Instagram and the new social selling

You may have noticed in the last few years that shopping online has undergone a dramatic change. There has been a shift in buying products from online stores, to buying directly through social media.

One channel in particular is enjoying this new move. Instagram has quickly evolved into a place where (especially) consumers searching for fashion trends, can source the latest products. The selfies, animal pictures and travel snaps are still there, but now they are mixed with big brands wanting to cash in on a very lucrative market. The fact that Instagram as a platform acts as a ready made marketing channel only makes it more attractive. It also has 500 million users visiting daily. With 48.8% of brands using it to sell, smart sellers should be looking to adopt it as an additional selling channel.

But what’s the best route to start selling directly through Instagram?

1. First you need to create an Instagram store. You’ll be able to sync your inventory directly and can be viewed as an image catalogue through your profile link.
2. Once your inventory is up, you can then start uploading pictures to compliment this. Payments are then made using credit cards on a secure server the customer follows through the link on your profile
3. There are a variety of apps you can use to develop your shop front. Instagram’s Layout App allows you to combine multiple images into a single image. You can use it to show your products at different angles, a must for fashion and home & garden sellers.
4. Get your product descriptions right. Instagram is a ‘millennial’ network, so using relevant language and descriptions are important. Emojis now make up 40% of descriptions on the platform and many retailers including big brands have incorporated it into their social ‘tone of voice’.
5. Hashtags on Instagram almost hold as much importance as the actual images themselves. Consumers will search on specific hashtags (popular ones include #Instashop and #Instasale) so it’s vital that these are added to your descriptions. It’s also useful to do research on hashtags you’ve been using to see who‘s also been using them. You can then regram the best photos or videos and collect more followers in the process.

Once you have built a strong community of followers, your network will do the leg work for you. It’s also easy to drive traffic to the store through other social networks, as Twitter and Facebook are already connected. Instagram is a fantastic opportunity for sellers to embrace a new way of selling, especially to the up and coming younger generations.

If you’d like to learn more about selling on Instagram or other social platforms, call us today on 0203 856 1999