As a marketer, the available options to get the word out about your product or service in this day and age are many.
Social media platforms, including Instagram, are one of these ways.
With the vast amount of active users on this platform, it's no wonder that Instagram is widely regarded as one of the best social networks to market on.
The platform boasts more than 1.386 billion active users, and that number is growing every day.
What's more, Instagram users are highly engaged with the content they see in their feed.
On the other hand, Shopify is the leading eCommerce platform, and it enables businesses of all sizes to create an online store and sell their products.
When you combine Instagram and Shopify, you get a powerful marketing and sales engine that can help you increase revenue while promoting your online store.
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The question then arises: How do you sell on Instagram with Shopify?
In this article, I will explore how to do just that, giving you a step-by-step guide on the process.
Let's get right into it.
Why Sell Using Instagram Shopping?
An online store (i.e., Shopify) is a great way to reach a broad audience, but it has its limitations.
While it’s easy to start a Shopify store, the main one is that you need to drive traffic to your store for people to see your products.
Your Instagram feed, on the other hand, is full of people that are already interested in what you have to offer.
When you use Instagram Shopping, you can tag your products in your posts and stories, making it easy for people to find out more about what you're selling and make a purchase right there and then.
Personal Connection With Customers
In addition to the above reasons, selling on Instagram Shopping also allows you to create a personal connection with your customers.
The platform is designed to encourage users to interact with the content they see in their feed - through liking, commenting, and sharing with other users.
This interaction creates an opportunity for you to connect with your customers personally and build the right, long-term relationships.
When you create this kind of connection with your customers, they are more likely to purchase from you because they feel they know, like, and trust you.
This is hard to achieve with any traditional online store alone.
Brand Awareness & Familiarity
Finally, you create brand awareness and familiarity with your products when you sell on Instagram.
When people see your products in their feed, they become familiar with them and are more likely to remember your brand when they are ready to purchase.
What's more, by tagging your products in your posts and stories, you make it easy for people to find out more about what you're selling and make a purchase.
This factor is something that marketers can not ignore.
People are always looking for ways to make their lives easier, and if you can make it easy for them to buy from you, they will be more likely to do so.
Now that we've looked at some of the reasons you should sell on Instagram, let's look at how to do it.
Selling On Instagram With Shopify: A Step-By-Step Guide
Instagram shopping is a feature that was added to the app in 2019.
It allows users to view products for sale on Instagram and make purchases directly from the app. When a user clicks on a product, they are taken to a page where they can learn more about the promoted product and purchase it.
As you can imagine, this is a game-changer for businesses looking to sell on Instagram. It makes buying easier for customers, but it also allows companies to increase their Shopify sales, track their results and ensure an effective ROI.
To set everything up, you need to ensure that you have performed a few checks, as follows:
Once these items are confirmed, it's time to get started.
Step 1: Get A Business Or Creator Instagram Account
An Instagram business account is a type of account that gives you access to features not available on a personal account. These features include insights, which provide you with information about your posts and followers, and the ability to run ads.
If you don't already have a business account (i.e., you're on a personal account), you can set one up by following these steps:
The difference between Business and Creator is that Business is for companies, while Creator is for public figures, influencers, etc. Apart from that, they are pretty similar in their features.
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Step 2: Add Instagram Shopping To The Facebook Sales Channel
Next, you need to add Instagram Shopping to the Facebook sales channel. This will allow you to start tagging products in your posts and stories.
It usually takes a maximum of two days for Facebook to approve the connection and your product selection.
Step 3: Importing Products To Instagram
After your connection is approved, it's time to tag products in your posts and stories. But before you can do that, you need to import your products to Instagram.
The process is relatively straightforward and as follows:
That's pretty much it. You are now ready to start tagging products in your posts and stories.
Step 4: Tag Products In Instagram Posts
You can now tag products in the image when you create an Instagram post. Simply tap on the product you want to include and select Tag products.
You can tag up to five products per image. Once you're done tagging, click on Done and post your photo as usual.
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When a user clicks on a tagged product, Instagram will take them to a page where they can learn more about the product and purchase it.
How To Market A Shopify Store On Instagram
Making an Instagram professional account look like an eCommerce storefront can be done with the help of various apps and tools.
The Instagram app allows you to follow hashtags related to your target audience, which means that this can be a great way to find new customers interested in the products you sell.
When you find relevant hashtags, click on the hashtag and then the Follow button.
You can also use a tool like Hashtagify.me to find relevant hashtags. Simply enter a keyword related to your business, and it will give you a list of pertinent hashtags that you can use.
Instagram hashtags can be a great way to reach new people interested in your products.
Location Tagging
Another great way to reach new customers on Instagram is by location tagging.
When you post an image, you can tag the image's location. This can be a great way to reach people near your physical store or interested in the area where your product is made.
To tag a location, simply click on the Add Location button when creating a post and then search for the area you want to tag.Contests And Giveaways
People love free stuff. Running a contest or giveaway is a great way to get more followers and engagement on Instagram.
There are a few things to keep in mind when running a contest or giveaway on Instagram:
User-Generated Content
One of the best ways to get more engagement on Instagram is by featuring user-generated content (UGC). UGC is simply content your customers or fans have created, such as photos or videos.
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Featuring UGC is a great way to show your audience that you care about them and are interested in what they have to say. It's also a great way to get free content for your feed.
To find UGC, you can search relevant hashtags on Instagram or use a tool like Iconosquare. Once you find some UGC that you like, simply ask the person who created it if you can feature it on your account.Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing in which you partner with an influencer to promote your product or brand.
Influencers are people with a large following on social media who can influence their followers with their recommendations.
If you can find an influencer relevant to your niche, they can be a great way to reach a larger audience and get more engagement on Instagram.
To find relevant influencers, you can use a tool like BuzzSumo. Simply enter a keyword related to your business, and Buzzsumo will give you a list of pertinent influencers that you can partner with.
Influencer marketing is a great way to reach a larger audience and get more engagement on Instagram.
Advertising On Instagram
Your Instagram business profile comes with a built-in advertising platform that you can use to reach new customers.
Advertising on Instagram is a great way to reach people interested in what you're selling.
To create an ad on Instagram, click on the Promote button from your business profile and follow the instructions.
You can also use Facebook's advertising platform to reach people on Instagram. Simply create a new ad campaign and select Instagram as the placement. You will need to have a Facebook business page to do this.
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A Note On The Pictures You Post
Ensuring high quality in the pictures you post is essential. People are visual beings and more likely to engage with your Instagram shop and content if it looks good.
There are a few things you can do to make sure your pictures look great:
Making sure your pictures look great is important for getting more engagement on Instagram.
Conclusion
There are many ways to sell on Instagram using Shopify. Ecommerce platforms allow you to easily create an online store and sell products directly from your Instagram account.
Sign up for a Shopify account and connect it to your Instagram business profile to get started. From there, you can start promoting your products and generating sales.
Remember that using Instagram on Shopify stores is a powerful marketing tool since you can share product photos, run contests and giveaways, feature user-generated content, collaborate with influencers, and advertise on Instagram.
Utilizing these features on your Instagram sales channel can increase engagement, reach a larger audience, and boost sales.
Further reading on MikeVestil.com: Want to learn more about marketing your Shopify store on various platforms? Check out this article on using Facebook ads for Shopify for more information.