5 Tips for eCommerce Brands to Use Instagram

With more than 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram provides endless opportunities for retailers to connect with the world and advertise products. So, if you are not yet using it to build your eCommerce brand, you may be leaving a lot of money on the table. 

As an eCommerce retailer, it is your responsibility to connect with your target audience, understand their mindset, engage with them, and build brand awareness to grow fast in the highly competitive eCommerce industry – Instagram helps you do all of that.

But, how do you market successfully on Instagram? Is it easy, and you will not require a fortune to do the same? Let us tell you that Instagram marketing is not rocket science. If you understand your demographic and have a well-defined strategy, it will become a piece of cake for you, and you can also grow your revenue multiple folds by selling on Instagram.

In this article, you will find out what Instagram selling is all about and a few tips to help you use this fantastic platform to the fullest. So, let’s get started.

Why Shall You Consider Instagram for Product Promotions?

Instagram is the second-most used social network in the world after Facebook. It sees more than 2 billion active monthly users and 500 million Instagram stories daily. Today, everyone uses this platform to stay connected with the world and what’s going on around them.

Here, everyone includes people, pets, and businesses. Isn’t it interesting?

The increase of brands that created an Instagram presence skyrocketed in the past few years, especially after the pandemic. According to reports, more than 71% of businesses in the USA use Instagram to connect with their audience. But, is it really worth it? 

A big yes, and here’s why:

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That means Instagram is not just for personal use anymore. It indeed started as a photo-sharing platform to stay connected with your near and dear ones. However, it evolved into an advertising platform fast, and today brands are using it as an essential weapon to grow their small and large businesses. 

Instagram can also assist you with improving your brand loyalty and creating hype for your products. More than 130 million users engage with shopping content on Instagram every month. It is a great way to market your brand and products in an amicable, credible way without hard selling and irritating pitching.

Instagram’s most significant benefit over other platforms is its visual nature. Suppose you have a business that benefits from its designs or sells a service with visibly noticeable results. In that case, there is no better platform for you than Instagram to market your offerings.

Indeed, even with all these stats and facts, you might be uncertain about how to get everything started with Instagram marketing. We understand that the platform can be somewhat scary initially, and that is why we’ve made this guide. Let’s help you sort this out.

How can eCommerce Businesses Use Instagram to Sell their Products?

Like other businesses, you might feel pressured to maintain a presence on every social media platform. But, you do not need to take this pressure. Many businesses make this mistake and forget about the strategy.

Because Instagram is a unique social media platform, it requires an exceptional marketing strategy. Keep these tips in mind to build your own eCommerce brand on Instagram.

1. Figure Out Your Purpose

To make Instagram work for your brand, you need to find out your exact purpose behind using the platform. Ask yourself, why do you want to use Instagram? And, obviously, your answer should not be “because everyone else is using it.”

There can be different purposes behind a brand investing in Instagram Marketing. For example, you might want to use Instagram for:

• Promoting and selling your products
• Building a portfolio of your products/work
• Improving brand awareness
• Getting user-generated content to increase customer loyalty
• Staying in touch with your customers & understanding what they think about your brand.

Whatever the purpose is, make sure you define it before investing. Also, your Instagram can have numerous objectives — you can post product pictures while additionally sharing UGC. It’s less about the kind of posts you upload and more about why you’re uploading them. If you know the answer to why you will know how to track the outcomes and use Instagram Analytics tools.

2. Make Use of Shoppable Posts and Videos

Using Instagram, eCommerce brands can now sell globally. Also, it is easier than ever to let customers complete the purchase in-app with just a few clicks. You just need to set up product tags on Instagram posts to make content shoppable. 

However, you need to meet some eligibility criteria to use this feature. First, you need to be in the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Italy, France, Australia, or Spain. In addition, you must be selling physical products that comply with Instagram’s commerce policies and merchant agreements.

Here is How Retailers can Make Most of Shoppable Videos and why it is called a growth engine for eCommerce.

3. Hire Instagram Influencers

The way businesses market these days has changed a lot. Modern-day consumers do not rely on plain advertising; they need proof instead of your products in action. That’s the reason why sponsorships and collaborations have replaced digital ads completely.

As a result, eCommerce marketing strategies are evolving drastically.

New-gen consumers are savvy, and they trust people rather than traditional advertising. According to research by Nielsen, consumers are not trusting brand advertisements but personal recommendations these days. 

The easier it is for visitors to imagine themselves using your products, the simpler it will be to convert them into loyal buyers.

Most brands with a physical product can profit from influencer marketing; however, its efficiency changes depending on your industry.

4. Connect Instagram to Your eCommerce Store

To effectively market on Instagram, you need to integrate it with your overall brand experience. You might have seen Instagram feeds on many eCommerce websites – on the home page, product page, near the footer, or in a sidebar.

Whenever visitors come to your site, they can glance through your Instagram photographs and go directly to your Instagram account. It’s perfect to have Instagram posts on your product pages that show that particular product. In this way, customers can directly see how the product looks or works. You can use an extension to do this, and the process will be seamless.

5. Track Your Instagram eCommerce Success

It is also important to measure how your efforts are performing. By checking Instagram Analytics, you can find out information about the post impressions, reach per post, how consumers are reacting to it, and much more.

This will provide you with an idea of what sorts of posts and content are popular in your industry, what should be promoted regularly, and what kind of product you need more in your inventory. The information about when your followers are most active will assist you with selecting the ideal time for uploading your posts.

Wrapping Up

To begin with Instagram marketing to improve sales and traffic, you will first have to comprehend how Instagram functions and how unique it is from other platforms. Also, you should do this if you are new to eCommerce marketing and Instagram. Get in touch with eCommerce marketing experts at Envision eCommerce for a helping hand!