Every day, millions of people log into their Instagram accounts to scroll through a feed full of beautiful images and videos.

Therefore it’s no surprise that many eCommerce businesses have been turning to this app to grow their business.

In this blog post, we will share some helpful tips and tricks to help you maximize your Instagram marketing efforts for your eCommerce store.

What Is Instagram?

First, before we jump into how you can use Instagram for your eCommerce store, let’s discuss the basics.

Instagram is a social networking and photo-sharing app that allows users to take pictures and videos and share them on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Users can also post hashtags and follow other users’ feeds.

Who Uses Instagram?

Many eCommerce brands use Instagram to share products, behind-the-scenes photos and videos or engage their supporters. Some brands even use the app for advertising their products on a larger scale by running Instagram ads.

What Can You Use Instagram for?

Typically, eCommerce businesses will use the app most often for one of two reasons: customer service or brand awareness.

Customer Service Through Images and Videos

Instagram is a great way to provide customer service because it’s so visual. It allows you to post helpful images that will guide your followers through better ways of using or applying your products, as well as shared videos of how-to tips. So not only can you use this app for social media marketing, but you can also use it for blogging.

Brand Awareness and Engagement

Since this platform is all about sharing photos and videos, your business can create a special Instagram page that allows you to share useful content with your followers – from pictures of new product lines, coupons and deals, behind-the-scenes images of events or meetings, contests and giveaways, and even images of your happy customers using your products.

Instagram: The Unfortunate Reality

So far, we’ve discussed how eCommerce businesses can use Instagram to grow their business. However, this app’s downside is that you should also be aware of fake followers and spam comments.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of regulation on Instagram, some users out there like to game the system by purchasing fake followers and spam comments. And this isn’t something you want your business to be associated with – especially if you’re marketing electronics or other products that require social proof (such as real customer photos) to build trust with potential customers.

How to Spot Fake Instagram Followers

Since there’s no way to see how many real followers an account has, the only foolproof method of spotting fake profiles is by looking at their engagement (including likes and comments). So how do you spot these fakers? Look at the number of likes vs. the number of comments they’ve received compared with the number of followers.

Tips And Tricks to Grow Your Ecommerce Business with Instagram

Now that we’ve shared the unfortunate side of Instagram, we’ll now share several helpful tips and tricks to help you grow your eCommerce store with Instagram:

1. Use Instagram Stories

Instagram is a great platform for sharing photos and videos of your products. Although you can still use it for this, a better method to grow your business with Instagram is using the app’s “Stories” feature. This enables you to share live updates from events or behind-the-scenes pictures that will inspire instagram users to check out your profiles or pages.

2. Interact With Your Followers

Since Instagram is the perfect platform to connect with customers who actively share photos and videos, you must interact with them by liking their posts, commenting on them (in a genuine way), and following their accounts (if they seem like an active users).

3. Run Instagram Ads

As mentioned above, you can also use this app for advertising or to create awareness of your brand or product through ads. Although running ads on Facebook is a more popular choice, it may be worth investing in Instagram if you know that potential customers are actively using the app, especially when hashtags are involved.

4. Instagram Posts Can Be Used for SEO

Although not many eCommerce websites are taking advantage of it, Instagram can help with your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. This is because people use this app to look for hashtags related to specific categories or interests. For example, if you’re selling electronics, there may be an active user looking for an iPhone X on the app. And if they use the search function to look up images of this product, your posts with that same hashtag may show up.

5. Put on a Contest or Giveaway

In addition to posting photos and adding hashtags to your posts, you can also grow your eCommerce business with Instagram by holding a contest or giveaway. All you need to do is come up with a simple yet engaging post that will allow people who engage with it (such as by liking it) the chance to win something – whether it’s a discount on their next purchase or free shipping.

6. Post User Generated Content

There’s a reason why we keep giving you tips and tricks on growing your eCommerce store with Instagram: it works! However, if you want to see results fast, one of the best ways to do this is by getting more users to post about your products or services. You can get them to do this by showing appreciation for their content (with likes and comments) while also encouraging them to share it with others (by tagging their friends).

7. Post Photos With Your Products Spotted in Different Locations

One of the best ways to show off your products is by having photos of them posted on Instagram by real users. Since you can’t ask strangers to do this for free, you must compensate them somehow (such as with a discount or free product). To increase the engagement on these posts, try asking people to pose in front of landmarks or iconic spots.

8. Add Location Tags on Your Photos

The location tag is the perfect way to introduce your brand, products, and store to Instagram users based in that area. However, this doesn’t mean you should bombard everyone with this information – instead, use it sparingly for posts that make sense (such as having your store tagged if it’s pretty well-known or your products tagged if influencers are featuring them).

9. Make good use of your Instagram Business Account

Another way to grow your eCommerce business on Instagram is by creating a business account if you don’t have one yet. If you already use Facebook for advertising, this account can be a great addition since it allows you to connect with customers more personally, which means stronger engagement and better customer service.

10. Consider adding links to your bio

Finally, if you want to convert your Instagram followers into sales, you should consider adding links to your bio. Just make sure that they’re short and easy to remember (and read) so that Instagram users can easily share them.

11. Create The Perfect Instagram Feed

If you want to grow your eCommerce business with Instagram, it helps create a polished and consistent feed. This means showcasing your products in the best way possible and only posting high-quality photos – no matter how they were taken.

How to Create An Instagram Content Strategy

Let’s now look at how you can create a content strategy for Instagram so your brand stays relevant even as new trends emerge.

1. Target the Right Users.

The first step in creating a content strategy for Instagram is to consider who you’re targeting. This can be done using tools that help build personas (essential profiles of your target market). Once you have these, you can easily develop a strategy that will fit their interests and values.

2. Create Themes.

Next, you’ll need to create themes for your content – meaning a regular posting schedule or a set of guidelines on what type of photos or videos should be posted regularly. This will make it easier for other users to search for these posts and give them a good idea of what your business is about.

3. Create a Hashtag Strategy.

A good hashtag strategy is a perfect way to get more eyes on your Instagram posts and bring in traffic from other social networks. You can do this by creating unique hashtags closely tied to your brand and easy for users to remember and adopt. It also helps if you promote these hashtags through ad campaigns – make sure that it’s done organically to avoid being overly promotional.

4. Make Good use of Analytics Tools.

To create the perfect content strategy for Instagram, you need to know what’s working and what isn’t. Doing this helps if you’re familiar with analytics tools that can provide more information on your posts’ performance.

5. Make it Relevant and Engaging.

Last but not least, you’ll need to make sure that your content strategy for Instagram is relevant and engaging so that people look forward to seeing what you have to post next. This means only posting content that is relevant to your business and which resonates with your target market. Now, let’s take a look at some of the best ways you can make use of Instagram as an eCommerce store.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it enough to upload photos on Instagram?

It might be tempting to post lots of pretty or interesting photos on Instagram without providing any context, but this is one surefire way of losing your audience. So instead, you should give your users some incentive so they know what to expect when they follow you – whether it’s exclusive discounts, upcoming promos, or sneak peeks of new products.

What kind of content should you post on Instagram?

The type of content you post on Instagram should always be tied to your overall brand image and the user experience you want to provide. For instance, if you’re an eCommerce store selling fashion products, then it helps if your posts focus on lifestyle images (which can showcase how your clothes look like when worn) instead of just plain product photos.

How can I build a following on Instagram?

The best way to grow your following is by sticking to the golden rule of providing value, making sure that you’re always posting something interesting or helpful at least once every 24 hours.

It would help to make sure that your posts are high-quality and relevant – but not overly promotional – to get more people interested in following you.

You can also use various tools to help amplify your content and make sure that it reaches the right people, including paid promotions on Instagram or using free social media marketing services designed for businesses.

What happens if I don’t have enough money for advertising?

Even if you don’t have the budget for paid advertising, it still helps if you’re willing to put in some time and effort into your content strategy. This means creating a set of guidelines that will help you create posts that are more likely to be shared, leading to greater exposure on Instagram.

Last Thoughts

Advertising isn’t the only way to grow your eCommerce business. With creativity, you can use Instagram as an effective marketing tool for your brand and products.

Remember that authenticity is key when it comes to branding on social media–you’re not building an ad campaign here!

While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to successfully leveraging Instagram in your digital marketing plan, we’ve provided some tips and tricks above so you can get started or reevaluate how you approach this platform in terms of growing sales at your online store.