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By now, you're probably aware that Instagram is an important sales strategy for your business. Over the past few years, the platform has added additional tools to help businesses of all sizes reach new audiences and increase sales. However, because Instagram is so saturated with brands, creators, entrepreneurs, and designers trying to capture users’ attention, it can be difficult to get people to notice your content and listen to your brand’s message, and ultimately to convert them into customers. Instagram has more than 1 billion users, which means it's important to take the time and effort to connect with consumers to differentiate yourself and capitalize on this large platform. Below are five key steps for driving sales through Instagram.
Provide Education and Value
With so many businesses competing for customers on Instagram, one of the first steps you should take to drive sales is to provide value. Instagram requires a long-game strategy, which means you shouldn't try to immediately sell to the person who liked your most recent post or responded to your IG story. Instead, you should think about how you can provide value to entice consumers to learn more about who you are and what you do. You can do this by highlighting the key features of your products or the benefits of the service you offer. You should also think about how you can highlight the problems that your consumers may be facing and how your product can solve them. Many users may stumble across your product organically, but unless they understand how it will benefit them in their everyday life, you will not convert them to customers.
A great way to provide value on Instagram is to offer a free product or service. If you're selling goods, you may want to offer customers a discount code for their first purchase. Or, if you're selling services, you could offer a free consultation that allows consumers to test your product. Education and value are fundamental to a successful sales strategy on Instagram.
Engage With Consumers
Instagram is all about relationships, and so is business, making the two naturally complementary. In fact, a growing number of consumers want to have a relationship with brands they support. By engaging with consumers and followers, you can help build trust and brand loyalty, which in turn drives sales. The first step to improving your engagement is responding to comments and messages on your profile. The second is creating and publishing unique content that sparks conversation. These two actions will help initiate a dialogue that makes your business stand out from competitors who are not engaging as actively with their customers.
Engagement can also come in the form of reposting and sharing user-generated content (UGC). If consumers tag your business in photos they took of your product or at your physical location, make sure to not only respond to them, but also to repost this content. People love to feel special, and if you showcase them on your Instagram, they will likely reshare with their own network. This consumer approval can help introduce new customers to your products or services. In fact, it's estimated that 83 percent of purchases are influenced by word-of-mouth.
Utilize Instagram Shopping Features
There are tools already built into the Instagram application that can also help you drive sales. Shoppable stories have been around since 2017, which allow businesses to add swipe-up features or include a mention to support small businesses. In 2020, Instagram also added a shopping tab to the homepage, which allows companies to sell products directly on Instagram. Integration is even available for e-commerce stores. With the shopping feature activated, you can even tag products directly inside of a post, eliminating the need for consumers to click out of the app to make a purchase.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has been a buzzword for the past few years. Despite what your feelings may be towards investing in this type of content, influencer marketing has proven results, especially for businesses that sell products. The key to effective influencer marketing is to clearly identify who your product serves, and then find influential content creators inside of this niche. As a small business, you don't have to worry about hiring celebrity influencers. Instead, you can focus on micro-influencers, who can help to spread information about your brand to the right audience.
Also check out: Best practices for social media influencers and content creators.
Call to Action
Driving sales is only possible by directing people to a place to make a purchase. Often, businesses forget to include a clear call to action that reminds consumers to buy. While you shouldn't include a CTA on every post, if your goal is to drive sales, then it's important to integrate into your social media strategy. This is because people are inundated with advertisements and marketing every time they open Instagram, and you need to convince them to choose your brand over the countless others.
Developing a sales strategy on social media requires patience, clarity, and social proof. As you brainstorm ways to increase sales on your Instagram, remember to put your audience first and utilize the app's built-in shopping features.
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BBB of Southern Piedmont and Western N.C. contributed this article.