With over 130 million active monthly users who reach over 1 billion likes a day, Instagram is one platform that’s not kidding around. Now that it’s got Facebook under its skin plus a recent video feature, you have to be crazy not to see the business potential here.
The fact is local ecommerce sites should learn to leverage more on Instagram in order to better market reach, engagement and hopefully, see a significant increase of ROI as well.
To get you started, I’m going to help you create an Instagram campaign for your online store— one that won’t be a waste of your time as well as your market’s. So let’s go ahead and get you Instagramming for ecommerce, shall we?
1. Launch a photo contest.
If you’re wondering how you can break through Instagram with a bang, then launching a photo contest is a brilliant way to make an entrance.
A photo contest will not only increase your followers and user engagement. It is also a great opportunity for you to sell. Considering social media is big on engagement but tricky on generating sales, adding a link to your fan photos will make all the difference.
Say you’re running a local online clothing store. Ask your market to upload a photo of their favorite piece of yours and incorporate the unique hashtag you came up with for the contest. Once you take a liking to the fan submitted photo, you can now repost it on your feed with a direct link to the product page for anyone who’d be interested on buying it. Of course don’t forget about the prize. A $400 gift certificate or exclusive discounts won’t hurt.
2. Attach a #hashtag business card to your products.
Here’s a great way for you to harness the power of hashtags in a different way. Every time you ship a product to your customers, add a Thank You card with your official brand hashtag as well as Instagram username.
This gesture instantly encourages your market to take a photo of your product and upload it on their Instagram accounts right after they unpack it. You can take it a step further by including a unique hashtag for every, say, article of clothing you send out.
Consider this a creative call-to-action that can get your mentions soaring and your chances of greater sales higher.
3. Give your market a little #BTS
#BTS or behind the scenes is undoubtedly one of the most popular hashtags out there. Not only does this call for added quirkiness but also shows your market that you want them to be part of your brand development.
Say you’re shooting a new look book for your latest clothing collection. Whether you’re looking at using videos or photos, your market will surely appreciate the sentiment and the sense of exclusivity you share with them.
4. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Whether it’s a negative feedback or a compliment, it’s critical that you respond to these comments. This shows your market that you care about what they have to say and that you give high regard to bettering your business in any way necessary.
Just keep a sense of professionalism and humility when you deal with constructive criticisms. Your customers will surely respect you more.
5. Don’t forget the small things.
Always incorporate your hashtags for every photo you upload. Adding a geo tag of your location would also help plus constantly taking pretty shots can definitely get you a lot more likes. I mean, that’s what’s Instagram is all about, right? Easily converting simple shots into a lot more appealing ones to make your products more sellable.
These small things can make such a huge difference every time you post so try not to overlook them.
6. Learn the metrics of your Instagram account.
As an online seller, you need to know just how well or poor you’re doing with every campaign you create. A tool like Statigram can help you out when you’re using this social media platform.
Statigram lets you in on the metrics of your account so far. From most liked photos, to new and lost followers, to your hashtag cloud, comment trackers and even the followers who are most engaged, this managing tool can help you push things forward. It even lets you in on the day and time your followers are most engaged, which can be a perfect aid whenever you facilitate contests.
On top of it all, Statigram is free.
Instagram for ecommerce is something you shouldn’t miss out on. Not only does this count a lot for market growth but also for increased web traffic and a shot at better sales.