Social Media Marketing

5 min read

11 Mar 2020

Shopify Instagram Marketing: 7 Can't-Miss Tips To Increase Your Sales

I'm sure you're with me on this: Nobody likes to read a wall of text.

db illustration

Here's my point... Images matter.

And that's the reason why you need to get on board with Instagram marketing.

Social media marketing is an absolute gold mine to increase your online sales. And it can also be all about visuals.

What's more? You may notice "marketers" abound on Facebook. And it is more difficult than ever to stand out.

Meanwhile, more and more Shopify stores turn to Instagram to sell their products.

Do you have your Shopify store on Instagram? If not, now's your chance to try Shopify Instagram marketing.

So in this blog post, we'll go over why Instagram marketing is important more than ever.

And I'll also show you surefire ways to boost your sales with Instagram marketing.

Before you upload your awesome photos, let's start with...

Why Use Shopify Instagram Marketing?

What could be better than a few stats to convince you? Here's why you should consider Instagram as a serious player when it comes to your ecommerce marketing strategy.

Instagram is forecast to reach 1.2 billion users by 2023.
81% of users go to Instagram to research products and services.
200 million users go to at least one Instagram business profile daily.
After seeing it in Instagram stories, 58% of people say they get more interested in a brand or product.
Every month, 130 million users click on shopping posts.

All of these numbers reveal one thing... ecommerce businesses thrive on Instagram.

People are more than happy to discover and follow brands they like. They look for you and engage with you.

Here's another reveal...

Instagram is more than a photo-sharing app. Over the past few years, it has integrated tools and features that help ecommerce businesses. Like Instagram Shopping, for example.

All of the tips included here will help you reach your goal of increasing sales. But what's more, is you can also...

Boost your brand awareness
Engage and build relationships with potential customers
Establish authority around your chosen industry
Grow your social media following.

Are you getting excited? Good!

But before thinking of selling your Shopify products on Instagram, hold up!

It is imperative that your Instagram business profile implements these strategies.

These are the foundation required before getting down to business...

7 Instagram Marketing Tips To Boost Your Sales

1. Have Your Instagram Account In Professional Mode

Do you already have a personal Instagram account? If yes, you can switch it to a professional or business profile.

This will make your Shopify store look credible on Instagram.

It's super simple to switch. Here's how you do it:

Head over to your profile and click on the hamburger icon. It's on your screen's upper right corner.
Click on Settings.
Tap Account.
Scroll through the options and click on Switch to Professional Account. Tap Continue.
Select a category that best describes your online store. Then click Done.

Voila! You now have your Instagram business account!

Once you're done, people who visit your profile will see relevant information about your business.

They can see what type of business you run, hours of operation, physical address, and telephone number.

Remember, these are your future customers! Make sure you optimize your Instagram business account.

With a business account, you can also follow the performance of your Instagram profile.

You now have access to many statistics in real time, like Instagram insights.

That includes your Instagram Stories, your promoted publications, and how your subscribers interact with your Instagram account.

Also, you can see how your Instagram posts perform. And you can run Instagram ads, too.

A professional Instagram profile also unlocks advanced features for your Shopify store.

Keep reading to find out what it is!

2. Write A Practical And Catchy Bio

Yes, it's still not possible to put clickable links on your Instagram captions.

So, the Instagram bio is one of the few places where you can insert a text link to your Shopify store.

And it's essential for you to focus on it! It's the first piece of information that visitors see about your page. So, include the following in your Instagram bio:

A quick and straightforward summary of the products you sell.
The main advantage of your Shopify store or the products you offer. In other words, put in what sets your eCommerce business apart from your competition.
An interaction or call to action aimed at your potential customers.
A working link. That means it should be current. For example, your link may direct them to your most recent promotion. Or to a page that showcases your new products. The possibilities are endless!

To make more sense of this, here's Rocky Mountain Soap Company's Instagram bio.

Write A Practical And Catchy Bio

In just a few words, it perfectly encompasses what their business is all about... soaps! Notice how it also has a link directing visitors to their eCommerce website.

That makes it easier for their target audiences to visit their website!

And we all know that the more potential customers visit your online store, the more likely they'll convert into paying customers.

Lastly, they also have their branded tags on their Instagram bio.

And that should be your next focus...

3. Use The Right Hashtags

You know how hashtags work. When you click it, you'll see public posts that have it in them. What's more important is that Instagram users can now follow hashtags.

So even if other audiences don't follow you, you can still appear in their Instagram feed. You can expand your reach that way.

That's why you need to put them in every Instagram content you create!

But be careful about the number of hashtags you use.

Yes, you are limited to up to 30 hashtags per post. But it's been found that eight hashtags generate the best engagement rate.

Why not check out different hashtags relevant to your Shopify store? Or better yet, you can analyze the hashtags your competitors are using. This gives your publications a boost.

Lastly, use a mixture of popular Instagram hashtags and more precise hashtags. This combination can increase the visibility of your products... simply and effectively!

As a bonus, you can also discover awesome user-generated content you can also utilize.

I particularly like how Hydro Flask's Instagram account uses hashtags.

Check it out:

Use The Right Hashtags

Hydro Flask always uses their branded hashtag #HeyLetsGo. To also keep their caption neat and clean, they put all relevant hashtags in the comment section. And they don't overdo it, either.

Do you know who really likes using Instagram hashtags?

The next tip can give you a clue...

4. Collaborate With Influencers

Are you even surprised by this reliable tip?

Yes, it may sound obvious. But the key is choosing the right influencers to deliver your Shopify store's messages.

Once you choose the right ones, they can promote Shopify stores efficiently.

In reality, you must see the services of an influencer as an advertising medium. You can count social media channels, radio, or television as some of them.

Keep this in mind...

Each influencer has a different target audience and a unique way of communicating.

You have to find the influencers whose subscribers are your target audience, too. The tone they adapt should also be the same as your online store's customers.

I'll tell you what perfects the match between an online brand and an influencer.

They make it possible to bring messages in the form of storytelling... that reach people much more than a simple advertising pitch!

It does not matter the size of the influencer's account or the number of influencers that your Shopify store decides to hire.

Nevertheless, there are two types of influencers you can go by:

Paid influencers: This is a formal agreement between a Shopify store owner and an influencer. The contract involves creating sponsored content. This type can prove to be expensive. But it also brings results very quickly and with great precision. It's because the company specifically selects the influencer.
Natural influencers: This also involves the influencer promoting a product. But this promotion comes from an exchange of services/products that favor both parties. It can also come from an influencer finding you! If they discover your product naturally and you're a good fit for their target audience, then the promotion is free. Yup, this type requires less money but more time.

Influencer marketing is all about reaching out to collaborate.

Not convinced yet?

Well, you might have heard of the famous podcast company Audible. That's because they are well-known for utilizing influencer marketing to the fullest.

For example, here's a post from an influencer with less than 100k followers when they published. And it worked! The post garnered over 10,000 likes. That highly likely converts to sales.

Collaborate With Influencers

Once you're thriving on social media, get down to it and...

5. Engage With Your Comments

This goes to all of your social media channels. Engaging is another important marketing strategy because it allows you to connect directly with your customers or audience.

Social media is all about engaging, after all!

So, what will you do if Instagram users communicate with you?

Don't ignore it! Acknowledge any of your followers' comments on your Instagram posts. Actively reply to them. Then, nudge them to your eCommerce site when it's appropriate.

Additionally, You can look at this from an ecommerce point of view. You see, responding to comments can lead to a sale.

When an Instagram user asks a question about your product's availability, price, color... or even the performance of your products, it's because they're close to making a purchase!

Just look at Herschel Supply their interactions with potential customers.

Engage With Your Comments

A potential customer is curious about their product. And they immediately answer the query. This can eliminate any hesitation they have before buying.

See? Engagements can really help you promote your Shopify store successfully.

Let's keep it moving and keep your eyes on it...

6. Video, Video, Video

Before anything else, let me just say that product images are great. There are still a lot of Instagram users who want to see photos on their Instagram stories and feeds.

But have you ever noticed that Facebook's been working hard for more and more video content? Well, Instagram is no exception.

It's because the landscape of social media marketing is evolving.

Videos allow Shopify store owners to be creative. Video content in Instagram Stories is one of the rare places where you can insert clickable links.

The good news... you don't need to have 10, 000 followers before you can put links on your Instagram stories.

But that doesn't mean you'll exert less effort in growing. You can still grow your following with quality videos.

Producing quality videos to showcase your products takes more time and resources. But the results speak for themselves:

Videos on Instagram generate double engagement compared to photos.
Videos generate twice as many comments as photos.
60% of Instagram millennial users frequently watch Stories.
The third of the most-watched Instagram Stories comes from brands.

So, make sure to take advantage of videos on your Instagram posts to promote your Shopify store!

Lastly...

7. Configure Instagram Shopping

Adding Instagram Shopping to your account opens up your online store to a lot of opportunities.

You can showcase and display your products. Specifically, it allows you to add tags to posts or stories on your Instagram page.

The tag reveals the following information to subscribers who tap on it:

A picture of the product
A description of the product
The price
A link to your ecommerce site's page where you can buy the product

So go ahead and install Instagram Shopping! Here are easy steps to do it:

Get your business profile approved by Instagram.
Define a catalog of all your products on Facebook (Instagram uses the same catalog).
Wait until your IG work account is verified. The addition of the Shopping functionality is then approved.
Activate the Shopping features from your account settings.

But that's not all. After using it, you will certainly do a lot of tests. To guide you, here are some tips to take advantage of this ecommerce functionality:

Identify the products that are in your images or your videos. When uploading your product images or videos, you can use Shopping tags and hashtags. This increases the chances of having your publications highlighted in the "Shop" section of the "Explore" tab.
Tag more than one product in your Instagram posts. It increases your engagement rate. And therefore, the visibility of your publication.
Identify clear and meaningful product names rather than a series of numbers. This encourages more clicks from Instagram users.
Promote your Instagram page on other platforms. This includes your newsletter, Facebook page, Shopify store, etc. It will attract more visitors to your ecommerce brand. Hence, it'll also increase the chances of them buying your products.

If you do it right, Instagram shopping can be your teammate in selling!

You may have noticed this while reading...

Giving a boost to your Shopify store through Instagram is not very complicated.

So give it a try and...