For Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, social platforms have become the go-to resource for product search and discovery. In fact, for at least one in two U.S. shoppers in that age group, these networks were found to be preferable for learning about new products to online searches.
Out of those, Instagram and Facebook remain the two most popular social commerce platforms among digital buyers in the U.S. in 2022.
With these facts in mind, it becomes obvious how crucial it is to have an active presence on all these networks if you want to grow your ecommerce brand and increase sales.
Now, since they’ve became popular a decade ago, these social platforms have evolved a lot in terms of capabilities, and they keep changing and adding new features everyday. So, if you’re just beginning, things might seem a bit overwhelming.
But don’t despair, as there are a few best practices to keep in mind which will help you navigate these waters more easily.
Today we’re going to discuss 7 tips and tricks to get you started on how to grow your ecommerce Instagram account.
Let’s dive in!
1. Define your target audience
The first and most important question you must ask yourself before starting to have any social media activity is “Who are my customers?”. And no, “Everyone” is not an acceptable answer.
You must clearly define who your audience is because everything you do has to start from there, if you want to have any success. If you don’t know who you’re talking to, how’d you expect to be listened?
Especially in the beginning, when you don’t have lots of resources, it’s important to find your niche and dedicate all your efforts to it. After you’ve cracked that niche, you’ll be able to extend, but not before.
To find your niche target audience, you should answer a few questions:
1. Where are they located? Are you targeting a neighbourhood, a city, or an entire country?
2. What’s their income? Are your products high-end or not? Are they able to afford them?
3. What’s their gender?
4. What’s their age?
5. Where do they work?
6. What are their interests? What do they like doing in their free time?
And any other questions you might believe fit for your brand and industry.
Answering them will help you build your buyer persona and tailor your content and interactions to their interests and needs.
2. Create a consistent aesthetic and brand identity
After you’ve decided who your audience is, it’s time to clearly define who you are.
What are your brand’s value and personality? What’s your mission?
What is your tagline? That one sentence that summarizes your brand and the added value your products bring your customers. Hint - it should be catchy, and it shouldn’t be more than 150 characters.
Draft some logo variants and start by setting three brand colours – one main and two complementary, and two fonts, one for title, and one for body.
You’ll have to make sure that these branding elements will stay at the core of your social media visuals. Consistently using the same filters, colours, and styles will make your account look professional and recognisable.
3. Post regularly
Staying relevant on social media nowadays means getting lots of engaging content out there. You need to be regularly appearing in your audience’s feeds if you want to stay on top of their minds.
On Instagram, it’s recommended to post around 2-3 Feed Posts per week, and up to 2-3 Stories per day.
That might seem difficult to keep up with.
The best thing you can do is spend some time devising a social media marketing plan for Instagram, and then absolutely sticking to it. Consistency is key. No matter how busy you get, you should be posting, and you should be posting daily.
The beginning is always the hardest, but with enough patience, you’ll come up with better and better posts, and find the best formula for your brand and your audience.
4. Use video
Video is currently the most powerful way to showcase your products and engage with your audience. In fact, Instagram users are 10 times more likely to engage with video content than with static posts.
There are at least 5 types of social media marketing videos great for scaling your ecommerce brand on Instagram, although the list is not exhaustive.
Product Demos, Client testimonials, Behind-the-scenes, Unboxing Videos these are all great examples of engaging content your audience will enjoy watching. They help you build trust, all while placing a spotlight on the most important aspect of your business – your amazing products.
Combine these live-motion videos with Short Animated Product Videos which only require a good tool to make, so as to always be present in front of your customers with updates on your product catalogue, discounts and offers.
You can then consider yourself set to grow your presence on Instagram, delight your audience, and ultimately increase sales.
5. Use the right hashtags
The reason behind the importance of using hashtags on Instagram is clear – they help people not currently following you discover your content by increasing the reach of your posts.
They categorize and make your posts visible to a wider audience, and it’s one of the most powerful tools Instagram has to offer for growing your Instagram profile.
You can use hashtags on Feed Posts, Stories, and Reels. If you use the right hashtag, it will appear on the hashtag page. As people can follow hashtags, it’s a great way to reach a new audience.
Search for the most popular and relevant hashtags in your industry and try to include them as often as possible.
6. Respond to comments and messages
Responding to comments and messages on your Instagram account is a crucial aspect of building a strong community and increasing engagement. By doing so, you show your followers that you value their input and are interested in what they have to say.
A few best practices for responding to comments and messages on Instagram:
1. Respond promptly
2. Be friendly but professional
3. Address any questions or concerns asap
7. Track your performance
Use Instagram Insights to track your account's performance.
A simple spreadsheet in which you register what you posted, what type of content is it – static/video (if video, what length?), when (day of the week, time of the day), likes, comments, reach and engagement.
Nothing too complex, but you must be thorough about it. Make sure you update it weekly and give it a good analysis regularly.
This will help you refine your strategy and make informed decisions about your content – what type of content it's best to post and when to post it, and about your interactions with your audience.
