Instagram has 800 million monthly active users. This staggering number means that this social networking platform is an amazing place to promote products, connect with customers, and reach new people within your target market. However, marketing on Instagram requires strategy and planning to cash in on this platform’s marketing superpower.
Instagram Contests
The single best way to increase your brand’s reach and gain more followers is with Instagram contests. If you’re familiar with the platform, you’ll know just how many brands take advantage of this by running giveaways, photo contests, sweepstakes, and more to build their fanbases, boost engagement, or just sell more products. JJ’s House is a great example of a company using Instagram marketing to make the most of its selling power. By using Instagram contests to promote their vast array of wedding dresses, JJ’s House has tapped into the very lucrative world of wedding social media frenzy. By giving away one dress, they end up creating hundreds or even thousands of potential future customers.
Post Discounts
In general, Instagram is a relatively passive platform. People browse to amuse themselves and keep themselves updated on their friends and favorite accounts. To get them to act, you have to offer something especially intriguing. By posting discounts combined with appealing product posts, you will be more likely to engage your passive scrollers into buying. A good rule of thumb is to connect your discounts with an event, like Black Friday, or a holiday.
Ask your customers to follow you
Companies often forget to place a lot of focus on their current customer base. Instead, they focus too heavily on garnering new followers and customers. However, your current customers can be a great place to get new followers, if you know how to draw them in.
Offer your current email list of customers a discount if they follow you at the time of sale. So, if they’re in the middle of checking out and they see that they can get 10% off by showing that they follow you on Instagram, most will go and follow you and go through with the purchase anyway. Win/win!
Post attractive product photos
Instagram is, after all, a platform for pictures—so take advantage of that! Take attractive photos of your products in action to visually sell a lifestyle or vibe to your customers.
VeryVoga uses curated images of their clothing at picnics, concerts, or at other fun events to showcase how the clothing can be styled and encourage their customers to dream of vacations and play in their outfits.
Work with influencers
Instagram is an influencer haven and one of the original influencer hotbeds. Your best way to work with influencers is to either offer them your products or to curate your own influencers. You can reach out to influencers that capture your company’s brand style and ask them to review one of your products that you will provide to them. Or, you can create your own influencers by having a call to action to your followers for brand ambassadors.
