If you are doing business in the online world you are definitely familiar with the importance of social media. Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the World with more than 2 billion active users – there is true potential to reach your target audience and accordingly make sales. To learn how to do it, keep reading!
Put your bio in order
Your bio is your Instagram homepage. It needs to be clean, easy to read and contain all the important information about your company. Write it for the customer but also keep in mind tips and tricks that can help you win the Instagram algorithm.
Choose niche
When creating an Instagram profile, you are asked what kind of business you do. Make sure you choose a precise niche and check the box to make it visible on your profile. It won’t take up the space in the description with limited characters but will add additional information about your company.
Keywords in the name
Let your handle (for example, @Printseekers) be the company name. In the field “name” write what kind of company are you. For example, if you sell print on demand t-shirts, write “T-shirts with fun quotes”. That way when someone searches Instagram for t-shirts, they might find your page in the account section.
Hashtags in the description
Think of 1 or 2 hashtags that are really relevant to your company in your niche. Continuing the t-shirt shop example, the hashtags might be #uniquedesign or #quoteprints. That way when someone searches for these hashtags, you will be there with your company profile. The real trick is trying to work the hashtag into the text and squeeze in all the information in the 150 characters.
Make your bio easily readable
To make your bio easily readable use emojis or bullet points, and lists. And remember to add a call to action so people know how to reach you. In the t-shirt shop example, the bio might look like this:
T-shirts with fun quotes
👕#Uniquedesign t-shirts for a stylish look
🤩#Quoteprints that will boost your day
🌍Worldwide shipping
💌To order DM us or visit our shop!⬇
Link to webpage
Don’t forget to add a link to your webpage in your Instagram bio page. That way people can check out your e-commerce shop, read your blog, and learn more about your company and products.
Make sure people can contact you
There are options to add call-to-action buttons to your Instagram profile. You can add a phone number, e-mail, or option to message you on Instagram. Use them!
Good, high-quality content
This goes without saying – make sure the content you produce is high-quality, relevant, and engaging. It applies to photos, videos, and captions.
Enticing visuals of your products
Visuals you post will represent your company as well as make your customer want to buy your products. So make sure the content you create is customer oriented and speaks to their needs, not only looks good.
Engaging reels
Use reels to not only showcase your products in video format. Find a way how to broaden your audience with fun and engaging reels that still stays true to your business niche. It is not always easy to find that sweet spot, but once you do, the exposure to new people will grow and you will gain more followers as well as the sales will go up. You can also check what is trending now and try to hop on some of those trends.
A caption is still relevant
Don’t skip on the caption! It is a myth that people don’t read captions anymore. But make sure you are concise in your caption – straight to the point. Even though people read captions, they don’t want to read long intros and outros. Say what you wanna say right away! You can start with an eye-catching first sentence, for example, “Spring Sale starts now!” and explain more in the caption.
How to write a good Instagram caption:
- Talk directly to your customer in your caption – use first (we, the company) and second (you, the customer) person.
- Section the text with spaces between paragraphs or sentences. You can also use emojis to divide the text and make it more readable.
- Add CTA (call to action)! For example, at the end of the post, ask your reader to tag a friend who would like this quote or ask them to give a “double tap” if they agree with something you have written.
- Use hashtags in the caption. Don’t go overboard, but choose relevant hashtags for your niche, company, and the specific post.
- Show your location! Use geotag to reach audiences who search for things in specific places. If you have a local shop, tag the region you are in, maybe someone wants to pop in and check the items in real life!
- Tag everyone you can. Had a collaboration? Tag them in your post and mention them in the caption! The photoshoot took place in a cute cafe? Tag the cafe! That way you give people a chance to notice your content and possibly share it with their audience as well.
Share and appreciate your customer reviews
Your potential customers want to hear what your existing customer have to say. Social Media platforms, including Instagram, are great to display honest, authentic reviews. Even if you haven’t asked for a review people often share their experiences with a brand. If they tag you, you can collect these reviews and share them on your stories.
If you share your clients’ Instagram stories, it will make them feel appreciated by you and it will boost your credibility. It is a win-win situation! And if you have time, always say thank you to your clients for sharing their experience with your product. They are the force that is driving your business, they deserve your love!
From a practical standpoint, it is wise to create a story highlight just with reviews. You can also once in a while create a post or reel with client reviews. People love to see real-life experiences with a product, so the more, the better.
Use Instagram's extra features
Instagram nowadays offers a lot more than just posting pictures, videos, or reels. There are opportunities to create reminders for events, create guides, make your own filters, or open an Instagram shop. If you are serious about using Instagram as a sales channel, make sure you exploit Instagram's extra features that are relevant to you.
Instagram Shop
If you are a print on demand e-commerce business owner, don’t be shy – use the Instagram shop feature. You don’t have to ditch your e-commerce site because of this option, but it is a great addition how to introduce a potential customer to your product and gain sales in the process.
In Instagram Shop you can add products and create collections. In product detail pages Instagram will pull all posts that have your product tagged in them – it is a great option how to display your merchandise in real-life settings. And if you have an Instagram shop, you can also tag your own products in your Instagram posts.
There is a lot to discover in the Instagram shop – it is a feature that definitely is worth your attention.
Create guides for your products
Instagram guides are a way how to group content. You can to the guides add content that is created by you and it is possible to include content from other creators. Just remember that in guides you can add only posts, places, and products. You cannot add stories. If a reel is published in the posts section, you can add that.
Guides are a perfect way how to make collections of your products, tell more about your brand, and group any other valuable information that your customer might enjoy. Guides help you to help your customer find what they are looking for.
Countdown to a release date
Countdown is a little addition you can add to a post, for example, if you are announcing a new product drop. People then can follow this countdown and get an update when the time has come.
Partner up!
People have been partnering up and creating collaborations on Instagram and other social media channels for years now. It is a great opportunity how to create fun content as well as broaden your audience.
Content creators
If you choose to work with content creators (formerly known as influencers), you will have to reach out, make your proposal and let the creator do their job. Usually in this type of collaboration, you will need to pay for it. However, you will get very personal and tailored posts and content, that, depending on your contract, you most likely will be allowed to post on your social media channels as well.
By choosing this option, you will get high-quality content that you can review before posting and a recommendation from the content creator to their audience to choose your product.
Other brands
To make things interesting, you can also make collaborations with other brands that are not your competitors. For example, if you sell printed t-shirts, you can make a collaboration with a pants manufacturer. Or maybe you can create a collection together with a specific designer. All of these options help you broaden your audience and get more eyes and ears on your brand.
Instagram Ads
Last but not least, there is always an option to use Instagram ads to get more sales on Instagram. You can manage Instagram Ads through your Facebook Ads profile and target a specific audience that most likely will be interested in your brand and products.
Conclusion
Instagram is a very versatile Social Media platform that has lots to offer – from different ways how to create content and speak to your potential clients to extra additions like ads, shop, etc. Instagram has been shown to boost businesses and help them gain success. Are you ready to be one of them? Follow the tips mentioned in this blog post and guaranteed you will get additional sales!
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