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How to Use Instagram as an E-commerce Business

How to Use Instagram as an E-commerce Business

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With over one billion monthly active users, and 500 million daily users, Instagram is a powerful platform, especially for e-commerce. 90% of Instagram users follow at least one brand, and 60% say they use it to discover new products. Also, more than 200 million active Instagram business accounts aim to grow their e-commerce businesses on the platform. If you know how to use the media effectively, you will also be able to generate more leads and increase your conversion rates substantially.  
This article will help you understand how to leverage Instagram to grow your online sales. Then if you are interested in learning more about using Instagram as an e-commerce business, continue reading this post.  

  1. Setup Your Business Instagram Account.

If you are using Instagram for business, first of all, switch to an Instagram business account. By creating a business account, more features will be available for you to provide a better user experience for your Instagram followers. In particular, having a business profile will give you access to various tools and features, including Instagram analytics, clickable links in Bio, Instagram shoppable posts, ads, and more. 

  1. Optimize Your Bio.

When someone visits your Instagram profile, the first thing they see is your bio. Therefore, leaving a good first impression is essential. Your Instagram bio should be a brief description of what your e-commerce brand is all about. You should include valuable business information such as email, phone number, website URL to your eCommerce store, and call-to-action buttons in the bio.  

  1. Reach out to Your Target Audience.

The next step is defining and targeting the right audience for your business. The target audience is the set of potential customers most likely to be interested in your product or service. You can identify your target audience based upon their age, gender, location, occupation, educational level, buying power, and other interests.  
Fortunately, there are many ways, including Instagram Influencers, ads, and polls, that help you reach your target audience quickly. Another great idea for finding your potential prospects is to analyze your competitors’ engaged audience and then follow them back. You can combine these with getting help from a solid, reliable Instagram growth service to gain the targeted audience you need. 
Identifying and understanding your target market is necessary to produce relevant content for your followers, meet their needs or desires, and finally, create better engagement with them. In short, having a clear idea of your target audience is a must for your e-commerce success.  

  1. Use Hashtags. 

Instagram is also a great search tool that allows users to search for specific brands and businesses, especially local businesses. When you use an Instagram hashtag in your content, it becomes searchable from the Search & Explore page. If you add hashtags that contain the keywords your target audience is searching for, you increase the chance of putting your content in front of a broader audience.  
Hashtags increase your visibility on social media and attract more qualified leads to your page. Then if you want to stand out and get noticed on this highly competitive platform, try to use branded, industry-related, and local hashtags. Moreover, choose specific, relevant, and well-thought hashtags for your posts to reach out to more potential buyers.   

  1. Build Strong Connections.

There are many ways available on Instagram to build solid, reliable connections with your followers. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

  • Share User-Generated Content  

Sharing user-generated content will add social proof from real customers and inspire new shoppers to take action. User-generated content is any text, videos, images, reviews, etc., created by people, rather than brands, sharing their experiences concerning the product or service. It will boost the followers’ trust in the products and the brand. 

  • Take advantage of Instagram Stories.  

One way to build trust with customers is to let them see what goes on behind the scenes or speak directly to them. Instagram stories enable you to do so. If you have an active YouTube channel, you can share videos from YouTube to Instagram stories to create more engagement. Having a content plan that includes posts, stories, IGTV, and Instagram reels will fire up your engagement rate on the platform. 

  • Go Live on Instagram 

Going live is one of the most direct and unfiltered ways to interact with your community, which is excellent for showing the more authentic side of your brand. 

  • Add More Value  

To create a community of loyal and engaged Instagram followers: 1). Humanize your brand. 2). Try to establish a more personal, deeper, and emotional connection between you and your online community. 3). And remember that your content doesn’t have to be always sales-related or aimed at only making a sale. Sharing advice, tips, recommendations, personal photos, or small talk – often with no direct sales incentive – are all crucial parts of your brand personality that you can bring to your Instagram marketing strategy.  

  • Listen to your Followers  

Remember that building a strong relationship requires reciprocity. Use Instagram polls, ask questions, reply to comments or DMs to encourage more engagement from your community. 

  • Find Creative Ways to Give Back to Your Followers 

Find a way to show your gratitude for the engagement and support you receive from your community. Discounts, giveaways, and even donations are all simple but effective ways to reward your community for their loyalty and keep them engaged on your page.  

  1. Maintain Consistency.

Having consistency in creating and publishing high-quality content is the key to your success. Generally, publishing a post one to three times a day when Instagram users are more active is ideal. To increase efficiency, consider using a scheduler tool to manage your feed posts and stories easily. 

  1. Build Brand Awareness.

Choosing the right Instagram influencers to spread the word about your brand or products is a helpful strategy for building brand awareness. In addition, run Instagram contests and giveaways to create visibility.  
When you reward a giveaway with free samples of your product or a compelling prize related to your commercial brand, winners will be drawn to your brand. If they enjoy trying your products, they may decide to purchase them and become regular consumers. 
They may even recommend it to others, encouraging more people to buy your products or services. Instagram paid Ads are one of the most effective e-commerce strategies that can help you promote your brand, achieve your sales goals and increase your ROI immediately.  
Nevertheless, since Instagram advertising comes in various types and offers different objectives, you should carefully choose an Instagram ad campaign that works well for your e-commerce.  

  1. Use Instagram Insights. 

You should have a benchmark to measure your Instagram e-commerce success. Instagram Analytics provides you with data about follower growth, impressions, reach per post, purchases, and information concerning the type of content your audience likes the most.  
It shows you what types of posts and products are popular with your audience, what is worth promoting more, and what kind of inventory is worth adding. Moreover, it lets you learn about people interacting with your posts or following you.  
The audience demographics (such as their gender, age, location, or the time they are most active) will allow you to properly satisfy your followers’ needs and identify the optimal time for scheduling your posts. 

  1. Make the Purchasing Process Easy and Trustable

You also have to make the buying process as easy and straightforward as possible for your online customers. Again, there are many best ways to accomplish this. Add product and price tags to your photographs or videos using Instagram Shopping to help customers buy your stuff. 
By tapping on the shoppable post, in addition to viewing the name or the price of the product, followers can go directly to your online store and buy the product. If you try your best to provide an enjoyable shopping experience for your followers, they will most likely become your loyal buyers and recommend your IG page to their friends and close contacts. And, this is great news for you.  

Tip: Include a call-to-action in your captions that encourages people to act, like “Tap to Shop.” Creating an exclusive sale or promotion can also prompt people to buy. Regularly feature your products to spark your followers’ interest in these items.  
Conclusion  
You can use Instagram to drive more traffic to your online store, engage with customers, and build solid and reliable relationships with them over time. It has huge potential for building engaged social communities and marketing. However, your organic Instagram e-commerce success is not an overnight process. It requires a long-term, integrated, and updated marketing strategy that is well worth the investment. 
Remember that Instagram is constantly evolving and adding new features. So, it is important to monitor the successful business accounts in your field regularly and stay aware of recent Instagram trends and algorithm changes. Do not let this opportunity pass you by. Go to the platform, and take advantage of Instagram e-commerce to achieve your sales goals and generate more revenue.  
 

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