Selling on Instagram

Many shoppers use Instagram to view images, videos and Stories, and end up uncovering new designs, trends and products in the process. Having a presence on the platform allows businesses to reach their target market. And thanks to Instagram’s integrated shopping features, brands and retailers can now easily sell their products via the app. But how can you boost sales by selling on Instagram?

Aside from the forecasts or the cool-factor, there is plenty of data to support the use of Instagram and other social media channels for commerce. Instagram now has over one billion users. According to Instagram’s own figures, around 60% of its users discover new products on Instagram. And more than 200 million Instagrammers follow at least one business or brand profile on the app.

Brand engagement on the app is much higher than on its parent platform Facebook or the messaging app WhatsApp. However, some target groups are easier to reach on Facebook than on Instagram. Depending on the products you sell and your target audience, you should also consider selling on Facebook

Central to a successful presence on Instagram is the use of Stories. According to Instagram’s own data, users spend more time (80%) viewing videos in Stories than the classic feed. The good news is that around one-third of the most viewed Stories weren’t created by influencers or private users but by brands.

The basis for successful commerce on Instagram is an attractive business or brand profile. This is similar to a brand homepage, but on Instagram. The more genuine interactions and views a brand attracts, the higher its chances of success. A business profile can also integrate product images and videos into its stream or Stories, but these should be added organically.

The following three elements are vital when establishing a business profile on the app:

• A profile photo or logo that attracts and engages your target audience. The image should be fully visible and match the marketing on your website or web shop.
• An optimised Instagram biography. A successful biography reflects the brand’s identity and gets customers’ attention in few words as possible.
• A direct link to a web shop or website. Instagram enables businesses to share just one link in their profile. Brands should ensure that their link is working and the URL is being tracked in order to measure how many visitors are generated on Instagram.

Instagram Ads are the next step. Ads on Instagram allow brands to reach a larger audience irrespective of how many images or videos it has shared. In other words, you don’t need to be the most active Instagram user in order to post an advert on the site. Depending on the advertising format, Instagram Ads will be featured in the classic stream where they blend in natively. All adverts are clearly marked as “sponsored.”

Adverts can be used to increase a profile’s followers and likes. It’s also possible to generate direct sales using Instagram Ads. Simple but attractive products together with a quick customer journey that links to a product landing page tends to generate faster transactions.

Much like other established online ads (for example, Google Ads), Instagram Ads can be customised and updated continuously. The business functions offered by Instagram provide all the relevant data to optimise adverts.

Some social media-savvy target groups aged 18 to 29 years can only be reached on channels such as Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. That’s why for certain brands, successful sales depend on having a presence on these networks and apps. Websites and online shops are important for the final transaction, but an increasing number of online shop visitors find these via social media channels, rather than via Google searches.

Selling on Instagram is as much about exclusivity as it is about direct contact with the customer. Therefore, it’s recommended that you use dedicated content on the app and not share the same images on Instagram that you’re posting on Facebook. Some Instagram Ads are viewable two years after they were first published because they generated such great results.

Using images is a great way to get customers’ attention because over 90% of the information that reaches our brains is visual. Adding movement and sound can generate an even longer-lasting impression. That’s why videos tend to outperform images and images outperform text. When selling on Instagram, remember that text plays a minor role on the app.

To live up to the high image standards on Instagram, it’s worth working with professional photographers and video producers, particularly during the early stages of channel development or a marketing campaign. Later on, once a business has generated enough Instagram know-how, they can self-produce Stories, images and videos in house.

Despite all these possibilities, it’s still a challenge to establish a strong presence with significant reach on the app. Luckily, the platform is full of influencers catering to any product category. Influencer marketing connects brands with social media influencers, so they can form a temporary or long-term strategic relationship. Influencers or creators organically promote a brand’s products to their followers with the aim of boosting sales. The better the influencer’s personality matches the brand, the easier it will be to sell your products on Instagram.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is also recommended, especially for businesses with small marketing budgets. Brands that are successful on Instagram and that are generating sales are well-positioned in terms of SEO because Instagram hashtags are similar to SEO keywords. Both reflect the demand and interests of the customer. Therefore, many tactics used in search engine marketing can be applied to social media marketing.