You want to sell on Instagram, well you are not alone as it is an indispensable activity for every company: the Social Network has reached the figure of 1 billion users in 2018, 400 million people use the application every day for about 50 minutes and 72% of consumers declare to at least once purchase a product previously viewed on Instagram.
The research conducted by the US information network ‘The Verge’ underline the positive and constantly growing trend of Instagram: the Social Network is no doubt confirmed not only the most used platform, but one of the most effective marketing and communication channels. Selling on Instagram thus becomes a priority activity for any business with the aim of positively positioning itself on the online market.
Most business subjects have now understood the importance of structuring Instagram marketing strategies to achieve significant results: the effectiveness of communication through images and the extremely intuitive functioning of the Social Network allow marketers to develop effective and targeted communication strategies, aimed at the active promotion of products and the loyalty of the potential customer.
Instagram has recently implemented its functionality with the Shopping tool, a business tool that allows you to advertise products by adding specific tags within their posts in order to redirect the user to the reference e-commerce. The persuasive impact of the image and the ability to add filters or captions to their photos are considered by the professionals of the industry real tools of Content Marketing: sharing post-shopping the company has the real possibility of directing users to their own store guaranteeing them an unparalleled shopping experience.
How to sell on Instagram: 10 tips to optimize your business
If you are reading this article, it is because you have understood the actual potential of the Instagram Social Network. Here are some useful tips to effectively implement your communication and sales strategies with this platform …
1) Open an Instagram business account
The first activity to be carried out for a company that wants to sell on Instagram is undoubtedly to open a company profile: the transition to a corporate account Instagram provides the user with many useful functions to analyze the behavior of followers and improve the flow of users of the profile. Direct connection with the Facebook page, tools for processing statistics and insights about the behavior of the target audience, direct links to company contacts and free access to advertising are just some of the features of Instagram business. The Instagram company profile must be carefully and carefully set up: the presence of a simple and visually impacting logo allows the user to intuitively recognize the brand and the addition of contacts communicates a present and reliable corporate image.
2) Share quality images
Instagram focuses on the image: posting photos with catchy and original photos is an essential activity to achieve significant goals with your profile. With professional and high quality images, shared products are more likely to be successful: a product appreciated by users not only helps increase sales, but also greatly enhances online image and reputation business. A marketing strategy widely used within the Social Network consists of the re-sharing of images posted by consumers themselves: photos of satisfied users following the purchase of a product are the most effective tool to communicate to their public the effectiveness of own commercial proposals. Another essential activity to sell on Instagram is the creation of constantly renewed and different scenarios as the background of their offers: the product is important, the context is fundamental.
3) Use Shoppable Post
An essential innovation for companies that use Instagram for commercial purposes is the Shopping feature: by inserting specific tags within the published photos, it becomes possible to link the products shown in a specific post with the e-commerce of the brand of reference. The intuitive potential of image communication combined with the presence of functional tags for e-commerce is undoubtedly an indispensable tool to achieve considerable profits. Rapidity and continuity are the characteristics most appreciated by users during the purchase flow: through the use of post-shopping the company guarantees its consumers a revolutionary, original and very intuitive consumer experience.
4) Tell stories with Storytelling
To achieve optimal business results and be able to sell on Instagram, you need to plan your production flow: an editorial calendar and a Content Marketing strategy based on the use of Storytelling are the tools that you cannot do without. Posts must be published according to a precise previously planned logic and the images must be able to tell stories: post creative, catchy and able to show the benefits offered by products in the window are the perfect solution for any Instagram business.
5) Use effective hashtags
#Hashtag is a key tool for sharing successful posts: you need to carefully select popular hashtags that perfectly communicate the idea of your company brand. Hashtags are particular keywords that give the post a precise identity thanks to an immediate and intuitive communication with the user. For a company that wishes to establish itself in its own sector of reference, it is not impossible to create a custom hashtag: this tool can be used in photos shared by its customers to create communities or to plan original brand positioning strategies.
6) Suggest a lifestyle
The real success of Instagram is based on the ability of users to offer glimpses of their daily life through the sharing of images: even the brands, to get profit and success with this Social Network, should transmit a particular idea about the lifestyle that its products give to those who use it. The coherence of multimedia content shared on your Instagram profile is essential to create a solid and original image of your brand: a winning business does not plan its communication solely to sell on Instagram, but to create a community of users with whom to constantly share their real experiences and the realization of their products.
7) Create partnerships with Influencers
The growing popularity of Instagram has given rise to a very large network of Influencers, in other words public figures with a considerable amount of followers. Building an effective Influencer relationship program is undoubtedly a win-win activity for companies with the goal of making profits through Instagram: successful Instagrammer product sponsorship (in exchange for a payment or free products) may turn out to be the winning strategy to establish itself in its own niche market in an original and completely natural way.
8) Interact with followers and with the community
Instagrammers love to follow the most active profiles: it is important to post content with a good frequency in order to thrill users and give credibility to their brand. Followers love interactive brands: republishing photos shared by users, responding to comments, taking part in community activities and socializing with other accounts are essential activities to strengthen the relationship between company and consumer.
9) Create promotions reserved for Instagram
It is well known: users love discounts. Instagram is the ideal place to share promotions with its customers: posting images or captions with promotions or discount codes to be used in online stores, you can create traffic to your Instagram page and then increase accessibility and turnout. In this way, users will be prompted to frequently consult the company’s Instagram profile, optimizing the combination of Social Network and e-commerce.
10) Use Instagram ads
Instagram, just like Facebook, provides its users with innovative business interfaces for purchase announcements and original promotions directly from the App. Selling on Instagram is not difficult: after activating a business account, the activity can determine the budget to be invested, the online time required for the advertising activity and the reference Instagram target. This feature allows the company profile to get more visibility and to share its contents with all users who are nearby, greatly optimizing the relationship between brand and consumer.
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