Instagram has proven to be a better performing platform when compared with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr as it is ideal for e-commerce and business marketing. The inherently visual-based platform helps Instagram followers to focus on just photos rather than too much clutter on a Facebook feed. Instagram is full of e-commerce marketing pages that are promoted by ways such as sponsored Ads, shout-outs or searchable through hashtags. Here you will find 9 tips that are a must for running a successful campaign on Instagram.
Get creative with your product showcasing
People don’t join Instagram as customers rather what attracts them, makes them one. Your Instagram feed is not a conveyor belt of product images so take it as a platform to showcase talent. Use your Instagram feed to delight, amuse, inspire, inform, and entertain. All you need to do to is to identify the expectations of the target audience and be respectful to them.
Focus more on user-generated content (UGC) as it is a key part of your Instagram content strategy. Remember in social media, a high value is placed on authenticity and social proof.
Engage followers with comments, @mentions, etc.
You need to engage followers to know more about their preferences. You can ask questions because people love to be asked questions. It gives them a chance to show their knowledge, express opinions, state preferences, and so on. Engage And Convert Your Audience Through Beautiful And Inspirational Posts. The best way to engage is to reply to all the comments including those based on hate. Use @mention to send a notification to a follower. Don’t hesitate to send personalized messages.
Schedule your posts
Post regularly to let your followers know, that you care about their presence. If you are too busy you can use SkedSocial. It is a tool that helps busy business owners automate the process of uploading images and video and to schedule content posts for later. Posting regularly should not let go of quality because it’s the quality, not quantity that turns heads and gets you noticed. Insert With the professional Instagram post maker you create professional posts straight in the browser.
Replicate across multiple platforms
You need to be alive on all social media platforms that you use. It may be difficult to manage but with tools as SnapWidget enables you to automatically share Instagram images or videos to your website for free. It is the best way to grab organic followers. Content is smartest when it is sharable and viewable across the website and multiple social platforms.
Build Trust With Your Target Audience
Building trust is essential for the sustained growth of your business. You cannot afford to lose trust as your reputation across social media will spread like a wildfire and all your efforts will be wasted. So stay vigilant and care for your trustworthy relationship. You can use Instagram shoutouts to increase your trust. The idea is to contact brands with similar audiences to yours. Set up an arrangement whereby you agree to shoutout their brand in return for them doing the same for yours.
Add text in your images
Text overlays are a great way to add personality, meaning, and intrigue to posts. It gives life and sense to your post. Simply adding an inspirational quote can increase engagement levels many times over, compared to image-only posts. To achieve this purpose you can use any photo editor you are convenient with. Two of the well-known are Canva or Typic.
Post at optimal day/time
Selecting and optimal day and time for posts play a vital role in the engagement level you will receive. It has been observed that Mondays and Thursdays and 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. eastern drives the most engagement.
Run competitions & contests
You can conduct photo contests that will help in 3 ways, increase engagement, get you UGC that you can use in your future posts and develop trust and know people’s demands. Alternatively use Wyng to run unique, creative competitions by offering perks or giveaways. Photo caption competitions or ‘best photo’ contests also seem to work the extra mile.
Use hashtags wisely and keep a track of your activity
Use hashtags to maximize your reach and spread your brand. Look for hashtags that are trending and avoid making random hashtags all the time. Always use hashtags in comments and not in the photo caption. It is a detailed topic and will be covered in another blog.
Keep track of your activities. The Iconosquare app can help you analyse your Instagram performance all in one place, highlighting what’s working and what can be improved for better results, it will save time and improve performance.
To conclude, Instagram for e-commerce offers a variety of unexplored avenues but it needs a focus on community aspect rather than business perspective. To achieve this behind the scenes post of your employees, office or informal images can create a much vibrant effect. Taking care of the above aspects can help you get a large number of followers and long-lasting customers for your business.