Instagram Ecommerce Marketing – How To Generate Sales From Instagram

To be a successful e-commerce business in today’s market, you’re going to need a solid social media marketing strategy a.k.a. a great Instagram account. Not only has Instagram become a primary source for consumers looking to find new products and services, but there are currently 1 billion users on the app worldwide generating billions of dollars in revenue each year. Bottom line – if you don’t have an Instagram account for your e-commerce business, you’re missing out on a ton of potential revenue.

You’re probably wondering what’s created this epic Instagram craze?

Overall, Instagram caters to audiences by providing incredible visual experiences and instant gratification with each scroll. People like seeing nice things. Or at least having the ability to design a feed compromised of all things they’re interested in.

The numbers don’t lie either. Out of this 1 billion person userbase, 80% of those users follow at least one brand on Instagram, 200 million users visit a business profile at least once daily, and 500 million users are active each day. The opportunity factor here is just too good to pass up.  

Additionally, Instagram not only gives you the opportunity to interact with a large active audience, but a decent percentage of this audience has the means (and potentially willingness) to purchase your products or services. 

According to Hootsuite –

“31% of people who make more than 75k per year are on Instagram

32% of people who make 50l-74l per year are on Instagram

32% of people who make 30k to 49k per year are on Instagram.”

In translation: by simply having an Instagram account you gain access to millions of people who are able to purchase whatever it is you’re trying to sell.

So you’re at the point where you’re either transitioning your business over to Instagram or perhaps you’re completely new to the game. Since each social media platform is so unique, the way you market yourself on for example, Instagram as opposed to Facebook or Twitter, is going to differ completely.

For many, the concept of successfully marketing your business on Instagram is practically a foreign language. However, what most people don’t realize is it can be done on a small budget and can at times actually be fun. To help you get started with this seemingly daunting process, we’ve created a breakdown of what it takes to build a successful e-commerce marketing strategy on Instagram.

HIGH QUALITY CONTENT!! 

Whatever you do, do it well. Being that Instagram is so visually driven, it’s probably the most important factor to have content that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also exceptional quality. There are a staggering 95 million photos and videos shared each day on Instagram. What does this mean? You have a great deal of competition. This is why it’s of upmost importance to make sure you’re putting out professional, stimulating content. 

70% of users look up a brand on Instagram, while 72% of users have purchased a product they saw on Instagram. This is why image composition and quality are so important. Users will actively search for your Instagram handle to figure out whether your brand is producing quality products and/or services. 

Your images should be crisp, clear and well-positioned.

According to Cloudways, you’re going to want to follow the ‘Rule of Thirds’ when creating content. Essentially you’ll want to make sure your product is at one of the intersecting points on a basic 3×3 gridline. Overall, this will make the product placement a lot more appealing to the viewer.

See the image below to compare and contrast. Try switching it up when you’re planning out your feed.

It’s also important to have some movement throughout your feed and not have every image’s focal point be in the same spot. Try alternating focal points with each image you post. If one image is a close up, try having the next image be more zoomed out. Or if the focal point is at the center of one photo, have the focal point of the next photo be on the right hand side. This alternating pattern will create some movement when scrolling through your feed as seen below.

Try to be consistent, especially when it comes to color scheme, visual style and theme. 60% of the top brands use the same filter for every post. It’s human nature to be comforted by consistency. When people feel comfortable with your brand, you’ll gain their trust. They’ll then be more inclined to follow you and become a customer. 

Furthermore, the better the quality of your content, the better your engagement will be. 

Did you know that Instagram has 58% more engagement than Facebook? Or that 68% of Instagram users interact with brands daily? 

The purpose of having an active voice on Instagram is to grow your fanbase and connect with your clientele. Numbers are definitely not everything, but at the end of the day, you’ll want to make sure your engagement and following are up-to-par in order to successfully increase your revenue.

CREATE AN EFFORTLESS BUYER EXPERIENCE 

70% of users look up brands on Instagram and according to Adweek, 80% of Instagram users voluntarily connect with brands on Instagram. 

You’ll want to make sure the ease of navigating your profile and finding products online are as streamlined as possible. 

Use the features Instagram provides such as the tagging feature! This gives a direct call-to-action link and makes the consumer experience that much more enjoyable. You’ll need to transform your Instagram into a sales channel by a few simple steps. Social Media Examiner has a good breakdown.

The more user-friendly your account is with direct links, correct information and relevant photos, the less time a user will spend on evaluating the necessity level of their purchase. Especially when there’s an option for instant purchasing.

Hassles during shopping do not make the process pleasant and could result in the user losing interest. No one wants to stress out trying to find a pair of shoes they saw on Instagram that are now lost forever in the abyss of the World Wide Web. 

Additionally, with better brand visibility, your engagement will once again (shocker) increase!

INFLUENCERS

60% of users learn about new products through Instagram. A good way to reach even more users is to utilize influencers. Essentially, influencers have the followers you’re looking for and the influence to persuade those desired followers to follow your brand. 

It’s all about selecting key players within your niche and working together to market your product in such a way that is not forceful.

Take a look at the luggage brand Away. They took an idea and turned it into a $12 million business within the first year of launching all thanks to their spot on social media strategy. They selected a group of influencers within the creative community who all had reputable followings. Since the company was just beginning, the founders of Away gifted the influencers with a free suitcase. The influencers then mentioned the luggage across their social media which sparked great interest over a large audience.

It’s important to note that this strategy was not an in-your-face marketing campaign. Instead, it was a travel story inspiring consumers to interact with the brand. This of course encouraged users to buy and share the product which led to significant brand recognition.

The more you work with influencers, the more your product will be shared across a wider audience. It’s one of the best ways to market a product. It’s indirect enough to buffer the uncomfortable feeling of a blatant marketing campaign, however, brand exposure goals can still be met. 

You’ll want to make sure you work with influencers who produce quality content, as this will later turn into free content for your own Instagram feed!

POST USER-GENERATED CONTENT 

Re-posting other people’s images especially when they’ve tagged you or your product is a great way to gain respect and ‘inadvertently’ promote your business. Plus it’s (semi) free advertisement and content creation on your end.

User-generated content shows social proof that your product is being used by real people, backing up the credibility of your brand.

The clothing line, Faithfull the Brand, allows users to browse all products on their online store. However, they’ve done a great job at inspiring customers to create user-generated content by offering a chance to be featured on the Faithfull Instagram page if they use the hashtag ‘#faithfulltravels.’ This allows viewers to see these outfits in ‘real life’ making the product somewhat more relatable or even enabling viewers to form a deeper connection to the brand.

The takeaway here is user-generated content creates connections to your product. To organize any user-generated content you may receive, try to figure out a unique hashtag for your brand and encourage your customers to utilize this specific hashtag when they post. 

RUN CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS

This is one of the most effective forms of Instagram marketing to date. People love free things. It’s almost guaranteed that your giveaway growth will greatly surpass your organic monthly growth. 

To run a successful giveaway, pair up with a couple influencers or even another complementary brand. For instance, if you’re a swimwear company you could run a giveaway with a skincare brand or a beach lifestyle influencer. You just want to make sure you each have an audience that would benefit one another.

The next step: create a great image that will be used to promote your giveaway. Again, make sure it’s great quality!

Finally, explain how to win! It’s important to include something in the guidelines such as ‘follow the accounts @me and @you and like this photo to enter!’ You could even include something along the lines of, ‘repost this image to enter,’ to help spread the word. People will be more open to reposting the contest image on their Instagram story than on their feed just FYI.

With all of this in mind, you’ll be on your way to rolling out a successful Instagram marketing strategy for your e-commerce business in no time! Be sure to check out Boostly to amplify your social media efforts!