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“But like, how many followers do you have?” – And, are you marketing on Instagram to convert them into paying customers? In the marketing world, there’s often a heavy emphasis on metrics such as social followers. The bigger the better, right? However, what does the size of a business’ Instagram following really mean for a brand and its bottom line?
Think about it. Follower count has historically been referred to as a vanity metric by some critics. After all, it’s relatively easy for brands to purchase social followers and engagement to artificially boost their count if they really want to boast big numbers.
Whether your business has 100 or 100,000 followers is irrelevant if those followers aren’t willing to engage with your message and eventually turn into paying customers down the road.
Now, that’s not to say that you should treat your followers as if they were data points. Quite the contrary, actually. Your followers represent living, breathing people who ideally want to hear what you have to say.
It’s more important than ever that brands treat their audience with a human touch. Therefore, marketing on Instagram should be about building long-term relationships through smart content versus trying to make a quick buck. That being said, any social media channel represents a balancing act between building a following and seeing an ROI on our efforts.
No, we shouldn’t always look at social media in terms of dollars and cents. But yes, businesses should look at the big picture in terms of converting their followers into customers. This also includes B2B businesses, which we’ll discuss specifically further along.
The ultimate goal of any eCommerce brand using Instagram for marketing should be to amass a following that’s willing to spend. Here’s the deal, though: more brands are using Instagram for marketing than ever before.
There are 25 million Instagram business profiles. Many of those same brands are beefing up their social budgets by the billions (the social media spending is expected to reach $125,482 million by 2023). Plus, with the new updates being introduced regularly, it’s clear that the platform is still evolving. There are still plenty of opportunities for brands to come up with new forms of content to engage their followings.
The writing is on the wall: the competition for your followers’ attention is only going to grow more and more fierce over time. How do you break through the noise?
It all comes down to strategy. For starters, you should set some sort of goal to better hone in on how you’ll approach the platform. If the ultimate goal of your Instagram presence is to increase sales, your images, descriptions and hashtags will likely be product-driven (think: deals, launches and exclusives). On the flip side, you may decide to focus less on sales and more on brand awareness. In that case, you should focus on imagery, storytelling and engagement, like some of the best practices on Instagram that these top brands follow.
Either strategy is totally fine, granted you’re measuring the metrics related to your goals such as traffic back to your site or hashtag mentions, respectively. These metrics will directly influence your content strategy, just as Google Analytics would on a traditional blog.
Thankfully, Instagram has its own analytics platform for businesses in the form of Instagram Insights (the second video on this link). Why not check out this guide to instagram marketing strategy and data analytics.
Thanks to Insights, brands can tailor their posts to be more relevant to their followers in terms of the following:
This knowledge is invaluable to brands marketing on Instagram. In fact, these metrics could potentially make or break your content strategy on the platform.
So many brands make the mistake of blasting content into the void (think: with no regard for timing, reach, or optimization) for the sake of “putting themselves out there.”
Remember: Instagram is not your blog, nor is it Twitter or a clone of any of the other top social networks. The photo-sharing platform plays by different rules regarding what your followers expect. For example, consider the following:
Chasing a positive ROI while marketing on Instagram is the bane of many marketers. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it may very well be easier than ever to drive sales via Instagram, granted you know how to make your followers tick and eventually funnel them back to your site’s sales pages. The name of the game is standing out from the crowd while also giving your followers exactly what they want. So, where do you begin?
Without a doubt, one of the biggest mistakes that brands make with any social network, but especially when marketing on Instagram, is turning their social presence into a giant big sales pitch.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Coupling every post with dozens of hashtags and overly-salesy language will not only turn off your current followers but also hinder your ability to attract new ones.
Rather than annoy your followers to no end, remember that social media represents a conversation. You want to be heard, sure; however, so do your followers.
There’s a time and place for running offers and deals. That doesn’t mean constantly shoving offers into the faces of your prospects, though.
Here’s how you avoid killing your Instagram following before it has time to flourish:
Let’s look at an example of what a proper promotional post looks like:
Zevia knows exactly what they’re doing when it comes to marketing their zero calorie soda via Instagram. Combining a positive marketing message with a call to action for followers to tag themselves in a photo as entry to a giveaway, their Instagram strategy is a perfect storm of promotional content.
Eye-catching colors and imagery? Check.
Promoting the creation of User Generated Content? Check.
Including real people versus product photos to sell themselves? Check.
Marketing on Instagram doesn’t have to be rocket science. Likewise, Zevia’s feed proves that you don’t necessarily need the sexiest product on the planet to get a reaction out of your followers.
But truth be told, a subtle, “less-is-more” approach to promotion is the best course of action for budding brands and established veterans alike.
Nobody hits the “Follow” button so they can be bashed over the head with offers and deals. People do, however, engage with sales-related content on Instagram when it’s targeted and subtle.
In short, Instagram is not the place for an aggressive sales strategy.
At the same time, it’s a fantastic avenue for promoting products and services.
Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? The key to using Instagram for marketing is to seamlessly integrate your products into your feed without interrupting your followers.
There are multiple avenues to encouraging your followers to buy that are somewhat beneath the surface. For starters, consider any of the following as fair game:
Freebies are a surefire way to generate buzz around any given brand. Just as an eCommerce blog may give away a free report to encourage email sign-ups, contests and giveaways can help build up your follower base and present your brand as a friendly resource.
Giveaways in particular represent a fantastic way to encourage evangelists as you offer something in value for little more than a follow-back. Many brands using Instagram for marketing offer exclusive promotions as means of growing their follower count.
Driving traffic from Instagram to your store is an absolute no-brainer. That being said, many brands fail to appropriately leverage their description snippets as means of linking to particular products. You don’t need a dozen hashtags and links to make it happen, though. When it doubt, keep it simple.
Think of Instagram as a sort of lead magnet; however, remember that you need to make sure you’re driving your traffic to the right places on-site (think: not always your home page).
The key to monetize Instagram is creating content unique to the platform. Whether through Instagram-exclusive promotions or UGC, experimentation will help you understand which types of content perform best with your base (note: Instagram Insights will clue you in as well). By promoting your most successful posts, you can refine your content strategy over time and increase your ROI as a result.
Instagram is somewhat of a unicorn when it comes to content.
It’s all about imagery.
Sure, hashtags and descriptions can go a long way when it comes to encouraging your followers to take action.
But it’s the pictures that drive them to click, comment and follow.
The more your followers engage with your content, the more likely they are to buy.
The key is piquing the interest of your followers at a glance and giving them a reason to check out your photos. Whether you’re selling high-end fashion or coffee beans, bear in mind the Instagram best practices for optimal results.
Tell stories.
Use real people in your photos to create an emotional connection.
Try to take your snapshots in creative settings versus boring your followers to tears.
Utilize a photo editing app, like Instasize, to make your great shots even better! Plus, its easy-to-use features will ensure each post matches your brand image and style.
What do these practices look like in action? Well, there’s a reason why H&M has almost 35 million followers:
Does this mean that all hope is lost if you don’t have professional models at your disposal?
Of course not.
As noted earlier, promoting and curating User Generated Content is key to making that ever-so-crucial emotional connection with your followers. Check out how Au Revoir Cinderella relies on UGC to show off their sunglasses while still ticking the boxes of what makes a “perfect” photo:
For most brands marketing on Instagram, the platform is tailor-made for the best-of-the-best in terms of visual content. Converting customers via Instagram isn’t all about directly making sales, but also building social proof (think: UGC, hashtags and testimonials) through imagery.
There are UGC platforms such as Flowbox that make it really easy to integrate your customers’ Instagram content into your eCommerce. Curious about how Flowbox works? Book a demo today and see how it could transform your customer journey!
And guess what? Visual content and conversions go hand in hand.
Finally, the elephant in the room.
How do you cultivate a following that actually wants to buy from you?
Followers are a dime-a-dozen, after all: it’s engaged customers that we really want.
If you feel like marketing on Instagram is merely dumping your company photos and hitting “post,” I’ve got some bad news.
Beyond creating the sort of content that your followers actually want to see (high definition photos, personalized content and so on), what else can you do to encourage that your following grows rather than stagnates?
Show Them Some Love – Shout outs and re-grams can go a long way when connecting with potential customers. Hashtags are the easiest way to measure engagement and spot UGC in the wild. (Use Flowbox to find, curate, ask media rights and publish User Generated Content in your eCommerce site)
Exclusive Content – Given the saturation of content in today’s increasingly social landscape, you’re constantly fighting for your followers’ attention. Remember that exclusivity is a powerful marketing tool: consider making your giveaways, contests or promotions Instagram-exclusive to incentivize followers.
Be Consistent – No matter what you post, consistency is key to keeping up a following. Though over-posting doesn’t affect your reach as much as we think it does, not posting enough definitely does!
Answer Questions On Time – Don’t be a business that leaves its followers hanging. On Instagram, timing is everything: by replying to your followers as swiftly as possible, you show that you’re attentive and willing to have a conversation. While this may seem like no big deal to many brands marketing on Instagram, attentiveness can have a lasting impact on your followers.
Switch It Up – There are so many types of visual content out there. Beyond product photos and selfies, consider how infographics, memes and video can also be leveraged via Instagram. If you have a creative bone in your body, the sky’s the limit.
For example, check out how Lorna Jane uses inspirational content to break up action shots of their activewear:
Chances are your followers are on the hunt for more than just deals.
They want a connection. They want to see your personality shine. They want something different.
If you want to convert customers through Instagram, you need to treat it as its own network and not parrot what you’re doing on other social sites. Sure, implement marketing messages and language that’s working elsewhere but remember that marketing on Instagram is its own beast.
Instagram marketing isn’t limited to photogenic B2C companies, but it’s worth knowing that any B2B company can find interested partners to target on Instagram. In this respect, Instagram is superior to other social media like Facebook, despite sharing the same advert targeting data. Avoiding Facebook’s restrictive algorithms which limit post visibility to certain followers, you can take advantage of how many more potential followers will see your engaging new content.
B2B brands tend to see a lot more engagement from a few specific tricks:
Converting customers via social rarely happens overnight.
Oftentimes it takes trial and error in order to achieve your first social sale, let alone see a truly impressive ROI. Even so, there’s absolutely no doubt that Instagram can help convert followers into customers by…
Instagram isn’t necessarily an enigma when it comes to generating leads. After all, just about any social platform is fair game for growing your customer base. Regardless, Instagram is unique in terms of its emphasis on visual content and UGC.
Turning followers into customers requires patience alongside a steady stream of carefully crafted and curated content. If you haven’t already begun introducing offers and deals via Instagram, consider how you can slowly integrate them into your feed or the other way round – how to embed an Instagram feed into your eCommerce store.
What do you consider to be the cornerstones of a solid Instagram marketing strategy? What brands do you feel are killing it right now in terms of promoting products via Instagram? Let us know in the comments below.
Looking for more Instagram tips? Head to our complete guide to Instagram Marketing, where you’ll find everything you need to know about promoting your products on this crucial platform.
