Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, the e-commerce industry has received a shot in the arm, as consumers adjusted their shopping habits to cope with the various pandemic restrictions and lockdowns. As shopping in physical stores was no longer feasible, and this proved to be a boon for businesses who have implemented the capability of peddling their wares online.
With an online store, it would make sense for businesses to harness the power of social media as it has the potential to boost brand visibility at minimal costs. One such platform that would greatly aid businesses in their marketing efforts would be Instagram.
Given its suite of business features to grow a brand, Instagram is definitely the social media platform to turn to. This is especially so, if you are a small e-commerce business hoping to establish an online presence or boost sales. Read on to learn how you can use Instagram for your business.
Why Instagram marketing for e-commerce is here to stay
According to Statista, as of January 2022, India enjoys the largest Instagram audience in the world. With more than 230 million active users, India is Instagram’s fastest-growing market – Hootsuite reported that the app’s audience increase was by 16% quarter-over-quarter. Instagram has certainly helped many businesses market their products and services, and over time, it has gained the reputation of being a highly effective marketing channel.
So what is Instagram e-commerce all about? As its name implies, Instagram e-commerce is a combination of marketing and selling of products on this particular social media platform. With its ease of use, users are able to visit a company’s website to purchase items and/or services. Here are some statistics to validate the platform’s efficacy:
- Instagram’s user base is projected to reach 1.2 billion users by 2023 (Statista, 2022)
- 78% of marketers are using Instagram as part of their e-commerce marketing strategy (Statista, 2022)
- 90% of Instagram users follow at least one brand (Global Media Consumer Research Study, 2020)
- 83% of people use Instagram to discover new products and services (Facebook, 2019)
- 54% of Instagram users have made a purchase after encountering a product or service on the social media platform (Facebook, 2019)
- 130 million Instagram users click on Shopping posts and purchase items through the app (Hootsuite, 2022)
Planning out an e-commerce marketing strategy for Instagram
If you are just getting started in promoting your business on Instagram, finding ways to stand out in this multitude of brands might seem like a challenge. Here are three tips on leveraging Instagram for your e-commerce business:
1. Publish high-quality content
Thorough hashtag research, quality product photography, and well-crafted captions are key pillars of engaging content.
Another perk of using Instagram for business is the diversity of features it has. You can simply discover many of these features by playing around with the app’s business features. Experiment with the various content formats as much as possible to get the hang of things. Some of these features include photos, videos, GIFs, live streams, and polls. These efforts will help generate buzz to your brand and build engagement.
To tie it all together, being consistent in the scheduling of your content will help generate interest. This will make your brand stand out from the crowd and entice readers to become interested followers. You can do this by using a content scheduler. All you have to do is pre-load your posts and push them out in a timely manner on your Instagram business account.
2. Simplify the shopping experience
E-commerce on Instagram is more than just hashtags, likes, comments, followers, and impressions. Ultimately, what an e-commerce business would want is the conversion of leads. To achieve that, one key move to implement would be the simplification of the buying process.
From content post interactions to the final checkout page, businesses will need to plan and design the entire user journey with intent. View the posts from the perspective of a customer and ensure that the buying process is straightforward and fuss-free.
Another way to drive additional sales is the addition of shoppable tags to products that are being featured in your stories and posts. Make the navigation of the site an easy task for the customers to facilitate a seamless shopping experience.
3. Engaging your audience
Be it user-generated content or scheduled giveaways, never lose sight of your customers for they are the ones who matter, as they keep your brand going. It is vital that your social media administrators are on top of things, so keep replying to their comments and posts, all while dishing out engaging content.
A great way to build a thriving presence on Instagram is to tap into your audience’s interests to inform your content strategy. Think of each piece of content as a post, not an ad. For example, you can share about a product’s behind-the-scenes or demonstrate how it can be used via Instagram Live.
Using Instagram as a marketing tool for your business is a two-way street, so it is always good to offer your followers useful and relatable content.
Complete your customers’ shopping journey with DHL Express
In today’s world, fast delivery is a norm and no longer exceeds customers’ expectations. Statistics from tech company Convey revealed that 83.5% of shoppers are unlikely to shop at the brand again after going through a poor shipping experience.
To avoid the risk of losing customers caused by shipment and delivery delays, complement your Instagram marketing efforts with flexible logistics and swift order fulfilment executed by DHL Express. Affordable options for timely local and international shipping are readily available, creating the perfect shopping experience for your customers. Create a DHL Express account today to get started.
