7 Simple Ways To Use Instagram To Promote Your Products
January is typically a slow time of year for many e-tailers, but in this article you’ll discover 7 quick and easy Instagram marketing strategies you can use to help promote your products and improve your sales.
1. Use your bio to make it clear you are a business/brand
When a customer discovers an image they like on Instagram, further investigation usually leads straight to the posters bio.
As an ecommerce merchant, make sure you use your bio to make it clear you are a brand with a product to sell.
The best way to do this is to use your brand logo (not a personal picture), and the name of your ecommerce store including a brief description about what it is you sell. Don’t forget to include shipping details and, if there’s enough space, your contact email.
2. Use your bio link to drive traffic to a specific product page
Your bio is the only place on Instagram where it’s possible to post a live link. The good thing about this is that Instagram lets you change this as many times and as often as you like. When you are promoting a particular product, change the link in your bio to go directly to that product, and in your caption copy let your followers know they can find the link to what you’re promoting quickly and easily.
3. Put product pricing details in your images
Pinterest introduced the fancily named “rich pins” to allow brands to offer pricing and availability details directly within their pins – making it clear that the product shown in the image was in fact for sale. Instagram doesn’t have this capability (yet), but that doesn’t stop you from including pricing details within your content.
While you should keep the focus on your image, having the price of the product directly within the image does two things. First, it lets your followers and likers know that the product is for sale.
Secondly, it removes any questions they may have about pricing. By answering the questions your customers have, you’re removing their objections and making it far easier for them to make buying decisions.
4. Respond to all follower comments and start a conversation
Many ecommerce merchants use Instagram to improve brand visibility, but sadly, few use the platform to really engage potential customers and start a conversation which will lead to brand loyalty and potentially a sale.
Replying to all comments on your content helps your followers feel acknowledged, seen, and appreciated. And, if done skilfully, can start a conversation that leads to a sales conversion.
Brands that interact with their followers regularly tend to see far more ROI for their time on Instagram than those that talk ‘AT’ their potential customers, rather than ‘WITH’ them.
Remember, people don’t come on Instagram, or any social media, to be sold to. So find ways to make your sales message as natural, authentic and unintrusive as possible.
5. Have a sales CTA (call to action) in your imagery and/or your caption
If you want to gain any real traction on Instagram as an ecommerce merchant then stunning imagery is non-negotiable, but often brands don’t capitalize on the eyeballs and interest that stunning imagery gains on Instagram.
Use the captions on your posts to add more value and information to your content, and to let your customers know what you’d like them to do next. A few examples of effective CTA’s on Instagram include:
- Shop the look
- For more info click the link in the bio
- Grab 20% off until (specific time and date)
6. Run time limited sales and promotions
As mentioned in the point above, having a clear call to action in your content lets your customers know exactly what you want them to do next.
Setting specific start and end times for your promotions and sales creates a sense of urgency which is a huge benefit when it comes to driving sales.
7. Include prospect-specific hashtags
It’s not new news that hashtags drive the Instagram platform, so make sure you take the time to really mine the platform for additional (relevant) hashtags that you can use to grow your followers, likes and, of course, sales.
There are some great free tools to help you identify new hashtags such as Iconosquare (formerly Statigram), so set aside some time to refresh your hashtag list and strategy to see a push in sales in 2015.
Still got questions? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer. And don’t forget to grab my FREE 10 step Instagram cheat sheet PDF download while you’re at it. You can find that right here.
Stacey Herbert
Stacey Herbert is a marketing and business coach for fashion entrepreneurs, and the founder of #TOMB The Online Marketing Boutique – the premier group coaching program and training portal for online boutique owners. Take a class, accept a challenge, or access expert marketing advice 24/7 – 365. To discover more, check this out.
Ready to experience brazen profits in your eCommerce business? Get in touch today.
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Great post. I think the Instagram accounts that actually seem to focus more on putting quality pictures that are interesting to their audience have the most followers and engagement as oppose to have good captions and text.