Instagram, since its modest start in San Francisco, had been giving Facebook and other social media platforms a run for their money. Mr. Zuckerberg knew that the app’s popularity is expected to continue, so he bought it for $1bn in 2012.
According to a survey in 2018 by Statista, Instagram is the 6th most popular social media website for eCommerce activities. From “Instagram stories” to “Shoppable Posts”, the app has customized itself for eCommerce business activities. The wide variety of ad content like photos, videos, carousels, and story ads, and the launch of IGTV has increased its relevance to businesses and consumers alike.
If you are an eCommerce startup or veteran and haven’t got your hands dirty to boost traffic through Instagram, allow me to offer you some of the most useful tips below.
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Instagram Techniques to Grow Your Ecommerce Business
1. Use the Right Hashtags
Although there are many benefits of buying Instagram likes but using hashtags will result in more organic growth in the future.
If you use hashtags properly, it can increase the outreach of your brand and generate new followers. But many users do not really know how to use hashtags in the best possible way.
As for the starters, keep these three guidelines in mind:
- Use only a few, relevant hashtags.
- Put hashtags directly in the caption and not for the sake of aesthetics in the comments.
- Work on stories continuously and use hashtags to appear in the hashtag stories.
Also in the stories, there is a hashtag feature. To get to this option, you need to go to the top right section over the smiley sticker. In a story, you should not bombard your followers with hashtags. The photo or video in the story should be in the foreground and only underpinned with a handful of selected hashtags.
How Pros Are Doing It?
- Ipsy
Ipsy is a Californian-based subscription service that offers a $10 subscription service and boasts about 2 million followers on Instagram. In multiple Instagram activities, like the ones above – they have used the hashtag to promote their glam bag subscription. Playing smartly, they have asked their followers to upload pics using #ipsyGenBeauty to be get featured on the official Instagram story.
2. Interact With Your Community
Though Instagram is a digital platform of interactions, you should still be aware of an interpersonal bond between your followers and you. If you openly and regularly meet your subscribers, you will inevitably have a stronger relationship with them. This is particularly important for your audience because it increases their inclination toward your brand and positions your brand as approachable.
How Pros Are Doing It?
- Gaynor Minden
The Pointe shoe brand, Gaynor Minden, is using this to the core. Have a look at one of their screen capture from the app.
Gaynor Minden celebrated “Fitting Friday” on the app and it is creating a profound connection between its users and itself. Here it invites its followers to ask questions related to pointe shoes and ensure that they are answered promptly, hence improving user engagement. This is a killer social media marketing gambit.
Next time someone comments on your post, reply and interact with your subscribers. Experts also advise frequently publishing photos with faces. They would get around 38 percent more likes than other photos.
Note: Subscribers are not permanent. To make sure that your followers continue to find and keep your content interesting, you should keep in mind that you regularly deliver content, interact via messages, and show yourself authentically.
3. Make Use of User Generated Content (UGC)
When users link your account to a photo, video, or story, you’ll receive a notification. This provides a foundation for an authentic marketing campaign. That’s how your user’s followers get to engage with your brand. With user-generated content, you show the users the genuineness of your brand and stay in touch with your target group.
The posting of UGC is relevant because customers buy seven times more frequently from a brand than other consumers recommend. If you can show happy consumers on your account, more people will likely choose to engage with your brand. This will also be one of the reasons why Instagram influencer marketing has picked up the fire.
How Pros Are Doing It?
Airbnb is a popular home-sharing app that has leveraged user-generated content. Here is how it does it on Instagram:
Airbnb’s Instagram marketing is primarily based on UGC. They persuade their users to share their experiences, photos, and videos using the #Airbnb hashtag from around the world. This gets them tons of traffic which drives more traffic to their Instagram profile and engages more people in the brand.
So be creative and think about how you can use UGC marketing options on Instagram for your eCommerce brand.
4. Geotagging: Locate Your Posts
Locate all the content. But why does that make sense? Users can search for places using Instagram’s search function. This gives you the opportunity to attract more attention to engage local users as well as people interested in the place on Instagram.
- Geotagging in the Feed: Before you post a photo or video, Instagram gives you the option to specify the location. First, select a photo or video, go to the filter option, and then you can tag people and add the location.
- Geotagging and Hashtags: Use the sticker at the top right to add hashtags and local tags to your story and increase your reach. As already mentioned, you first need to search for tags. However, you should not overload the story with too many stickers.
The size and position you can customize with pulling movements of your fingers individually to the picture or video. Or hide the hashtags behind an emoji. With a successful use of hashtags in your story, you may end up in the associated hashtag story and make your content accessible to a much larger audience.
- Geotagging in The Story: If you want to upload a story, you can choose the option “Location” in the top right corner with the smiley sticker. First of all, places in your area will be suggested to you. But if the photo was taken elsewhere, you can find and specify the desired location in the search bar.
How Pros Are Doing It?
Have a look at the following example of Geo-Tagging by GoPro.
GoPro is a manufacturer of action cameras and it is marketing the use of its cameras with the Photo of the Day marketing campaign on Instagram. They have used the “geotag” to efficiently optimize their brand story to all the adventure lovers using the location option.
The cornerstone of your business is the right marketing strategy. With these four strategies, you can optimize your marketing on Instagram. I wish you a lot of success in your digital marketing endeavor for your eCommerce activities on Instagram.
Image source: Freepik Premium
Guest Author: Olivia Jones an artist by passion and a blogger by profession. I’ve a fascination for nature and I capture them in my paintings. Creativity feeds my soul and I constantly search for inspiration to up my game. I am an avid reader and love photography. Technology and gadgets are other things that turn me on.