How to sell on Instagram?
Social media is constantly evolving. Instagram is becoming the giant of social networks. Currently, there are 800 million active monthly users. Out of which 300 million users are active followers. 80% of users follow businesses on Instagram.
It keeps things interesting and social media marketers are very enthusiastic as there are a lot of opportunities to engage with followers and share photos and short videos. A study proves that Instagram posts generated per follower engagement is at the rate of 4.21%, that is 58% more than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter.
Awesome! Isn’t it? Here comes the question – How you can promote your business and make your brand popular on Instagram?
This page briefs you about the ways to sell on Instagram and how it will thrive your business.
Why Instagram?
Statistical facts about how Instagram is used in marketing.
- 7 out of 10 hashtags on Instagram are branded
- An estimated 71% of US businesses use Instagram
- 80% of users follow a business on Instagram
- Instagram mobile ad revenue to hit nearly $7 billion in 2018
- 25% of Instagram ads are single videos
- Instagram ads increased by 28% in the second half of 2017
- Posts with a location get 79% more engagement
- 80% of influencers prefer Instagram for brand collaboration
- Instagram photos generate 36% more engagement than videos
- 65% of top-performing Instagram posts feature products
- User-generated content has a 4.5% higher conversion rate
- 50% of Instagram captions & comments contain emojis
- 59% of 18-29 year-old people use Instagram
Ways of selling on Instagram
Instagram is really the best platform if you want to maximize your bottom line and adequately round out your store’s social media presence. You really ought to be selling on this social channel.
Instagram is all about visuals. Visuals are very powerful. Get in there and get creative with the way you market. Connect with tech savvy folks between 18-29. They’re the ones who dominate on Instagram. Make your posts as simple as possible making sure you post it on the right time.
Connect with people who are truly engaged. Be sure to interact with your followers and try to acknowledge them when they try to interact with you. Make personal connections with your customers.
By doing this, you make your followers feel valued, special, and connected to your brand for sure. Build your brand awareness and take the advantage of Instagram shoppable integrations to make it easy for your customers to purchase your products from your posts.
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a. Instagram store
Instagram is fabulous to reach millions of potential customers. You just have to follow few steps to start your business on Instagram.
- Decide what you want to sell
- Look for Inspiration
- Use your shop logo as profile picture
- Edit your profile with relevant details
- Make sure it’s a Business account
- Give options to followers to connect with you by adding email address, website URL and/or call button.
- Upload items and description
- Add the price and shipping cost to each of your items for sale
- Gain followers
- Maintain an attractive photo Gallery
- Add hashtags
- Stay active on Instagram
- Convince others to promote your products
- Solicit customer feedback
b. Product album uploads
Instagram introduced an album style feature, which has the ability to upload 10 pictures or videos to a single post. It is similar to Carousel ads. It will allow you to combine photos and videos to tell stories and convey information in the best possible way.
You can showcase several products or highlight features of a single product in the album format which is a great way to tell people what you offer. Tell a story from the album. Breaking stories into multiple parts can make them even more engaging for the audience.
Write instructions on individual photos, have someone to explain what’s going on. Break larger images into multiple parts and get creative to engage your audience.
Share an event without spamming. Post best of the best photos and videos from events. Group them and share so that it gives your audience an added context and prevent them from hitting the Unfollow button.
c. Paid ads
Ads are considered to be multi-dimensional. Sales volume is increased by advertising. Instagram ads are non-intrusive and are less likely to annoy your target audience. The most profitable method to sell on Instagram is Paid Ads. To post an ad, select an editor like “Ads manager” on Facebook, choose your objective, choose your audience and your budget.
There are 4 main types of Instagram Ads. They are:
- Photo Ads: Create a clean, simple and beautiful canvas.
- Video Ads: With added power of insight, sound and motion, create video ads upto 60 seconds.
- Carousel Ads: Give another layer of depth to your campaign where people can swipe to explore additional photos and videos in a single ad.
- Story Ads: Instagram can complement your feed content with ads. Take your followers behind the scenes with story ads.
d. Influencer marketing
Instagram influencers have large audiences who, when shown the right product, will convert. Instagram influencers can help you build a massive audience in a very short span of time, while potentially generating a lot of sales by just featuring your products on their profile.
The followers of influencers viewing your product are likely to convert as customers as they trust the influencers enough already to follow them. Find the right Influencers who are already popular with your specific sub-niche. This will increase your sale, as the followers are already engaged.
Once you find the right influencer, form a partnership. This is an integral part of your long term Instagram marketing strategy.
And don’t forget to measure results when marketing on Instagram.
e. Emoji Marketing
According to a report, Emoji use grew on most Instagram profiles. The average increase in absolute interaction for posts with emojis is 43 percent. Emojis have completely infiltrated our lives as general communication in a social network and on all levels of media platform marketing efforts. 92% of online population use Emojis.
Emoticons have become a usual feature in our daily communication. They’re powerful tools to convey more information using less words. You need to use emojis purposefully to boost your brand engagement through emoji marketing on Instagram.
Popular emojis have meanings that are inline with popular internet slang. You can use emojis for push app notifications. But you should not cross the line to use emojis. Use emojis on your bio, your call to actions and in your comments. Relevant emoticons increase your engagement by up to 3 times.
Do’s while selling on Instagram
- Feel empowered to sell on Instagram
- Make a ‘sale overt’ in your photo
- Use a tool for scheduling posts on Instagram
- Use social proof whenever possible
- Advertise
Don’ts while selling on Instagram
- Think selling on Instagram is like selling on other social channels
- Forget Instagram’s hyperlink “problem”
- Overdo of hashtags
- Disrespect the details of any limited-time sale
- Use of follow bots and/or auto-commenters
- Neglect the rest of your sales funnel
Conclusion
Instagram presents an opportunity to market your products to a more targeted and interested audience without spending enormous amount of money on paid advertising. Hashtags play an important role in expanding your reach. Use as many hashtags related to your brand and product to make your product reach millions of people. Instagram is an easy and reliable tool which reduces your effort to build rapport with your followers, show off your products and gain profit.