Instagram is “it” these days, second only to Facebook in terms of reach. With over a billion daily users, it’s perfect for reaching out to your fans to enhance your sales. Therefore, 101 Management, Inc., strongly encourages our clients to make Instagram one of their go-to social media sites for boosting sales.

If you’re not sure how to go about that, however, here are six quick tips to help you get started.

Be subtle

Instagram users are not only social media savvy, they’re bombarded with ads and sales pitches nearly every time they open their feed.

So the best way to market your fans is gently. No one likes to have “buy! buy! buy!” messages figuratively smacking them in the face constantly.

Be assertive

But just because you’re treading lightly with your marketing message doesn’t mean you have to ignore it altogether. In fact, you should make it easy for fans to find out how to purchase your product or service.

The most restrained way to sell is to develop a consistent brand and include it everywhere, from your profile to your hashtags to your captions. Also be sure to include a link to your business on your bio.

Be their friend

The entire social media world is all about relationships. You need to give them insight into your personality, your beliefs (but avoid religion and politics!), what motivates you, what makes you human. 

In the latter category, if you’re selling children’s toys, for instance, you could share amusing or frustrating stories about your own kids—parents, especially, like to know they’re not alone in the day-to-day hassles of childrearing.

And by all means, respond quickly to their comments and questions, especially if they’ve made a purchase. Repost their content. Make them feel heard, and a part of your business. If you have a great rapport with your fans, they’ll be more inclined to buy from you.

Speak with one voice 

By this we mean, keep a consistent tone throughout all your posts. If “light and breezy” or even ironic and sassy lends itself to your brand, use that. If you want to be seen as more professional and dignified, resist the urge to toss in emojis, slang, or the latest memes.

Keeping to one tone lends credibility to your business.

Give before you get

This is a cardinal rule, not only for selling on Instagram, but on every social media platform. In sales, it means offering your fans something just because they follow you. Things like:

  • exclusive coupons or discounts
  • giveaways (everyone likes freebies)
  • inside info on new products or services

This doesn’t have to amount to a lot of money. For example, if you’re an optometrist, you could offer a free one-ounce bottle of lens cleaning spray; a health spa could give away a free herbal sachet with every visit.

Showcase quality

Because Instagram is primarily a visual platform, your images should be not only compelling but high quality. Nothing drags down a business’s reputation faster than amateurish-looking postings, whether photos, videos, or text.

If you don’t feel confident that you can maintain consistent quality with all your images, there’s nothing wrong with employing stock photos and videos occasionally. But overall, you’ll want to either get good at creating professional-looking images, or let us do it for you.

Check with our social media marketing experts to get more tips on how to market your business successfully.