Social media marketing is not what it was a couple of years back. Today, it is more robust and wields even greater potentials. Among the numerous social sites, Instagram has proved itself an effective tool when it comes to marketing. Some marketers actually believe it is the most powerful marketing tool in the world today.
Unlike other social media platforms however, the rules for engaging in social marketing of ecommerce sites is different on Instagram. It is not the place to push sales directly or openly publish multiple links to your ecommerce site. Instead, one has to carve out ways of harnessing the power of photography even as they advance their marketing agendas. So how do you go about this tricky situation?
Take advantage of hashtags
Most people find marketing on Instagram quite tricky due to the lack of direct links. Since links are only allowed in bios, exploiting hashtags is the only friendly option for pushing through their products. The first step in achieving this is gaining several new followers for Instagram using popular hashtags such as #TGIF. Thereafter, you can use different hashtags as a link between the brand and consumers. Hashtags have the potential to prompt users to submit several photos to be used as part of the marketing campaign. If exploited well, you can have your followers advance from submitting photos to purchasing your products from the ecommerce site.
Plant the shopping seed
Regular posting or simple gathering of various Instagram posts is not enough to get you the marketing results you desire. Marketing experts stress the need for advanced interaction. If users submit content for a branded hashtag, find ways of responding to them. It will keep his or her relationship with the brand authentic and even inspire some purchasing power. Triggered responses can be set up to show as comments on submitted photos. You can then reward the best submission with coupons, deals and discounts. Subsequently, the response would give them reasons to follow through with purchase.
Opt for real consumers, not models
For ecommerce sites to provoke the purchasing power of potential customers, they need to post content tying people to lovely online sales tools. Instead of running for celebrities, choose to crowd source content from Instagram followers. Nothing sells as much as relatable brand images filled with consumers. Adopting the authentic approach makes your followers feel that whatever it is you are promoting is within reach.
Integrate Instagram Galleries to ecommerce
You can take advantage of display gallery by connecting consumers to the various products contained therein. You can easily build product suggestions right inside the UGC galleries, provoking followers to make purchases. You can use tools to help those who interact with your branded hashtags to get deeper insight on other available products.
It is important for ecommerce brands to remain authentic in their marketing endeavours. By encouraging their followers to submit real photos, brands can unlock the full marketing potential of this photo-sharing platform.
