How Instagram is becoming the future of eCommerce?
By Jenny S
We all use it. Instagram. The social network app on your mobile app. But how much do you know about its business growth potential? If you have been treating Instagram as a simple chat app to pass your time, then the time to rethink and use it to sustain your brand and business performance is now.
This article goes into detail to explain to you how Instagram plays a significant role in transforming businesses through eCommerce growth. The information will help you to create a sustainable presence on the platform so that you can promote your products, engage your audience, and grow your investment.
These are some of the ways you can expand your eCommerce business by harnessing the power of the giant social network - Instagram.
1. Make Use of Audience Engagement
I thought we should all begin here. Before we start fumbling about selling, let us first create a following on Instagram. Audience engagement involves feeding Instagram users with relevant content that will draw them to your products. Wait! We are not going to engage users by posting what we sell all the time.
Our concern is how to interact with Instagram users to create brand recognition and trust. Although some marketers will advise you to set up products first, I do not tend to go by the idea. As you can guess, people can only engage in your business when they can trust you and your product.
User engagement comes in various ways. The first and prominent method is free and as simple as sharing content on your Instagram business page. This method is essential in creating organic growth to boost your business.
You will want to share photos of or related to your business regularly. But do not spam. Authenticity matters in generating an Instagram follower base, and aim not to look like someone seeking or begging - like I see people doing on Facebook and YouTube.
However, growing followers and engagement on Instagram with organic content is going to be a slow method. Paid ads serve as a boost to reach more of your targeted audience. The ads will reach people far beyond your Instagram follower circles. It helps to find people who may be directly interested in your business model and connect them with your content.
How to Boost Engagement Performance
Whether you are doing organic content or ads, you want to reach your target audience and do it right. Connecting with people who see your brand story online is vital in expanding your eCommerce boundaries. These tips will help you to engage with the right community.
#A. Use Hashtags
Hashtags are popular among many social media users. But, surprisingly, some of the businesses that use the strategy end up misusing it. Hashtags can help you get your content in front of many Instagram users according to their interests and topics, but not all hashtags are beneficial.
With hashtags, you first need to identify the business model you are running. For instance, if you are into fashion, you need fashion-related hashtags, and kitchenware hashtags will make you lose your relevance in business. Combine the right hashtags with branded tags that relate to your business - it can be your brand name.
The number of hashtags that you use with your Instagram posts also matters. Although you can use up to 30 hashtags on a single post and ten for Instagram stories, you better stick to something between five and six. You also have to use hashtags correctly on Instagram.
#B. Leverage on Your Competitors' Audience
Stealing [money or assets] is wrong, and you already know that. What about stealing the audience on Instagram? No, we are only borrowing them. By understanding your business domain, you can identify your competitors on Instagram. Engaging with their audience will help you to connect, which may work for you because they have already shown their interest in the products. Again, no spamming. Follow them, like their post, and comment where necessary.
#C. Tag Your Location with Your Posts
Tagging your location helps people to find brands and offers nearby them. This method will attract people from your local market, and they would be glad to follow you when they discover you have something they need. In some markets, local traders win the audience's confidence because they can physically reach them.
2. Set Up Instagram Shopping
I have already mentioned why you should build your brand on Instagram before you begin to sell. In case you were not aware, Instagram has a feature for setting up direct shopping within the app. Instead of users tapping on the website link to check the product, they will directly checkout without leaving Instagram.
This feature, as you can guess, cost money. And that money does not come from the buyer, but the merchant. Another guess is that, as the users do not leave their accounts, you will only receive the purchase and shipping instructions, but little of insights about your customers.
But that should not discourage you. Instagram shopping can boost your eCommerce performance, and you can make gains when you set up your products well. It works like sharing an eCommerce mobile app with many other sellers. Therefore, branding only relies on your page and content, while the features wait for Instagram updates.
For Instagram shopping to work, you need to have a store selling physical products and located in an approved market. The other terms are clear. You need an Instagram business page, and it must meet business policy. Did I forget to mention that you should connect the page with your Facebook brand page?
Following the guidelines from Instagram, you can apply for Instagram shopping for your business. Then wait for approval to activate the feature on your business page.
3. Remember to Measure Your Business Metrics
In any business, understanding your brand performance and your audience can help you to create better products and engagement. On your Instagram business page, go to the Insights section to learn more about your audience and their interactions with your content.
In case you are using Instagram Ads to boost your brand reach, you can use the performance information to measure your business success in terms of impressions, engagements, and audience reach. Most of the information about ad performance is available on your Facebook Business page.
4. Schedule Content
We have buried our heads so much in product research and creation that we forget about social media. This mistake should not happen if you want to succeed on Instagram. Luckily for you, third-party apps can help you to keep your audience in the loop without you touching anything.
Although it is not a feature created directly into Instagram, it is possible to plan your monthly post calendar with tools like Hootsuite. The schedule will allow you the time to delve into other aspects of the business to identify ways of developing, growth, and sustainability.
However, the scheduling of Instagram posts should not give you any reason to sleep. Remember, your distribution business eCommerce growth depends on your activity and engagement on Instagram. We have already discussed how to use performance measurement to grow your brand and business success. Therefore, you need some time to re-assess the performance after some period.
But on each day - by the end (or towards it) of your business hours - you need to check who has commented or messaged you on Instagram regarding various products or content that you shared. Replying to their questions will help them to establish their confidence in you. Then it will be easier for them to share your brand with their friends.
5. Employ Influencer Marketing Strategy
We have to accept it. Influence marketing works, and Instagram is the leader in creating conversions from influencers. You can already see the potential of growing your brand with Instagram influencer marketing. Apart from having a large following on social networks, influencers can impact the decisions buyers make on products.
When they promote your product on their Instagram accounts, influencers help your business to reach a broader audience more quickly than when you employ other digital marketing methods. Reliable sources indicate that influencers can boost your business by 1,100% in ROI, and 74% of online buyers rely on social media for their purchase decisions.
I know that now you want to jump into it to increase your earnings from Instagram investment for your brand. Hold a little. Understand that influencer marketing does not cost dimes or pennies. Your investment in influencer marketing requires research. And you can tap into the opportunity by employing micro-influencers.
Although they have a smaller number of followers, micro-influencers are specific in building their audience by niche. By this approach, you can identify potential micro-influencers whose followers might be interested in your business model or product. You can then broaden your reach when you start reaping from the strategy.
Summing Up
Marketing is necessary for the success of any business. Instagram, for that matter, goes far beyond the norm of digital marketing that you know. The features, resources, and methods can boost your brand much faster when compared with other marketing strategies.
I hope the post has taught you the ways Instagram can boost your business performance in your distribution eCommerce. You can decide to use one feature at a time and identify the options that work best for your business so that you can make the best ROI out of your efforts.
About the Author
Jenny is a passionate writer & guest blogger. Writing helps her to improve her knowledge, skills & understanding about her industry. She loves to educate her audience about eCommerce and business strategies via her writing skills and eCommerce mobile app. Apart from writing, she loves traveling & photography.
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