As of June 2018, there were over a billion users on Instagram according to Verge. With 60% of users logging in daily, it is now the second biggest platform in regards to engagement (Brandwatch).
When Instagram launched, it was designed to capitalise on the advancements made between smartphones and photography. As each new smartphone is released, companies continually focused on incorporating their built-in camera functions as their key USP (unique selling proposition). Consequently, businesses started to use Instagram is a way of advertising their e-commerce store but how do you increase your sales? Here’s our top tips!
SWIPE UP CALL TO ACTION
Brands with a business account of over 10,000 followers can include links to their Instagram stories and encourage their followers to “swipe up” to learn more about the item or visit the shop website. Including this call to action in your story will aid consumers overall brand experience with your product. Moreover, adding a clear call to action helps to motivate your audience to follow the path from being a potential customer into an actual consumer. Call to actions are one of the most important determining factors between a lead and a conversion and will definitely increase the likelihood of you achieving a sale.
SHOP THE LINK
Whilst Instagram stories are a great way to drive traffic and share updates with your audience, adding your link to your homepage on your profile can help to further drive sales. This acts as a good source of information point for your consumer. Furthermore, similar to the swipe up call to action, you are ensuring your website is easily visible and accessible thus meaning your customer doesn’t need to waste time trying to find your website.
Make sure you make the most out of your bio link and ensure the website you are linking to is optimised for both web and mobile applications. This is particularly important as most Instagram users will be accessing the platform from their smartphone device.
PRODUCT TAGGING
Have you ever seen an item of clothing or jewellery piece you’ve loved but couldn’t find which brand it is? Instagram has now added a feature to let users tag individual products displayed in a post and an Instagram story. This is a convenient and useful tool to boost brands products and increase their brand recognition. By linking to products directly, customers can easily purchase without any barriers to entry.
INSTAGRAM ADS
Instagram Advertising can help your business and brand to reach a whole new audience. Instagram also lets you target your audience by planning which customers you want to reach and which customers you believe will be the most interested in your product or service. This will definitely be something to consider, especially if your looking to grow your brand significantly. As a marketing agency in London, The Good Marketer can help you use Instagram ads to drive brand awareness, increase engagement and ultimately raise sales for your product or service.
INFLUENCER MARKETING
With the rise in social media influencers, another way you can use Instagram to increase your brand’s sales is to engage in influencer marketing. However, before you reach out to potential influencers, make sure you have defined your target audience and understand what you are trying to get out of it.
Consumers also don’t like to be overtly sold to and can sometimes avoid explicitly sponsored products. Therefore, if you use an influencer to promote your brand and product, make sure it is something that would be compatible with their usual content.
As you can see there are a whole host of different features to grow your e-commerce brand. So, if you haven’t yet explored the world of Instagram for your business, it is definitely something to consider to not only raise your sales but to also reach a wider target audience.
Bio – The Good Marketer is a Marketing Agency in London which drives more traffic, generates conversions and increases sales for Small-To-Medium Sized Businesses.