How to boost instagram sales

Are you on Instagram?

Well, you should be. Instagram has over 300 million monthly users and is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media outlets.

Instagram is a photo sharing website and what sets it apart from both Twitter and Facebook is that it relies on visual images only. This means that it is easier and quicker to scroll through and more likely to keep your audience engaged.

It’s not just the popularity of Instagram that is making it successful however. It is more the fact that those browsing through Instagram seem to have ‘purchasing’ on their minds.

While there are no “buy now” buttons on Instagram (at least not yet anyway), one study found that 70 percent of Instagram users looked up the brand after seeing a photo and 62 percent of them purchased the photographed product. If this trend continues, these metrics could definitely be a huge game-changer for social media marketing.

The success behind Instagram is the fact that companies can allow their products to speak for themselves. Whether it is a handbag or a set of organic teas, the images on Instagram are poised to stimulate customers and coerce them into purchasing.

Instagram is not only limited to designer products and “pretty” things, all company types can profit off Instagram. For example, say you run a small travel agency. Why not include images of destinations, cheap air fare tickets and travel accessories? You can also include inspirational quote images, customer pictures and even pictures of your staff in action.

The good thing about Instagram is that you can share both business and personal images to help build a relationship with your customers.

Besides ensuring that your images are compelling and engaging, there are a few other important points to remember when setting up your Instagram-

1. Link to your website: this is a great way to boost your traffic and make it easier for your followers to find you.

2. Your Biography: Instagram gives you the space of a few sentences to talk about your business and what you are offering. Keep this section clean, to the point and engaging. For example, a popular mens razor company has – “Amazing razors and world-class grooming products for just a few bucks.” Followed by a link to their website.

3. Profile Photo: The image that you choose for your profile image will establish your brand and should easily set you apart from your competitors. Stick to your company logo and make sure that it is something that your fans will recognise.

Once you have these three factors in place, you can begin sharing your images and boosting your followers and traffic, however don’t be in a hurry to get conversions straight away.

One of the main reasons social media users are turning to alternative platforms is that they don’t want to be sold or bombarded to buy when they are looking through their images. This means that you need to develop a certain amount of tact and subtlety with your marketing strategy.

Think of Instagram as a way to slowly integrate and introduce your customers to your brand and allow them to really get to know you first.

To put it into perspective, 38 percent of social media users say that they are influenced by a brand that they see on a platform like Instagram. Another 67 percent claim that images are more valuable towards making a purchase than a detailed, written description.

When it comes to uploading your images, try to crop them to fit in the 612 x 612 dimensions that Instagram offers. You may also want to consider hiring a professional photographer or stylist to help you showcase your products or services in the best way.

However, if you are just starting out or you don’t have the budget, don’t be afraid to do it yourself. Most smartphones have excellent cameras and depending on your demographic you could probably get away with just using that to start with.

You can also take images and upload them to Photoshop to edit. If you do that, make sure your images are at least 1024 x 1024 pixels to ensure they won’t be pixellated or stretched when uploaded to Instagram.

Try also experimenting with using text on your images and try different colour themes and styles. Remember, there are over 70 million images posted to Instagram every day, think about what you can do to make yours stand out from the crowd!

Here is a quick list of Instagram Image Stats:

  • The most popular photo filter is Mayfair
  • Lighter images are 24% more likely to get “likes” than darker images
  • Blue dominant images get 24% more likes than red

Ever heard the term: a picture speaks 1000 words?

That is the exact power marketing on Instagram has, so why not use it to your advantage and see if it can help boost your traffic, promote brand awareness and in turn, increase your sales.