Instagram shopping is now a legitimate and very effective way to expand your e-commerce business. A social media platform that boasts around 1.4 billion users in 2022 is one of the largest marketplaces that companies are utilizing efficiently today. Facebook-owned Instagram makes the platform more lucrative for marketers with every new feature launch.
It is a social media platform that influences people, their life choices, and their purchases. Brands have already been using influencer marketing and targeted ads to create FOMO and increase sales. And now, its new e-commerce-friendly avatar further allows you to set up your business on this app with perfect integration of features like catalog and in-app shopping.
What is Instagram Shopping?
Branding on Instagram was limited to maintaining a business page, running paid ads, and creating brand awareness through campaigns. Moreover, brands used to add links to their websites in the bio section to help users navigate easily. With the Instagram Shopping feature, you can turn users into customers by helping them discover your products and make purchases, all within the app.
Instagram has streamlined the shopping experience for users by including:
- a product feature page, where you can display all your products with their price tags.
- collections section, where you can sort products into different categories to simplify the browsing experience for your users.
- product details page, where all the description related to a product is mentioned.
- shopping tag that will direct a user to your product details page from posts, stories, and reels.
- checkout option that allows the user to purchase within the app. (Although this feature is currently available in only a few regions.)
- shop discovery option that displays your products in the explore section to help Insta users discover your shop.
81% of users use Instagram to research products, and 72% of users say that Instagram influences their buying decisions. These stats clearly show the potential this platform holds. With Instagram Shopping, you can now exploit this platform to make your brand discoverable, renowned, and profitable.
How Instagram Shopping Can Benefit Your Business?
Make Your Shop & Products Discoverable
How to catch the target audience’s attention is one of the biggest concerns most new businesses and small to medium-size brands have. Unlike high-end brands, your brand needs to be discoverable and understood in order to be ultimately recognized.
Instagram shopping feature allows you to tap into the power of AI and appear in your IG’s feeds. This platform’s algorithm is designed to show user content, products, and recommendations, based on their interests. So, once a user engages with a post, story, or reel of a product similar to yours, your chances of popping up on their feed increase.
To make the best use of this facet, you should optimize your content (written or video) to be attention-grabbing and authentic. Don’t forget to specify your target audience while setting up your business profile.
Create An Authentic Shopping Experience
We have talked about it many times, users no longer trust traditional ads that look made up. Consumers look for authenticity and a connection with the brand before doing any business with it. Instagram, where people browse content, look for reviews of products they are eyeing, and turn to their influencers to see what’s trending, is the best medium to create an authentic shopping experience for your users.
The product tagging feature in Instagram shopping enables you to tag your product on a post or reel. So, as a part of your campaign, you must encourage your customers to post a selfie or a reel of the product they have purchased from you. You can offer them a discount coupon for their next purchase in exchange for a review post.
Now, you repost their reviewed product on your page along with your product tag to allow other users to browse it. Additionally, if you use a specific hashtag, the users can further use it to view more such reviews from your existing customers. If they like the product, they can go ahead and make a purchase. This process creates brand trust and builds loyalty.
Take Advantage of Organic Reviews
Since we are talking about review posts and reels, it becomes mandatory to mention how organic reviews are a boon for your brand’s reputation and sales. Instagram is again the best place to garner the benefits of organic reviews. One way is to encourage your customers to post reviews on their profiles and feature them on your brand’s page.
Another way is totally organic. You cannot force or motivate your users to leave a review, but they will do so on their own. All you need to take care of is the quality and customer experience. When everything is top-notch, your customers and potential customers will follow you and leave comments on your posts and ads.
These comments speak volumes about your brand and motivate other users to try your products. However, this feature can also backfire if any of your customers didn’t have a good experience with either your product or your service. You can’t and shouldn’t delete negative comments. However, know that the comments influence people’s buying decisions. So, if this happens, make sure to reply with empathy and take steps to resolve their issues.
Get Popular Influencers To Use Your Products
Every day people scroll their feeds, follow their favorite influencers, and check out the clothes, shoes, skincare products, hair care products, and everything they recommend. People trust these influencers and really get influenced. This behavior impacts their buying decisions. With Instagram, brands are making the best use of impulse buying through influence marketing.
Since regular people use these products and showcase how effective the product is, the effect is more organic and genuine-looking, contrary to when celebrities advertise a product. Many brands have risen from ground-level to multimillionaires through this marketing tactic.
Facilitate Customer Engagement
Customer engagement is key to a brand’s success, especially now when consumers like to be treated as a part of the family. The Instagram community proves to be a treasure trove if you know how to use it efficiently.
Create campaigns that allow your followers to participate. Giveaway is an age-old technique that works even today, although it was mainly done to increase followers. Another trick is to play ‘ask-me-anything’, polls, and ‘Never-Have-I-Ever’ in stories. Brands also touch base on traditional and cultural stories that relate to their brand.
When someone shops from your company, ask them to post a review and tag your Instagram handle. Now feature it in your stories. Make announcements about new launches and ask your followers to guess the product. Furthermore, reply to comments and DMs. It would definitely take a dedicated social media manager. But the investment would be worth it. The idea is to be as authentic and human as possible.
Use Instagram Ads Efficiently
Instagram has made it very convenient for marketers to target their potential customers through ads. It gives you a range of options to define your target audience and allows you to retarget the ones who show any interest. Not only this, you have placement options too. You can post your ad on feeds, stories, and reels.
Now, if you use these features combined with outstanding content and eye-catching visuals, you can maximize the benefits of Instagram ads. Did you know that in a survey conducted by Instagram, 58% of people said that they have become more interested in a brand/product after seeing it in their stories? Hence, ads in stories are a powerful way to catch attention.
You can also try native advertising. These types of ads are closer to regular posts, subtly hinting at the users to make a purchase. To create such ads, use the same theme, fonts, and content style that you follow in your regular posts, giving it a persuasive touch.
All you have to do is a little hit-and-trial to know what works best for you. Once you know what kind of ads and posts are working for you, you can boost them individually.
Take Advantage of Instagram Stories
Besides ad placements, Instagram stories hold much more potential to intrigue your audience. It works well for your existing followers, who might or might not have purchased with you yet. Use stories to post your products, and dedicate a day to each category. Post the background or maybe the benefits of a particular product.
You can also invite engagement through your stories and build a personal brand. Some new-age businesses use this tactic. The owner of the business interacts with the users on a pre-scheduled date, answers their queries (personal and product-related both), and even delivers a message through video stories. The interactions in stories feel personal and allow your followers to feel more connected and valued.
The Bottom Line
Instagram shopping is a powerhouse for marketers owing to its large audience base, interlinked elements, transparency, and revenue potential for brands. With the addition of brand-oriented features, such as product catalogs and in-app checkout, it has reached the ability to become one of the best e-commerce platforms today. Since Instagram sees the most shopping interests and users’ inclination towards the explore page, well-established brands are also not leaving the chance to leverage this marketing trend.
To stand out on Instagram as a brand, you need to be creative, innovative, and user-oriented in your content and approach. If you employ the apt strategies, you can easily gain trust and build loyalty among your followers on this platform. If you think you are ready to leverage Instagram shopping and need the right expertise, we’re here to help.
Book your consultation with Agency Couch today!
