With more than one billion active monthly users, Instagram represents a happy hunting ground for both large brands with a global presence and small businesses wanting to make a mark locally. With more than 25 million business profiles on Instagram today, it is clear that businesses have woken up to the huge opportunity for e-commerce that Instagram presents and not rely only on Facebook to promote their products. A few tips on transforming your Instagram business account into an e-commerce hotspot:
Choose Effecting Selling Tools
Selling on Instagram becomes far easier if you can create a clickable storefront, however, since Instagram allows only one clickable link in the bio section, you need to make use of any of the available tools that will help you to convert the single link into a clickable storefront that has the capability of being able to display all your products. A follower who is interested in any of your products can simply click on the bio link and conduct e-commerce transactions with ease. Another type of tool like for selling products on Instagram uses hashtags; Inselly, for example, is a very user-friendly tool that needs you to just post a photo of your product on Instagram with the hashtag #inselly and then you can log in to your Inselly account to access your dashboard and edit the product details. Promoting your Inselly shop will act to drive sales.
Use Photos and Videos That Appeal to Users
A successful Instagram presence demands that you use very high-quality photos and videos to attract the attention of your users. https://sproutsocial.com points out videos, especially, have a far better rate of engagement than still photos. This is necessary to offer a visual experience that users will enjoy and reward you with greater engagement and sales. Watermarking your photos with your URL can be a subtle method of informing followers for Instagram where to buy your products from without appearing too pushy, which usually turns them off. It is important to use photo content that has a strong human element because multiple studies have revealed that potential customers relate to these photos far better than impersonal product photos. If your budget permits, hire a professional photographer to shoot exclusive photos for you and never make the mistake of using stock photos. Make sure that the accompanying captions are crisp and compelling with a powerful call-to-action.
Employ User-Generated Content to Showcase Customers
There is nothing as engaging to customers than content generated by users themselves. Not only does user-generated content take the pressure off you for creating original content but also other users find them to be more credible leading to far better conversion rate. Availability of UGC does not happen by chance – you have to encourage your customers to share photos of them using your products. Ask for their permission to share these photos on your account to inspire other potential customers.
Conclusion
E-commerce success on Instagram is not the easiest of tasks, however with patience and consistent strategy even small businesses can address their target audiences and find commercial success.
Author Bio: Karen is a Business Tech Analyst. She is very responsible towards her job. She loves to share her knowledge and experience with her friends and colleagues
