12 E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Share Real Instagram Sales Tips

Looking for Instagram sales tips? We got you covered! At Ampfluence actionable Instagram growth strategies are crucial to our daily operations. One of the fundamental reasons our clients grow their accounts is to sell their products or services. At the end of the day, ROI is the key to making Instagram marketing a worthy investment. That said, we decided to ask real e-commerce entrepreneurs to share their most valuable Instagram sales tips. Here’s what they had to say.

Collaborate with Instagram Influencers

According to Brian Lim, Founder of iHeartRaves, using Instagram Influencers can bring traffic to your business. They were the curators of all-over print clothing and world leaders in festival fashion. iHeartRaves currently grosses about $30M a year and has been featured in the Inc. 5000 six years in a row, with their most recent ranking being #3,688. Brian was also featured on ABC’s Shark Tank and received a deal from Mark Cuban & Daymond John. Brian provided the following insight below:

We use Instagram influencers to bring traffic to our Shopify stores. We’ve amassed over half a million followers on our iHeartRaves Instagram page and over 270K followers on our INTO THE AM Instagram page, which is a tremendous traffic source. Our target audience includes fashion-oriented people who attend music festivals and enjoy electronic dance music. We engage in influencer marketing in a variety of ways. We find popular accounts that meet our criteria for selection, and we start a conversation to gauge whether or not it’s a good fit.

Oftentimes, we will send one of our products to an influencer for free, in exchange for an honest review that is posted to their blog or social media followers. This leads to a ton of sales and new followers. For us, the most important element of an influencer package aside from cultural fit is the overall reach of their blog or social media accounts.

We measure our return on investment based on the number of new followers we receive, the number of impressions we receive, how much referral traffic we get, and of course – how many sales come as a result of the campaign. The beauty of using social media and influencer marketing to generate sales is that they can be utilized in just about every industry, whether you’re selling a physical product or a service.

Recently we launched a collaboration with the music artist, Jauz. We had 3 influencers support the launch by posting on their Instagram & TikTok accounts. The total Instagram engagement on the influencer pages was over 15K, the total views were over 55K and we gained over 1,000 followers during the week of launch. We were able to re-post the influencer content on our page as well.

The influencer provided an example of one of the photos from his campaign.

Sharing User-Generated Content

According to Eric Carrell, Marketing Advisor at Surf Shark and a Leading VPN service provider in the Cybersecurity Industry, sharing user-generated content on Instagram is an excellent way to engage customers. Surfshark has been featured in Top Authority Websites like CNET, Mashable, Bloomberg, Entrepreneur, and Business Insider. Here is Eric’s sales tip below.

It’s not easy to come up with and publish high-impact Instagram posts on a daily basis. However, there is an approach you can use that will provide you with great, authentic content while saving you time and work.

On Instagram, sharing user-generated content is an excellent way to engage your customers and create a feeling of community. The concept is simple: your customers create a high-quality image that is related to your brand, and you use apps to re-share it on your company’s page.

By tagging the original poster’s username in your caption, you must properly credit them. It’s also a good idea to let the original poster know that you’ve shared their post.

Think Outside The Instagram Box

According to Gerrid Smith, a Chief Marketing Officer at Joy Organics, you should think outside the box in order to stand out. Gerrid has been quoted on INC.com, Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, and CIO.com. His former company, Black Fin, was featured on the 2017 INC 5000 list at #821 and specializes in high-end digital marketing strategies. Here is Gerrid’s sales tip below:

Whenever it comes to Instagram marketing, you need to stand out with your content. Remember that Instagram may connect to other social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter, allowing you to upload photographs to all of them at once.

As a result, you can and should go outside Instagram to see what’s popular on Facebook and Twitter, and then post from IG to other accounts to broaden your overall social media reach. Your Instagram page should serve as a showcase for your brand’s values and core offer. Every Instagram post should be accompanied by an interesting caption.

Use the Marketplace Feature

According to Jeff Goodwin, a Sr. Director on Performance Marketing & e-Commerce of Orgain, a great place for small businesses to start advertising is to use the Marketplace feature. Jeff has 20 years of experience in building, leading, and growing digital marketing and e-Commerce organizations within all sizes of organizations from start-up to Fortune 500. Prior to his role at Orgain, he held executive positions at Western Digital, Activision|Blizzard, and Mattel, among other companies. Take a look at Jeff’s sales tip below:

Instagram helps businesses with a variety of different features, especially with their business accounts and marketplace features. Marketplace is a great place for small businesses to start advertising their products and getting their business in front of their audience through paid ads.

To use the Marketplace, upload the products you are selling, similar to an e-commerce website, and you are good to start selling. However, the most important part of the process is making sure that your product gets in front of the right people on the app and targets them at the right time of purchase. This is where paid advertising can come in handy.

Even if you have a small budget, paid advertising can bring a huge jump to exposure and your analytics, further leading you to more sales sooner. This is done through Facebook, which owns Instagram, through their business management app. Once there, you can go to the Ads Manager feature and create your “campaign”, and also set up who you want to see your ad, how long the ad will run, and how much exposure the ad will get.

Remember, the longer and more people see your ad, the more expensive your campaign will be. If you are just starting to get familiar with Facebook and Instagram ads, it’s best to experiment with different demographics, keywords, and campaigns to see what works best for your small business.

Finally, to track your progress, use the analytics feature in the Instagram app to track the traffic going to your page to determine how many sales are going through your Instagram account. It can point out user demographics, the time they visit the page, how many impressions are on the page, and more. Putting this information together can help you form your next steps in your small business’ campaigns. Instagram has become a pay-to-play service, for small businesses especially, so it’s important to make sure your store and content are shown to your customers before your competitors.

Use Instagram Features

According to Darren Litt, Co-Founder of Hiya Health, using different Instagram features delivers the best results. Hiya Health is on a mission to reimagine children’s health and end our collective addiction to sugar by creating a sugar-free, junk-free multivitamin delivered on a pediatrician-approved schedule. Here is Darren’s sales tip below:

Facebook remains a powerful channel, yet for most brands, it’s nowhere near as powerful as Instagram. Instagram continues to be the social media channel that delivers the best results for us. Because Instagram is visually-driven content, it works perfectly with our bright and bold brand aesthetic.

Instagram is also ideal for influencer marketing which is a core component of our social media marketing. Play up the features of your product design by posting flattering pictures on Instagram and encourage your customers to post their own pictures too. In 2021, we will continue with the social media strategy that worked so well for us last year – kids proudly posing with their yellow bottles, tips for a healthy lifestyle, educational content, and photos of food that inspire healthy eating.

Show off New Products

According to Ian Sells, Co-founder and CEO of RebateKey, use Instagram to feature new products. Here is Ian’s sales tip below:

Social media channels like Instagram are one of the key means to promote traffic to your site.

Your business can’t do without social media. You can do a lot with Instagram. Show off new products. This is the primary way we use Instagram. A lot of people check our sites for featured products. While a lot of people go to our website to check for new deals, some deals are not that easily discovered. Featuring them allows people to quickly catch limited deals. Showing it also increases the demand which causes people to rush to our site.

Using hashtags can help widen your reach. Include branded hashtags and generic hashtags to connect with your audience and utilize user-generated content. Not only do a lot of people love being featured, which increases overall satisfaction and loyalty with the brand, other people who see real people being featured are become more trusting of your brand. Don’t forget to sprinkle your hashtags with those that people use; make sure they have varying search volume levels. This actually widens your reach.

Leverage Hashtags for Discovery

According to Tanya Zhang, Co-founder of Nimble Made, using Hashtags help you save time. Tanya has 6+ years of experience in advertising, tech, and consulting as an art director and designer. Previously at TBWA and EY, she co-founded Nimble Made, a men’s Actually Slim shirt brand, in 2018 to strive for size inclusion and Asian American Pacific Islander representation in the clothing industry and have been featured by Huffington Post, Money.com, and Forbes. Here is Tanya’s sales tip below:

Hashtags help you save time. Instagram hashtags have a lot of power. Each post can contain up to 30 hashtags. They make your material available to a larger audience. It aids in the acquisition of new potential clients. Do relevant hashtag research on a daily basis to save time. After that, make a list of hashtags you wish to use and save it.

If you routinely upload product photographs, quotes, or lifestyle photos, for example, make a list of hashtags for each. At the time of posting, add a few relevant hashtags to each post. Because trending hashtags change frequently, it’s important to keep your hashtag list up to current. Also, only use relevant hashtags and don’t overdo it.

Use Hashtags as Signposts

Brokers from Condo BlackBook have some words to say about hashtags and how useful they are for their business. According to Sep Niakan who is a broker and owner of Condo BlackBook entrepreneurs should think of hashtags as Instagram’s signposts.

Hashtags help users in sorting through millions of postings to find what is relevant or interesting to them. According to research, adding 10 or more hashtags is beneficial, but don’t go overboard — too many can appear spammy, and less is definitely more!

Successful Instagram accounts, particularly those with a lot of traction, are worth analyzing. Take notes on how they’re using hashtags and adapt/imitate what they’re doing for your own needs. Make sure the hashtags you use are appropriate for your company and the target audience.

You might not get it right away, but if you can come up with hashtags that are both popular and relevant to your industry, you’ll have fast access to an engaged audience. Virtual forums have sprung up around some hashtags, forming niche communities that are interested in you.

Instagram Insights as a Tool

According to Jason McMahon, Digital Strategist of Bambrick which is a growth-hungry, direct response digital advertising agency. Jason has around 10 years of experience in the field of digital marketing. Jason has some tips he would like to share.

Instagram Insights, as the name implies, delivers a great deal of information on your account’s operations. Instagram Insights gives you access to a wealth of information about your account, including key metrics like impressions and engagement.

It gives you a full breakdown of your followers’ demographics, which can help you figure out if you’ve promoted your Instagram account to the proper individuals, i.e., the same people who are your target consumers (or whomever else you target in any marketing goals).

In addition, Instagram Insights provides data for each post you publish. Any impressions and engagement are displayed. It also shows you your most popular posts over time, which might help you figure out how to replicate their success.

Post Product Teasers

According to Austin LaRoche, CEO of ATAK Interactive, products teasers should be posted on Instagram in order to gain Sales.

Instagram is a perfect place to promote your products. If you play your cards wisely, you won’t turn off users or scare them off with advertisements, either. Product teaser posts are a classic way to reveal about your product and build excitement without sounding like you’re trying too hard. A combo of great photography and an action-oriented caption can benefit you to find progress with Instagram marketing. In each caption, try pointing out the product’s selling points, specify its price, and leading people to where they can have it.

Use Business Account & Goals

Erin Mastopietro, Founder of Dope Dog which is an e-commerce store for Dog food. Erin has more than 4 years of experience in e-commerce and is doing great in this field. Her Brand which is an e-commerce store has grown to become one of the leading dog food brands. This is what Erin would like to share from her experience. 

1. Many business owners make the mistake of using personal accounts. If you want to make sales, create a business account. It gives you features which a personal account doesn’t such as Instagram insights, analytics, ads, shopping, etc.

2. It is important to define your goals. Because Instagram marketing can mean different things to different Instagram users. For example, are you looking to attract a larger audience? Or are you trying to increase brand awareness, etc. so it is important to know your goals if you want to reach milestones.

Know your Audience & Optimize Profile

According to Zarina Bahadur, CEO & Founder of 123 Baby Box, you should know your audience and optimize your profile for growth. Take a look at her tip regarding Instagram

1. It is important to know who your target audience is. You can also create a customer survey to know the likes and dislikes of your customers better. You can also get to know whether they like personalized products or not. If you are an Instagram marketer, the best target audience will be in the age groups of 18-28.
2. Create a bio that gives a clear indication of what your business is about. Your Instagram bio is the first impression on your customers. So be creative and do not miss out on any information. You can also include your website link in your bio so that it is easy for your customers to reach you.

Final Thoughts on Instagram E-commerce Sales Tips

As you work to grow your revenue using platforms like social media following the steps of other entrepreneurs who successfully use the platform to achieve the results you’re working to achieve. Did you find value in this post? Be sure to share, pin, or retweet!