Instagram has 1.2 billion active users. With the increase in social commerce worldwide, Instagram is now considered a key social media platform to grow your eCommerce business. With the right strategies, you can attract new customers who have never heard about your brand or the products you sell. Instead of waiting for them to come to your store, you reach out to them through social media.
In this article, we list the top 21 Instagram eCommerce strategies for you to apply not only to increase your social media followers but also to drive sales!
Spend some time deciding the colors, fonts, and style you will be following when creating content on Instagram; playful, professional, feminine, etc. You also need to set the brand tone; funny, serious, humorous, etc. Keep both tone and style in your mind when creating content on Instagram.
As you start with marketing on Instagram, don't begin by talking about your products right away. Create branding content where you tell your brand story, why you do what you do and what unique value you offer. Examples; meet the team, behind the scenes, CEO, and brand story.
Don't make it all about your story and your products. Dedicate a good amount of content to creative, motivational, and humorous content. This type of content is shareable and brings engagement and followers more than brand-specific content. Examples; trends, viral content, motivational quotes, and funny content.
One very effective way to grow on Instagram is by creating contests. Promise a special gift, big discounts, or even giveaways for the winners and put conditions for the contest that help you grow, like sharing the post or mentioning as many friends as possible, etc.
Don't be afraid to start conversations with your audience. Ask your followers about what they enjoy, their opinions, and their ideas. This will increase your engagement rate, and they will love your brand.
User-generated content is very powerful on Instagram. Instead of posting photos of your products, ask your customers to share photos using your products or videos reviewing your products. User-generated content is more natural and encouraging and is a form of word of mouth.
Post on Instagram about any promotions you run or discounts you have and drive traffic to your website. It is recommended to build a landing page for the offers that are mobile-optimized.
Instagram mainly depends on visuals. In a timeline full of images, you need to use images that stand out and have a clear message and a creative idea. If you can afford to hire a creative photographer, go for it! They will help you create amazing photos of your products and photos to be used in other types of content.
With the brand tone and the brand objectives in mind, write short and precise captions with a clear message and real value. In the caption, you want it to be creative but also nudge the reader to take action.
A very cool shopping tool Instagram launched is product tags. In your content, don't forget to tag each product so followers can know which product is displayed and be able to click on it and view all its info. Who knows! they might end up buying it.
Always add hashtags to your posts. Hashtags help your content get found by other users not just your followers. Create a hashtag for your brand that is both short and sticks to the mind.
Add more industry-related hashtags and words that users might use to search for similar businesses. You can also use hashtags representing the vibes related to your post. However, do not add too many hashtags. The perfect amount is between 5-8.
Write a catchy bio on your brand profile and add a bio link that takes users to your products page.
Answer your followers' questions, go live and talk to them, reply to their comments and address any feedback they send you. Use a friendly and easy-going tone and don't be afraid to use emojis whenever possible!
Instagram stories are a great way to engage with your audience. It is a form of content that is excellent for a glimpse of behind-the-scenes or product teasers or for announcing promotions.
While regular Instagram stories vanish after 24 hours, Instagram Story Highlights live permanently. Use them as a collection of your most popular stories. The stories could be a new product that you are launching or a cool behind-the-scenes video or other stories you wish to keep because of the large engagement they received.
Instagram reels are a cooler version of stories. They can be viewed by anyone, not only your followers, and they don't go away in 24 hours as stories do. Utilize Instagram reels to create educational content about your products being used or to tell your brand story.
Paid ads on Instagram are worth the investment. You can focus on a narrow target audience with certain interests and demographics to generate visits to your website or to achieve whatever objective you want faster and more efficiently.
Instagram influencer marketing has a skyrocketing conversion rate. Find a cool influencer who matches your brand objectives and speaks to an audience interested in your niche. Don't be afraid to explore their creative idea about creating the campaign with you.
Instagram Insights help you understand how your content performs, the best times to publish, engagement rates, and follower growth, along with other important metrics. Data-driven marketing decisions are vital for your business growth.
Create a shopping experience for your prospects directly on Instagram through Instagram Shopping. Build your product catalog, use catchy product images, and set up an outstanding style for your Instagram shop. Think of it as your storefront. This way users can find your products through the shop feed and Explore page, even if they are not following you.
Finally, whatever strategies you find working best with your audience, focus on doing more of them. Automate your paid Instagram ads based on users' insights and segmentation using Converted.in for best results and excellent ROIs.