Pick A Category That Sells
Instagram is a social platform that focuses on visual media. So it will be easier to sell products that have a strong visual identity.
Most popular ideas of what to sell on Instagram are:
- Apparel
- Accessories
- Beauty products
- Food & beverages
- Home goods & decor
- Outdoor & sporting goods
- Auto
For digital product ideas, some of the most popular choices are:
- LUTs
- Presets
- Graphic design
- Typefaces
- Fonts
Other successful categories include electronics, services, and online courses.
And the narrower your niche, the easier it will be for you to build your audience, hence sell your product. So instead of thinking “Toys,” think “Plush toys for Cornish Rex cats”.
Create Instagram Stories With Product Links
Instagram stories offer a great opportunity to interact with audiences more frequently and personally. Many brands use Instagram Stories to capture product dynamics, promote specials, or showcase new products. It's a good idea to create Instagram stories with product links. When adding a link to Instagram Stories, there will be a small arrow and “See More” text appear at the bottom of your image. To be noticed apparently, you can add text directing users to “Swipe Up” for added visibility.
Utilize The URL In The Bio
There’s only one spot in the whole wide Instagram to put a clickable, external link. And that’s the URL section in your bio. Whenever a new customer finds you on Instagram, they’re likely to go to your bio page and see your link. So having it up there at all times will add traffic directly to your online shop. It can be the website of your Sellfy shop, your online course, a link to your e-products, anything. Shorten the link if it’s too long with Bitly, Google shortener, or others. And you can write something that will entice your profile viewers to explore your website like “Shop now“.
Offer Promotions Only On Instagram
Shoppers like big sales or promotions. Instagram is the perfect place to promote a sale, new product launch or discount code to your fans. You can add your promotion to the title or Instagram story and encourage users to click on the link in your bio to get the deal. If you’re running an Instagram-exclusive promotion, you also can create a teaser on your other social networks to drive traffic to your Instagram business profile.
Use The Right Hashtags
You need to master the art of the hashtag to gain traction and reach entirely new audiences on Instagram. It’s important to not use too many hashtags in your posts. It’s much better to focus on a couple of handfuls of targeted, highly trafficked hashtags which will increase the chances of the right people seeing your posts. Use tags that are most relevant to your product to make it more discoverable. A simple trick to find great hashtags is to see which ones are being used by influencers in your niche. And you should watch out for hashtags that might be used too much to lower the chance that your post getting buried. When choosing your hashtags, think about your specific niche, and build your hashtag selection around that. To find other tags popular in your niche, use generators like HashtagsForLife, TagBlender, or AllHashtag.
Create Great Captions
The caption is an important and integral element to any Instagram post. An Instagram caption is a written description or explanation about the Instagram photo to provide more context. Instagram captions can include emojis, hashtags, and tags. It can relate to the viewer. And it can serve as calls to action, such as view the products, visit your site or check out a video.
Produce Engaging Content
Quality content builds your brand’s identity. When your content stands out on a consistent basis, the higher the chances of building a loyal follower/customer base and bringing in those sales. It is necessary to use quality photos or videos. Don't use grainy images or shaky videos. Your content, as well as your profile picture, should be visually appealing and reflect your brand’s main message. Instead of still photos of your products, show action – for example, someone using your product, which will make your profile and your brand appear more dynamic. Showing customers that are using your product can also build trust and authenticity.
