales. This is because selling on Instagram shouldn’t always be on your face. The fact that consumers are so eager to post and share photos of their latest product purchases, make use of that to your business advantage by using branded hashtags.
User-generated content is a strategy that allows you share your product photos in different angles. Seeing your products out there increases trust and will sure drive sales. Just remember you need to use this strategy with a sense of authenticity so as to be more effective.
3. Instagram Shopping
In 2021, Instagram went through some development changes and its earlier shopping capabilities were improved to make Instagram purchasing easier and user friendly. You simply use a shopping bag icon on your products and this will allow your consumers aware that the product can be purchased through your page directly.
When a customer is scrolling your feeds, they will see posts denoted with the shopping bag. This simply means the product is shopping enabled and when you tap on this, it will show other active products that are tagged. This makes it easy for your customers to go to your product page and check out for other products that you may have available.
However, you should have a product catalog that is active on Facebook. You also need to meet some guidelines that Instagram must review and approve before you can activate the Instagram shopping. They include:
- Agree with the merchant agreement and commerce policies in the platform
- Ensure your Instagram Business Account is active
- Have a Facebook Page that is connected
- Sell physical products
- Have a Facebook catalog that is connected; can be to a party ecommerce service or directly
This selling tip allows Instagram integrate your available products for sale into your feeds and create a shopping experience that is easy and seamless.
4. Use Instagram Tools That Are Shoppable
Above and beyond the well-known shopping abilities on Instagram, we have other tools that have features that focus on selling on Instagram. Some of these tools represent an all-round selling platform that will help you turn your Instagram account into a store front. Look out for tools like Pixlee, Dash Hushdon and curalate among others.
These tools are capable of sending page visitors to a shoppable Instagram feed through a bio link. Here visitors can tap on photos and get directed to your product page from any post.
Using this tip allows you take advantage of the advanced analytics and data from the user-generated content. Remember this data on user-generated content will come in handy not only in converting your page visitors but increase your social media visibility. It is an interesting strategy worth trying.
5. Influencer Marketing
This is a very simple concept. Here, you go into partnership with someone who has many followers that engage highly and actively. Use their platforms to promote your products to create awareness and find new customers. This goes to show that Instagram selling must not just happen on your page.
It is a cost-effective strategy to learn about Instagram promotions while reaching potential customers for your products. Apart from this, you will be promoting your product to a target consumer audience that engages actively and will more people compared to the number of followers you have for your account.
The influencer promotions tip is remarkably the new thing on Instagram and other social sites that other brands use. This will work for you as you will be getting your products before an audience that is compelling and in a manner that is relatable.
6. Instagram Ads
Many brands have sold successfully through Instagram ads.
Ads such as Insta stories and or carousels are creative and attractive. As am e retailer, take advantage of these Instagram ads that are very flexible and will reach a huge number of customers shopping on Instagram.
How do you get more sales on Instagram?
We have covered on page visibility strategies in detail and now we need to have the same pages sales-focused as well. This part of the article will discuss on the platforms best practices that will have your page focus on getting sales on Instagram.
1. Use Compelling Captions
The choice of captions you use, will determine how ‘salesy’ your Instagram page is. Good thing is, we have lots of Instagram caption options that will help you add personality into your posts. This will go a long way and help you avoid putting price points and offers on your fans faces.
We have an ongoing debate on whether the use or not for ‘salesy’ captions has a restriction in terms of reach as a factor of the Instagram algorithm. Since we do not have conclusive answers for this, it is safe to experiment different other call-to-actions expressions. For example you may choose to ask your fans for comments or may choose to pose questions.
This will be strategic and will come in handy to direct fans to your bio.
2. Sell Yourself in Your Bio
If you are looking out into making sales on Instagram, then your bio is as valuable as real estate. A compelling bio should have the following to make it as effective as you want it to be.
- Direct your followers to the shop using a call-to-action
- Mention a number of branded hashtags that will inspire user-generated content
- Make use of a track-able link or Instagram shoppable tools that will help track your storefront traffic
Make the best of Instagram bio as it’s the only avenue your follower will use to the store front.
3. Post product photos that are people-centered
The use of promotional photos that has real people is known to perform very well on social media. Instagram is no exception. This is because consumers want to see the products in the wild and in a real setting.
The use of promotional photos that are people-centric are compelling and will be in handy to proof you can be trusted. Potential buyers will be persuaded by these photos as they see customers who are satisfied.
Take advantage of user-generated content as more customers would love to have photo shoots with your product and get featured on your feeds. This will positively impact your sales on Instagram by virtue of creating more engagements and a huge reach hence winning more customers.
4. Make popping photos of your products
Creativity is one aspect you cannot afford to lose while using Instagram. This is very critical especially when selling products.
Do not forget, you are dealing with a very dynamic audience that is also following your competitors’ pages. And since you are competing for their attention, it is important to take and make use of photos that pop and are eye-catching.
Choosing to use styles that are inspiring and settings that switch up with almost every content will definitely capture your followers’ attention. You do not need mastery in photography take advantage of filters that are creative and apps and give your photos some candy look.
5. Post More Than Just Products!
This article has been on selling, but you don’t have to be selling every other minute. Confusing right? I Know.
If you are a start-up company and wish to use Instagram for selling. You are advised to loosen up a little and post a number of posts that are not sales related. Make them light heartening and interesting and show case your personality. This will capture the attention of Instagram users and along the way you will net some valuable customers.
It is important to create content that fits every kind of consumer journey. If you are at a point where you need to be warming up to your fan base, create posts that fit this category. They will help you have interesting engagements and open you up to followers who will find out about your brand.
To effectively execute this, make use of social media management tools that will help you put up content that is well balanced content. With this in place you are sure to keep your followers always engaged.
6. Use Instagram Analytics and Monitor your Sales Performance
Selling on Instagram involves a lot of data. It therefore is important to take advantage of the Instagram analytics and be on top of your sales performances.
This analysis will give you a glimpse into your Return on Investment. Apart from this, it will show you the product photos that get the most and least engagements. And how non-promotional versus promotional product posts perform.
This information is important as it will help you make decisions to align your social media and sales strategies appropriately.
We hope this article has discussed in details all you need to know to be a successful e-retailer on Instagram. Selling on Instagram does not happen accidently, you have to go out of your way make use of the above tips and best industry practices. Don’t forget to check out your analytics consistently. This will help inform the kind of decisions you make to sell on Instagram.
