How to Get More Conversions Through Instagram

The success of a business can be measured  in a variety of ways, and on Instagram it's conversions. While many people consider followers to be the marketing success measure, more followers does not necessarily mean more dollars ... and what really matters is how much money a company can make.

When you’re striving to improve sales, you'll want to consider a number of different factors. Keep reading and you’ll learn some tips that help you get better at the Instagram sales game.

Leverage Instagram’s Features

In March 2019 Instagram launched a new feature called Instagram Checkout. Because this feature allows users to purchase products without leaving the platform, it was clear that Instagram was becoming more business-oriented. To further strengthen and improve the shopping experience, Instagram is likely to roll out additional features in the future.

To boost organic visibility and get more leads on Instagram, here are some steps you can take.

1. Create a Business Account

As a brand looking to build trust and generate more followers on Instagram, your best bet is to start with a business account. Instagram has made several business-specific features available that you can use to find and connect with the right audience – and convert them.

Some of the benefits of having a business account with Instagram include:

• Access to Instagram Insights

Instagram Insights are available at no cost to business and creator accounts. It’s a great tool if you want to learn about your content performance including reach, discovery, impressions, and interactions.

• Add Product Stickers

Another advantage of Instagram Stories is that businesses can add product stickers to them. To add shopping stickers and tag products in videos or images, select the appropriate sticker from the tray, choose the product, and tap Done. You can move the sticker so it appears at the top or bottom of the video/photo, and even change the style.

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• Tag Products

As an entrepreneur, you want to utilize all available digital sources to sell your products ... so why would you leave Instagram out? If you upgrade to a business account, you can tag your products in captions, Stories, and Instagram Reels, which will drive traffic to purchase pages.

See this example from the health and beauty superfood company, Golde, and notice how its product is tagged in the post:

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2. Add a Link to Your Bio

A link in your Instagram bio is one of the best ways to promote your website and drive traffic to sales pages. Use this space to promote specific products, like maybe "product of the month" campaigns, and update the link accordingly. You can further customize your link using Linktree or Linkin.bio.

Now let's take a look at Fashion Nova's Instagram bio. The company optimizes its link from time to time depending on the focus of a particular marketing campaign.

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3. Set Up Instagram Shopping

Did you know that 70 percent of users visit Instagram for product discovery? It's true. So while your ideal customers are out there looking for your products, give them a way to directly purchase from you through Instagram Shopping.

Once you convert to a business account, check eligibility to open your shop on Instagram, connect with your Facebook page, upload your product catalog, and submit your account for review. Once it is approved, you can use all the Instagram Shopping features.

Engage with Your Followers

You never know when opportunities might come knocking on your door – your ideal prospect could  be asking questions about your products or commenting on your post to appreciate your efforts.

Always check the comments and DMs, and respond to your followers. It’s a great marketing and lead nurturing strategy.

By engaging with your audience, you'll make them feel important and heard; in return, this will help you build long-lasting relationships and a sales pipeline.

Checking the DMs and comments from your followers will let you know what specific details about your products they’re interested in and what they expect from you.

See what we did here when one of our Instagram friends left us a comment 👇

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Use Relevant Hashtags

Captions, Reels, and Stories ... hashtags can be used everywhere to increase organic visibility, likes, and engagement of your posts.

You can use up to 30 hashtags in Instagram captions and Reels. Make sure the hashtags you’re using are a mix of popular, trending, and niche categories so you get the maximum benefit from them.

The faster your posts receive likes and comments, the higher the chances of your content to rank in Explore. And the right set of hashtags can make it happen!

If searching 30 hashtags for each of your posts doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, sign up for Hashtag Expert – the #1 Instagram hashtag app for your small business. We cover all major business categories and provide you with the best hashtags personalized to your account so you get more likes and follows.

Download the app and connect your Instagram business account. Now personalize the app to generate hashtags, which will drive organic traffic, increase post and profile views, and boost engagement on Instagram.

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Showcase Social Proof of Happy Customers

User-Generated Content (UGC) can go a long way toward improving conversions. When your followers like your products but are a little hesitant to purchase, UGC (images, videos, Stories) can do the magic.

Sharing your customers’ happy moments with your products is the best social proof you can show. It doesn’t cost you anything – compare it with influencers you collaborate with. Yet it’s a super- effective Instagram marketing strategy that will absolutely increase conversions.

Hashtag campaigns can be extremely helpful in this case. You can create and promote branded hashtag campaigns and ask your followers to tag you using those hashtags if they wish to be featured.

If you are not running an active campaign but still want to use photos or videos from other users or your followers, it's always a good idea to ask for approval prior to using their content and give due credit to the original creator in your post.

Keep Your Content Game Up

It’s never easy to entertain your audience on Instagram and keep them engaged. So you need to look for creative ways to make this happen.

Revisit your Instagram content strategy periodically and experiment with new styles. Mix up funny and informative posts so your audience is never bored.

Here’s an example from our own Instagram page (@hashtagexpert).

In this post, we have discussed one of the features of Hashtag Expert. The caption is fairly long because it has valuable information about how to use the "Trending" tab in the app, and our followers loved it.

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Pro Tip: When posting teasers, go for a short caption with a suspense factor. Use long captions for product launches or to describe features.

Don’t Overdo a Sales Post

Simply doing more sales posts to get more conversions does not work. Unlike on Amazon, your followers are not on Instagram solely for shopping. So, instead of increasing the frequency of sales posts, you should try to create better content that's interesting, funny, engaging, and informative. Take a look at our Instagram account to learn how we are doing it on there.

No One-Size-Fits-All Answer

Had there been a single sure-shot step-by-step guide available for maximizing the sales, everybody would have been successful. Meaning, if one tactic is working for your competitors, it doesn't mean it will necessarily work for you.

Your job is to identify your forte and make the right combination of tactics for your brand.

Here’s what you can do:

• Identify your brand unique selling points (USPs).
• List business values and create stories around them.
• Experiment and explore what your audience loves to see so you can engage with them more.

Don’t be afraid to experiment; run A/B tests for new features and see how it goes. Study the insights and try to get better at using those features. That will definitely help you stand out and convert more prospects into customers.

Improving sales for your business on Instagram can be tough. But if you apply these strategies and tips we discussed in this article, you are sure to close the sales gap.