How to sell on Instagram: success tips for beginners [Bonus: 8 ideas of products you can sell!]
Step by step to start using this social media in favor of your business.
Step by step to start using this social media in favor of your business.
If you got to this post, you’ve probably already noticed how Instagram is a great tool to do business, haven’t you?
When thinking of new ways to market various products, social media plays an important role in this change. That’s why more and more people seek to promote their brands and products in these channels.
Because it is dynamic and visual, Instagram allows real-time interaction with users, who get to view your products as soon as you post an image.
So, how about starting today to add this way of selling to your business?
Learn next how to sell on Instagram!
We’ll guide you on some essential stages. You’ll realize the process is easier than you imagine.
Step-by-step to sell on Instagram:
You need to create an Instagram account before making sales!
If you already have a profile, great, you can skip this topic. If you don’t, we’ll give you a hand!
Anyone can get a business profile on Instagram. This option is highly recommended to get insights about the performance of your posts on this network.
To activate your business profile, you should go to profile settings on your Instagram account and enable the option “Switch to Business Profile”.
To complete the transaction, you’ll need to connect your Instagram profile to a Facebook Page. If you haven’t got a Facebook Page yet, create yours by clicking here.
Your Instagram’s account has now been created and you can start publishing content there.
But you’re probably thinking: And now what? What should I post on my new profile?”
So, it’s time to think about the content formats that are used in this social networking site.
Remember that Instagram is visual and users follow brands to look at the products.
Ver essa foto no Instagram
Pictures are the main post format of Instagram. This is because, initially, this social networking site was created to share images.
That’s why, to advertise products on Instagram you need to post well-produced pictures, with great resolution and framing. To help enhance and edit your images, you can use apps such as VSCO, Pic Stitch, and Photo Grid.
It is important to avoid very heavy images in order to not having loading problems. Instagram itself already lowers the quality of the pictures to be published if they do not fit in the permitted limit by the app. On the other hand, choosing low-resolution photos will make your images blurred. So, choose the images you’ll post carefully.
Another widely used visual resource on Instagram profiles are the videos. They are great for teaching the users about what you sell. That’s because you can talk and explain more clearly and close to your audience.
With a duration of up to 60 seconds, they can also be a fun tool to show your product better and how it works.
You can publish them on your own Instagram news feed, the same way you would post photos.
Another interesting way to explore this feature is making videos of up to 15 seconds on Stories, a post option that lasts 24 hours, which appears at the top of the app.
There is also the option to create a Boomerang, which allows short repetition of certain movements. This option makes that everyday movements are interesting, funny and different!
You already have great photos and videos. Now, it is important to think of how to describe all this content.
Knowing how to present your products clearly and objectively is essential for an attractive profile. Never post on this networking site without a caption, and remember that it needs to be short.
This is the ideal time for you to explore your creativity!
Come up with innovative captions and always use #hashtags. They mark the image and direct users to the correct niche your product. However, avoid using them in excess so that the description isn’t polluted.
We already know that presenting what you’ll sell on Instagram is essential, but did you know that it is more and more important to educate users?
Worry about posting other content beyond your products or brand. This creates a good experience for your followers who will have access to interesting and different posts.
Understand the needs of your followers.
This is an interactive social networking site and one that doesn’t need that the user spends too much time reading captions of the posts. So, it is possible to post whenever you have some good content.
There isn’t an ideal amount of posts, it all depends on how much material you already have prepared.
However, you can think of some good practices to attract more people to your profile.
If you started using this social network now, probably you don’t have a lot of followers.
It is no use having a great Instagram profile with photos, videos, and relevant content if it is not well-promoted and doesn’t attract the right followers.
You need to make people see your Instagram.
But, how can I do this?
Connecting your Facebook to Instagram: it helps increase the number of followers on your new networking site. You can opt to follow people that are already on your Facebook. By doing so these profiles you follow will have access to your account and will be able to follow you in return.
If you have created a new account, define your buyer persona you want to reach and make them see your Instagram at the right time. By doing so, users will become your followers and want to know more about your brand.
What’s more important at this moment is to know to communicate with excellence with the people who are interested in what you sell on Instagram. Therefore, promptly answer comments and directs sent to you quickly and in a personalized way. This will show that you care about who follows you there.
Plus, you need to promote your Instagram for people to know it. Use your other social networking sites to spread the news that now your brand has an Instagram profile.
Promote it on all your other social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr… You can even send emails to your customers letting them know about this news!
Even though there are several ways to promote your new network, be careful with some gimmicks used to get these followers!
Many people choose to go into famous profiles to ask users to follow their profiles. This is not an efficient strategy and can create a bad reputation for your brand.
Are you a part of the people who believe that only fashion products can be sold on Instagram?
Know that’s not true.
All kinds of products with a visual identity can be advertised on this network!
Example of the profile of a store on Instagram that sells handmade event accessories
The main thing to choose an ideal product is to know very well the niche that your brand you wants to reach, which has already been defined when you created the persona.
You can opt for products such as clothes, decorative pieces, personalized gifts, online courses, and even food.
The important thing here is to choose only a niche and focus on it. This prevents that your follower has doubts concerning the branch of your brand.
This topic is for people who wish to work with Instagram but don’t yet fully know what to sell on the app.
We came up with a list with some possibilities you can explore:
Clothes: the more you can segment your market, the better. think about the type of clothes you’d like to sell: women’s men’s, kids’, beachwear, plus size, party dresses, gym clothes… Those are just some options you can explore.
Food: some dishes are some mouthwatering that they provide good images. And yes, it is possible to sell food on Instagram, as we’ve mentioned before.
Services: you can keep a contact network in order to offer your services. If you are a fashion consultant, for example, you can talk about the subject on your profile and make your own personal marketing while engaging followers who are interested in the topic.
Accessories: still in the fashion business, it’s possible to sell accessories using the marketing Instagram has to offer. The advantage of accessories is that, in general, you don’t need to try them on to know if they are gonna fit or not, like in clothes.
Online courses: through Instagram it’s possible to engage your followers about a topic and sell an online course if people get interested in the subject. For example: you have a profile on healthy living. Through your course you can recommend your followers a course on healthy cooking. This course can be your own, if you’re a digital Producer; or a third-party, if you’re an Affiliate (to understand more about how to create and sell online courses, click here). The advantage is that you can choose any topic you’re interested in and promote an online course that complements it.
Beverages: you can also sell frozen pulp juice or other kind of drinks on Instagram. Make sure your photos look incredible!
Electronics: Advertise electronics like smart phones and other devices and sell on instagram!
Decor: frames, paintings, and countless other artistic products are a big hit on Instagram, especially if you’re the artist yourself. And it’s even better to highlight your talents and have a source of income!
Actually, we could come up with a huge list with all the product you could sell on Instagram but basically everything worthy of an e-commerce can be promoted on Instagram.
If you have questions, go to the niche market you know more about. Then, you’ll have more knowledge to talk about and promote products.
In January 2018, Instagram had some news about the change in its algorithm, which will require more interactions to show posts to more people.
You may have been noticing that posts on this social media already had a lower reach, which means it wasn’t possible to deliver the content you posted to every single one of your followers. However, after these new changes on Instagram, this reach gets even more compromised.
Do you already know what you need to do so that your followers see your posts?
Despite all these changes, it’s still possible to use Instagram to make sales and promote your business. So, be sure to use this social media in your marketing strategies.
So, are you ready to create an account and sell on Instagram?
If you already have an account but still are short on followers, read our text on how to become a digital influencer and attract lots of people to your social media!
This post was originally written in march 2017 and updated to display more accurate and complete information.