How to sell on Instagram?

Brands all over the world, starting from world-famous corporations and ending with small-businesses, use Instagram for promotion actively. Nowadays more than 25 millions of business profiles are registered on Instagram. No wonder that 80% of all Instagram users have subscribed at least on one brand, and 60% of them look for new products and services in this social network.

Therefore, if you still don’t use Instagram for sales – you should start it right now!

How to create business-account?

“Why do I need to make a business-account, if I can easily sell in a usual one?”, – you will ask. The answer is simple because it gives you additional opportunities:

• to place more information about your company in your profile;
• to explore statistics of stories and promoted publications;
• to analyse subscribers;
• to add button in your profile (e.g. “Make a call”);
• to promote your profile.

You can switch your account to business profile on few clicks. Everything you need is:

1. Create business-page on Facebook;
2. Log in your Instagram account through your phone, go to the Settings and click on “Switch to business profile”
3. Click on “Continue ” and choose your page;
4. Now it is high time to set up your business profile.
5. Fill the next lines: email, telephone number, and address.

That’s all!

Leading content for Instagram

Now you have a possibility to explore analytics, analyse subscribers and promote your account. The next step is to be sure that users will find your profile interesting and make a subscription. A thoughtful content-strategy will help you with that.

As you business profile presuppose sales – your content should match your plans. But don’t get carried away! You will not differ from your competitors if you post only advertisements and don’t even tell stories about your brand. Thus you have to carry about visual identity in order to involve your audience in your business. This is the only way you can make your subscribers be interested in following you.

Now then, how to create a content strategy which will mix sales and interesting content?

Step 1. Explore your competitors.

Look at what competitors do in your niche. Pick out what kind of posts get the most likes and comments.

Step 2. Coordinate your content strategy with the positioning of the brand.

What do you do for your clients? What do you want to say about your product? How do you want to differ from your competitors? What do you want to be memorable for? What is your mission?

Step 3. Analyze your audience.

Analyze who your customer is, what problems he/she has got, and how your product can help to solve them.

Step 4. Create a content plan.

According to the conducted analysis think over the content plan for the whole week in advance, make posts and pay attention to the most and the least popular. Correct content strategy on the basis of the received result.

Ideas of posts for your Instagram profile

1. Product description

Advantages, key features, its audience and usage. And don’t forget to mention the price!

2. Storytelling

People are fond of stories. Tell your subscribers about the history of your brand, product creation, your clients’ stories.

3. Preview of new products

Share your expectations about the brand in foreseeable future.

4. Reviews

Tell your customers what other people say about your product.

5. Backstage

People want to know what is going on behind the scene. Show them the creation process of your product.

6. Tutorial

Tell your customers how to use your product, how it works, and what you can do with it.

The three main parts of a successful content strategy are catchy texts, unforgettable images and videos, relevant hashtags.

Ads on Instagram

In order to involve more subscribers, you can use free promotion methods, such as hashtags or following profiles of your potential customers, as well as targeting ads.

These ads could be seen in Instagram feed or stories on the basis of setting parameters.

There are some of them according to which you can select your target audience:

• Age
• Gender
• City / Country
• Location
• Interests

For example, if you sell beard laying styling you should orient men among 20 – 35 years, living in Ukraine, interesting in style and visiting barbershops.

To start an ad in Instagram you should have a business page on Facebook and be its administrator. Then choose a comfortable way to create promotion campaign:

1. With Ads Manager on Facebook
2. In Instagram through the phone

Let’s look at the first way in detail, as it is more complicated. If you manage it, the second one will be too easy for you!

Creating an advertisement in Ads Manager

1. Enter Ads Manager on Facebook
2. Choose the goal of your promotion
3. If you launch an add firstly, you have to set up promotion for Instagram: choose the country, currency and time.
4. Choose the call to action button (website, messenger, application etc.)
5. Set up your target audience
6. Choose the placement, where your add will be shown (feed or stories)
7. Set up the budget and schedule
8. Choose the bids of your add
9. Create the post (finally, we got it)
10. Pick up the format (photo carousel, one image/video, slideshow or set)
11. Add necessary elements (photo/video, sign, call to action button)
12. Add payment method

Congratulations! Your add is pending approval now. Usually, it takes from 15 minutes to 4 hours.

Communications with clients in Instagram

It is easy to follow your clients’ interests, wishes and needs in Instagram. Looking through their feeds you will get information about what is important for them and you will have an opportunity to immediately provide a solution for them.
You can ask questions your followers, make surveys, ask advice, get reviews, and make giveaways. Additionally, you can communicate with your followers via direct messages.

Make your language simple, natural, as if you are talking to your friend. Use emoji for your followers to feel comfortable and at ease talking to you.

Notice that your potential clients could not have a possibility to send a message to you on Instagram if they did not follow you. Don’t miss that clients and give them an alternative opportunity – add in your Bio the link on your mssg.me profile, there you can gather all messengers on one page, thus the client can reach you in messenger he/she likes.

DOs and DON’Ts of using Instagram

Let’s talk about the most common mistakes made by brands while using Instagram for the business and how to avoid them.

1. Capturing followers

DON’T. Paid followers.

It may seem not a bad idea because it looks good when your potential customers will see that your page has already had a huge amount of followers. But paid followers hardly interact with your posts and among them, there could be unsuitable profiles you would never deal with.

DO. Content-strategy + ads.

Instead of buying unreliable followers you should make efforts at the creation of a thoughtful strategy to attract real Instagram followers. Moreover, you can spend money on ads.

2. Posting

DON’T. To make publications like there is no tomorrow.

Don’t get us wrong, it is great when you have a lot of things to share with your followers. But, for the sake of your business, please, don’t post them all in one day! Because, as a result, your followers may be forced to press the “Unfollow” button.

DO. To make posts according to the schedule.

Create a long-term thoughtful strategy with 1 – 2 posts per day. If you have urgent news you want to share right now, just use stories.

3. Positioning

DON’T. Too serious style.

Social networks are about communication and reducing the distance from a customer. Don’t use complicated constructions, too many ads and perfect artificial formulation.

DO. Show your humanity.

Your followers will be pleased to know they don’t talk to the business representative, but a real person, as they are. Make sure your posts are friendly and understandable for your audience.

4. Work with the negative

DON’T. Neutralise your haters.

If you got a negative comment, you should not delete it or ignore dissatisfied follower. Often it leads to the formation of haters’ army who tear your account apart.

DO. Attention and looking for the solution.

Any negative case can be turned into the positive one if handled properly. Be friendly and attentive to a dissatisfied follower. Get to know what is bothering him and how you can help him, and find an acceptable solution together. Certainly, there are crazy people who like conflicts. In this case, you should be more attentive and patient. Loyal answers to inadequate issues let you earn respect and loyalty of other subscribers.

Some of your competitors have been already selling on Instagram, but, fortunately, they hardly use its potential. Only a few brands implemented all the steps above, so they lost their possibilities. And leave more possibilities for you. If you have read to the end, it is more likely you have serious plans to sell on Instagram. We can say for sure that, if handled properly, your temporary and financial investments could bring a desirable result.