Jumpstarting Your Social Media Presence – Instagram
Did you know that Instagram has over 800 million active users, with 500 million of them using their platform daily? This makes it one of the most engaged networks, second only to the popular Facebook. Today, most brands are actively using their Instagram accounts to not only grow their fan base but to sell their products. Over one-third of Instagram users have purchased a product directly through the app with their mobile device, and their retention rate is around 70%, which means more repeat buyers for companies.
So, what does all of this mean for you? As a company selling on a tech-heavy platform like Amazon, it’s important to see the value of advertising and being active on Facebook and Instagram. Placing your product in an online marketplace easily translates to activity on social platforms. Getting started can be overwhelming – but we’ve broken down a few action items you can take to ensure that you have a successful social strategy.
- Start Small – Using multiple platforms can be overwhelming, but it helps if you choose one and stick to it. With more and more consumers flocking to Instagram for shopping, creating an account and linking it to your homepage would be an ideal way to gain followers. In addition, you could create a special promo code for consumers who like your image to gain additional followers.
- Build Your Grid – Think of Instagram as an online catalog. You want to provide valuable images and content so that you drive consumers to buy. Start by posting nine images to fill your grid with your highest selling products and drive consumers to see what your posting. The more content you provide, the better. Instagram’s algorithms change so often, it’s hard to know what will get your posts seen by consumers, but consistent posting has proven to be the most effective.
- Go Live – Instagram stories are becoming more and more popular! Showcase your products “in the wild” by putting them in a real-life setting to show the usability of the product.
- Plan Your Content, Make Posting Easy – Several apps allow you to plan your content out for weeks in advance. You can set aside a few hours to build content and create a schedule of when that content will be automatically posted directly to Instagram. Some content apps even allow you to schedule stories. You can easily do this in conjunction with your monthly promotional calendar, something that we at TurnKey build and present to all of our clients.
- Invest in Social – You know your clients and their demographics! Instagram allows you to do paid targeted advertising. You can easily select age demographics, and other important data which will help narrow down your results. This is, arguably, the best bang for your buck in terms of marketing dollars. Boosting posts and creating content is an easy way to drive more sales.
- Partner with Influencers – Influencers are Instagram (or other social media platform) users who have a large, almost cult-like following. You can pay these celebrities, or high profile individuals in your niche to talk about your product and link back to your Instagram. The exposure from their followers will certainly increase your number of followers and drive sales.
As social media continues to evolve, so will it’s advertising, but one thing is for certain, it is not going anywhere! When you sell on an online e-commerce platform like Amazon, it’s only fitting that your business should embrace social media and utilize it to your advantage.