Selling on Instagram is important for small businesses, especially now.
The potential of the platform is obvious to anyone who has taken the time to learn it.
And that means your brand has a lot to gain if you can tap into that power.
But knowing all the right moves to make takes a little learning.
This means the sooner you learn, the sooner you can benefit.
That’s just as true for B2C brands trying to make e-commerce sales from Instagram as it is for B2B brands trying to earn leads.
With the added benefit that the strategies to do either remain the same.
If you want more success selling on Instagram, these tips are for you.
Contents
What Is Your Brand Selling On Instagram?
The first step to selling on Instagram is to know what you’re selling.
That might sound silly if you’re in the retail space.
Your products – likely available through your Facebook shop – are what you’re trying to sell.
But for B2B and other non-retail brands, what you’re selling might not be so clear.
Is it followers or engagement?
Or are you trying to earn leads and new opportunities?
Depending on what you’re trying to sell, your content will focus on different things.
Selling on Instagram starts with identifying what you’re selling and what a conversion looks like. Share on XFor example, if you’re trying to sell products, your content should somehow feature those products and the results your clients get from owning them.
Selling services, however, should focus on the emotions, feelings, and outcomes of purchasing those services.
Remember that your content needs to be benefits-focused.
And it’s those benefits that you should be selling on Instagram.
Similarly, you need to understand what a sale looks like.
Those selling products know that a completed purchase is what a sale looks like.
However, those selling services might call their Instagram sales “lead conversions”, knowing that the sales process has to happen from there.
By identifying the things you’re selling and the goals you call a sale, you can tailor your strategies to your brand.
Use Smart Strategies To Do Well Selling On Instagram
Selling on Instagram can be done very well with a little effort and creativity.
It starts by finding your stride with your content.
This means you need a great content plan in place, to begin with.
When you know what your audience wants from your brand’s Instagram, you’ll have no trouble getting through to them.
And that’s at the foundation of anything you try to do with content.
Audience connections are the key to making it all work.
Including selling on Instagram.
Everything in social media starts with the social element. If you’re going to be successful, you need to remember that. Share on XSo, to get started, focus on the content strategy you want to put in place.
Learn the ins-and-outs of what your clients like, want, and need from your brand.
Get great at providing it for them consistently.
Once you’re there, you can start selling better on Instagram with a few easy boosts.
They’re things you can do that don’t take special skills.
All you have to do is focus on improvements in a few areas and consider some things you may not have before.
Once you start, you’ll start to see how much more you could be selling on Instagram.
Use these tips to grow your IG sales.
Create Excellent Visuals
Instagram is a visual platform, as you’re well-aware.
If you want your content to go anywhere on it, you’ve got to make sure it’s something visually enjoyable to your audience.
That’s what it takes to get engagement on the platform.
It’s what it takes to get people to see your content and act on it.
So, if you plan on selling on Instagram to a greater extent, your content is going to have to be visually spectacular.
You’ll need to learn how to make the most of your visuals and the materials and equipment you have to make them with.
Excellent photography and videography can be done with minimal investment.
You can take fantastic pictures with most smartphones on the market.
For those who aren’t comfortable with photography or want to do more with the photos they take, the app stores are full of apps to edit photos and create graphics.
Because of all the resources available, there’s no reason your visuals shouldn’t be spectacular.
And getting them to catch your audience’s attention should be easy.
Run Instagram Contests
Contests are fun, and they’ve been a staple of small businesses on social media for a long time.
Naturally, they work great for selling on Instagram.
Especially if you focus on the right prizes.
Think about it for a moment.
Someone who enters a contest to win your product or service or anything related likely needs what you offer.
Otherwise, why would they enter?
So, that makes a contest a great way to boost your sales from the platform.
Three basic contests are easy to run:
- The “Like, Follow, Share” contests require entrants to like the post, follow the page, and share it with someone.
- “Tag-A-Friend” based contests require entrants to tag someone on a specific post for each entry into the contest.
- User-generated-content contests ask the audience to share pictures under a chosen theme and tag your brand in the post or use a contest hashtag on it.
Every contest option helps to boost your page in Instagram’s algorithm, giving you more exposure.
But they also bring your content to your audience’s followers, offering you additional opportunities that come with a little trust.
And the best part is that everyone who didn’t win the contest will still be interested in what you have to offer, giving you more chances to make sales.
Make More Video Content
Video is powerful on Instagram.
The platform offers video options for any viewer preference, and most of them do well on the explore page.
That makes selling on Instagram a little easier when you decide to tap into them.
Using video, you have a great way to communicate the benefits of your brand and offering to your audience.
So, consider how much video is currently a part of your content strategy.
Video is a key element on Instagram, getting huge results on the explore page, and helping brands earn more engagement. Share on XIf you’re not using video content very much, you may be missing a huge opportunity with your audience.
Selling on Instagram through your videos should be simple for almost any brand.
Basic videos that help you are simple to create.
For example, consider a product demonstration video.
Your audience wants to know what your product can do and how to do it.
And watching a demo will help them settle some of the questions they have.
When those questions are settled it becomes easier for them to buy.
Tap Into Stories Posts
Stories posts give your Instagram strategy an unfair advantage over every other format Instagram supports.
And selling on Instagram gets easier when you add on the advantages.
Unlike the other content types that are affected by Instagram’s algorithm, stories always show up at the top of the feed.
Plus, they earn additional reminders throughout the feed.
Posting stories content often keeps you at the front of the stories list.
Planning around those functions allows you to bring your content to the front of your audience’s attention.
Done right, your audience can even shop directly from your stories.
All you have to do is select the product sticker from your tray and tag the product you’ve featured in your story.
Audiences can then click directly to that product in your catalog and buy it in-app.
Selling on Instagram through your stories is that simple.
Don’t forget that, in every product tag, your audience has the option to see your catalog as well, meaning your story gives them access to buy anything you sell.
That’s a powerful way to keep your opportunities up.
Always Respond To Audience Comments
Your Instagram audience is your brand’s lifeblood on the platform.
Selling on Instagram can’t happen without them.
So, with that in mind, how are you going to have an audience if you completely ignore them?
Responding to your audience’s comments is essential not just to your Instagram sales, but to your overall Instagram content strategy.
When someone from your audience takes the time to engage with your content, you need to let them know you heard them.
Their input is valuable to you, and they need to know that.
Give every comment your content receives the attention it deserves.
Never ignore it when one of your followers leaves a comment on your content. Let them know you see them, you hear them, and you value them. Share on XIt will help you see improved loyalty and return visits from the same people on Instagram.
But you can also take it a step beyond that.
Follow people who fit within your target audience that interact with your page often.
If they comment on something else in a way that’s relevant for your brand, respond there too.
You can also follow content creators whose audience is similar to yours and respond to comments on their posts.
All the while you’ll be building visibility and familiarity in your industry.
With those in your corner, selling on Instagram gets much easier.
Find An Instagram “Pod”
Normally I wouldn’t recommend an Instagram “pod”.
Pods are groups of Instagram accounts that collaborate to boost each other’s visibility.
The problem with pods is that you have to trust the members to do the right thing every time.
They need to do their part to boost your content, and their content can’t make your brand look bad.
But if you can find a pod that fits the bill, they can be very powerful for selling on Instagram.
“Shout outs” and mentions in their content expose your brand to their audience.
If your content interests their audience, you’ll see greater reach, engagement, and results.
However, you’ve got to make sure you can consistently do your part.
Instagram pods are only successful if all the members hold up to what they said they’d do.
It’s honor-based, so there are no guarantees.
When you do find the right one, however, it can give you a massive boost.
Use Hashtags Better
Too often do small brands follow the trends of larger brands.
Often, it’s to their detriment.
Larger brands can do things that don’t work for the small businesses out there.
A page with over 2000 followers has the fanbase to see results without using all the tools Instagram offers.
But for smaller pages to succeed at selling on Instagram, they’ve got to use them all.
One of the big-brand trends that are hurting small pages is the use of too few hashtags.
Big brands only use a handful of hashtags on their content; 2-5 at most.
Because of their followings, notoriety, and the loyalty of their biggest fans, they can see big results.
Small businesses don’t have the same advantages of audience size and notoriety that large brands do. Therefore they can’t rely on strategies designed for large audiences. Share on XSmall businesses and pages don’t have that advantage.
They’ve got to get their content exposed as far and wide as possible.
So, the only solution for selling on Instagram is to use all the available hashtags.
Fill your hashtag list with thirty relevant, active hashtags that will bring your content into related feeds.
Those are the key to getting your content found by the largest audience possible.
And you’ll need a large audience to gain large opportunities.
Selling On Instagram Takes Engagement
The bottom-line reality about selling on Instagram is that you need to build engagement.
It doesn’t matter how good your content is or how great your products are if nobody is paying attention.
Focus on growing your engagement to bring more people to your brand.
Then you’ll have no trouble selling on Instagram.
