In this day and age, everybody is relying more and more on digital platforms — from
interacting with others, to shopping for everyday needs. It is no wonder that the number of businesses utilizing the Internet to reach more customers is increasing.
In fact, a report by the US Commerce Department showed a sudden 37% increase in e-commerce sales in the second quarter of last year, with many online sellers choosing Shopify to start their business with.
However, simply establishing an online store might not be enough, as you might want to consider converting your Shopify store into a mobile app and promoting it through social media. The potential for reaching and engaging with more accounts is greater, especially with Instagram.
Aside from its advertisement costs being lower than that of Facebook, the return on investment with Instagram is also more promising — especially for mobile apps.
With that in mind, how can you maximize Instagram to further promote your store app?
1. Start with an Instagram business profile
While you may be tempted to promote your business using your personal Instagram
account, that might not reap the most benefits. You can start with converting your
account into a business profile. This way, your potential clients can easily reach you
because of the added contact buttons on your bio.
You will also have the advantage of access to Instagram analytics, which allow you to
identify and track viewing and engagement trends with your audience. Here are the
insights that you can access through a business account:
A. Recent Highlights - Depending on the time period you choose, you can check
whether there is a significant change in your account performance.
B. Accounts Reached - This section shows how many unique accounts were reached by your posts, including a breakdown of your followers versus non-followers.
C. Content Interactions - A detailed report on the number of likes, comments, shares, saves, and replies made on your posts will be seen here.
D. Total Followers - Here, you can learn more about your followers, showing their location, age range, and peak active times.
With the aid of the aforementioned data, you can plan your next steps by curating your posts to suit your audience’s taste and needs. Also, do not forget to add a brand message in your bio. It does not have to be an elaborate description of what you do — it just needs to be precise yet appealing to your target audience!
2. Create impactful and stimulating captions
The character limit for Instagram captions is 2,200 characters. Yes, you can consume all of them to get your message across, but you do not want your customers to doze off while reading your captions.
Instagram itself encourages its users to limit their captions below 125 characters to avoid hitting the “See more” option. If your clients cannot see the meatiest part of your caption at a glance, they will most likely just skip over your posts.
3. Maximize your use of hashtags
Hashtags are often seen at the end of Instagram captions, with some users only adding them when they have nothing else to say. On the other hand, some users are fond of hashtagging just about anything. As a business owner, you have to be wise in picking out and using hashtags for your account, as they can prove to be very useful, especially in marketing.
Being smart about using Instagram hashtags can help your content land on your target audience’s feeds — especially if they have never seen or heard from you before. When used well, hashtags help boost visibility as well as engagement, so start with using the following hashtags:
A. Product or service hashtags - These hashtags are usually used in general to promote products and services being offered, like #photography or #handbags.
B. Industry niche hashtags - These are more specific than the product or service hashtags, like #weddingphotography or #recycledhandbags.
C. Branded hashtags - These are unique to your business and are reflective of your brand. You can put your business name or your slogan.
D. Community hashtags - People within the same industry often tend to build communities within Instagram. Use your hashtags to connect with them and make your business more visible, like #photographersofinstagram or #recyclersofinstagram.
E. Cultural movement hashtags - Hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #Pride can be a way of taking a stance on different social and cultural issues. As a result, you gain more connections who share the same beliefs as you while you share information and uplift these causes for the better.
Use them every time you upload on Instagram, and encourage your clients to post their purchases and feedback with your branded hashtags for more engagement.Just be reminded, though, that Instagram limits its hashtags to only 30 per post.So, choose wisely and creatively!
4. Use scheduling tools for your posts
Posting frequently on Instagram allows you to be more visible to your followers. Youcan do that by checking first what times of day your audience tends to be online, and you can then work a posting schedule around it.
However, closely monitoring the time to see if you have to post new content may be tedious, and you might forget your schedule as you go about your day-to-day tasks. To solve that, you can use scheduling tools that will automatically post for you. The best ones available right now are the Combin Scheduler and SEMrush.
Social media makes everything accessible despite the current health restrictions, and that includes your business! With the wide reach social media has, it is imperative for you to jump in and maximize your accounts.
Do not think of it as added work. Instead, be open to the possibilities that await your business as it turns digital and social.If you need more tips, check out our guide on social media marketing for Shopify stores!
