Tips To Sell Products and Services On Instagram

There are many social media platforms that people all around the world use. However, there are some which have reached the 1 billion active users mark. One of them is Instagram.

The majority of people use it for information and entertainment purposes but selling products and services through Instagram has also become quite popular amongst modern entrepreneurs.

However, using Instagram for your business purposes directly can be a tricky job but many people have adapted to it and are using this platform with a massive audience for their own benefit.

If you also want to sell some products and services using Instagram, this article will help you.

First of all, keep one thing in mind that Instagram is a great platform for promoting anything. That is why there are so many Instagram influencers we see around us. But promoting and direct selling are two different things. However, promoting the products and services on Instagram further leads to sales.

Why Is It Hard To Sell On Instagram?

If you also use Instagram, you might know that one cannot post clickable links on this platform. One can only add a link in the bio section. That is why the direct transfer of the audience from Instagram to some other website becomes a tough job.

On the other hand, on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, you can post links to the product pages and the audience can reach the website in one click only.

A person needs to have more than 10,000 followers to become eligible to add a swipe up link on the Instagram stories. Well, having a loyal audience of 10,000 followers is a difficult task. This is the reason why it is hard to sell on Instagram.

Pick Up A Particular Genre or Niche

So, if you are a beginner, you have to start from scratch. If you have no idea what to sell but want to use Instagram for sale and purchase, you will have to choose a niche first. You can be creative and think out of the box about your business idea.

However, you will see plenty of food bloggers, makeup artists, DIY craft designers and fashion bloggers. Also, there are many people who sell preset for various designing software, photographers on Instagram.

All of them need to have more than 10,000 followers to add swipe-up links. But initially, they start with word of mouth and providing the details in the post descriptions or use direct messaging. Thumbs up if you have already decided on something.

Make An Instagram Business Account

The first and foremost step is to switch your personal Instagram account to a business profile. A business profile acts as a digital business card for you. The following are some of the basic differences between a personal and business Instagram account.

• You can add your business address, your contact details, your website details on your profile.
• You can directly create ads from Instagram.
• You can keep a check on the post insights.

Converting your personal profile to business profile is not a herculean task.

• First of all, you have to open up the settings and then click on Account.
• Then you have to click on Switch to Professional Account and after that Business.
• After that, you can add details of your business like the contact information and business category.

Other than this, if you have a Facebook page associated with your business, you can connect it as well to your Instagram business account.

Once you switch to a business account, you can keep a record that what kind of audience is reaching outto your page. You will be able to track the number of followers. One major benefit is that you will be able to promote your business on two of the most widely used social media platforms in the world i.e. Facebook and Instagram.

Engaging and Attractive Content Is What You Need

If you want to make your product or service reach a larger audience, you need to consistently create engaging content. While posting the content on Instagram, think from a user’s perspective. Post the pictures and videos that are appealing.

Your posts need to stand out from the crowd in order to be recognized by people. Also, there are certain tips and tricks to engage with the Instagram audience. Instagram frequently comes up with a new version and for your business, you need to be updated and aware of all these. These can help you in better engagement with your audience.

You can use different features of Instagram like IGTV, reels, different filters, polls, Q&A to engage the audience. Always avoid posting grainy and poor quality images on Instagram. No one loves to see such images on Instagram.

Make The Best Use Of Instagram Stories

Once you reach the 10,000 followers mark, you should use the Instagram stories for your business purpose. Make the best use of the swipe up links. Add the swipe links to your website where the audience can buy your products or services.

Reaching the 10,000 followers mark is quite difficult. For that also, you need to use your Instagram stories as much as you can. The Instagram stories are for 24 hours only. So, post one or two stories daily in order to keep yourself in touch with your audience.

You can add behind the scene stories to make the audience curious about your product or service. Get creative and use as many features of the stories to make it look more appealing.

Till the time your business is not eligible for the swipe up links, use the direct messaging for your business purposes. Share your posts, IGTV videos, reels as much as you can.

Use Instagram Live To Launch New Product or Service

This is another great feature of this application. You can use this accordingly and tell the people about some new product or service you launch. You can frequently schedule Instagram live chats and engage with your audience. If you own a store and have an event over there, you can use the Instagram live feature to make your event reach more people.

Add Call To Action In Your Bio

Remember that in the beginning, you will only be able to add one link in your bio. Therefore, it is very important to use it properly. In the bio section, you can write something like “Click on the link to view our latest deals”.

Also, keep this thing in mind that the landing page you mention in your bio should be both desktop and mobile-friendly.

Use Instagram Shoppable Posts

Initially in this article, we discussed why is it hard to sell on Instagram. The foremost reason is that the users below 10,000 followers can put only one link in the bio section.

However, shoppable posts somewhere solve this problem. These are the posts where you tag a certain product and the users can click on it to reach the page where they can make the purchase. All this can be done without leaving the Instagram application.

However, this feature is available in some countries only. Here are the eligibility criteria for shoppable posts on Instagram.

• You must be located in one of these countries: United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Italy, and Canada.
• You should have an Instagram business account.
• You must use the latest version of Instagram.
• You should sell physical goods that comply to Instagram’s commerce policies and merchant agreement. (Hard luck for those who sell services)
• Also, your business must be connected to Facebook catalog.

It will be easy for you if you use Shopify or BigCommerce. However, the aforementioned requirements are mandatory. Once your business is eligible, Instagram will automatically review the account for this feature accessibility.

It can take a few days to review your profile. Once done, you need to go to your profile and then tap on the Get Started alert you see.

So, these are methods through which you can use Instagram to sell products and services. In conclusion, the newbies should firstly focus on providing quality content to the audience, use direct messaging, stories, and other features to engage the audience, and focus on reaching more than 10,000 followers.

After that, they will have more options to reach out to more and more people and sell their products and service.

About the Author:

Manav Bansal is working as Creative Content Writer at FourModules for last two years. He has been writing on various topics related to education, digital marketing and social media trends. Other than this, he loves to write about health, lifestyle and technology.