If you’re a business owner on Instagram, I take it you’re there for one reason: to get people to buy your products. And looking at the numbers (more than one billion monthly users), you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’ve come to the right place.
On the contrary, you’d be surprised to know that Instagram’s huge numbers don’t necessarily translate to sales for business owners. In fact, if you’ve ever tried selling or advertising anything on Instagram before, you must have noticed that Instagrammers suck at responding to brands.
Yes, they’ll view your ads, and even go as far as clicking on the like button. But at the end of the day, only a few (usually less than 1%) would proceed to your store to make a final purchase!
How sad!
But guess what? That’s about to change! In the next few minutes, we’ll be educating you on some of the best tips you can use to convert your followers into buyers.
First build a relationship
Before you can expect someone to buy from you, you need to first develop a relationship with them. Of course, there will be some that will buy from you impulsively – relationship or not – the majority of those that will patronize you are people you have a relationship with.
When you publish a post, be sure to respond to any reaction you get within the first one hour. Even if the comment is just a one-word reaction, be sure to hit the like button. From time to time, engage your audience on trending matters, ongoing industry controversies, user-generated contests, helpful materials, and giveaways.
The idea is to create a customized relationship with as many people as possible. Don’t worry, those ones you have solid relationships with are the ones that will tell others about your brand.
Reach them through DM
PS: I want to assume that you’re already getting as many as 100 comments or more per post. If you’re getting anything less, please first see to it that you find a way to buy the “social proof” you need – from sites like Stormlikes – to convince people of your brand’s popularity. This could be likes for Instagram, new followers, or even views.
For a well-established business profile, comments shouldn’t be hard to come by. Now, in order to convert your followers to buyers, you have to turn all the comments you get into a two-way conversation.
How?
Simply enter the DM of everyone that commented on your post. For someone to have taken their time to type a comment, it could only mean one thing: they have an interest in your post. To develop this into something substantial, reach out to them with more details to inspire a “buying interest.”
Share your posts directly with them
Without mincing words, when most Instagrammers come to the app, they don’t intend to buy anything. They just want to catch a glimpse of what’s happening in the Instagram world. But then, there is you asking them to come and buy something.
How will you do this?
Make them feel special!
Create a personalized, targeted outreach strategy to send your newest posts to each and every one of your followers! To do this, simply tap the paper airplane icon under the Instagram post. Then you can share the content with up to 50 different accounts, including an Instagram group.
However, be sure not to sound too spammy! Always ensure that the posts you’re sharing are posts that have a potential to benefit them.
Welcome new followers with DMS
Every time you get a new follower notification, be sure to reach out to the person with a simple “welcome” message in their DM. Kind gestures like this go a long way in helping you stand out from the competition on Instagram.
When you do this, new followers will feel loved and connected to your brand immediately. So, when they come across your post or get a DM from you in the future, they’ll most likely feel like they owe it to you to check out what your post is about.
Tap into UGC (User-generated content)
In a recent study, 25% of the respondents claimed they always made purchases only after they’ve seen the product in posts of other users.
The power of UGC in any marketing effort cannot be overestimated. On the one hand, it gives you the chance to showcase the benefits of your products to those that haven’t yet tried them. And on the other hand, it impacts the FOMO (fear of missing out) effects on people. While an average follower may not seem interested in buying your product, their stance is bound to be changed when they find their friends or someone they’re following posing with the same product.
