By now, we all understand social media's potential, Instagram in particular, in spreading brand awareness and attracting clients for our businesses. However, none of the social media and marketing experts have warned us how challenging it would be to cut through all of that noise. After all, Instagram has reached over a billion active monthly users, and the upward trend doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.
If you, too, are wondering how to get ahead of all the competition and how to make money on Instagram in this day and age, you've come to the right place. We're breaking down a step-by-step process on how to convert your followers into returning customers.
Defining your goals will help you get a clear path to follow and not get lost in the overall frenzy that is social media marketing today. Create a goal that is in line with your industry and business plan, and make it realistic and achievable.
For example, as a local shop, you won't have to target the global market, so be sure to define your priorities from the get-go.
Next up – execute like a pro. Deliver content that speaks directly to your ideal audience to get that conversion down the line. Learn about their values, motivation, and general preferences beyond your business. This will help you deliver the content that nurtures your targeted leads to becoming loyal customers.
Focus on value – Center the majority of your content around the info your audience finds valuable. The 80/20 rule works best here. Only 20% of your content should directly promote your products or services.
Long gone are the days when famous A-listers could convince people to buy a product through a perfectly edited ad. The truth is people trust more the recommendation of real-life individuals, someone they can completely relate to.
Use this to your advantage. Create strategic user-generated content campaigns, and turn your customers into authentic brand ambassadors. Ask them to tag your business and use the branded hashtag to help create a buzz around your business. Seeing genuine people's customer satisfaction will entice others to try out your products.
Our Instagram feeds are swarming with brand giveaways and contests. The simple reason – they are that effective. The oldest story in the book – people love free stuff and are willing to go the extra mile to get their hands on a cool free product.
That said, you don't have to do what every brand out there does. Add some originality to the mix. For example, instead of the traditional giveaway model of following and commenting, go for the caption contest instead. Post a fun photo featuring your brand, and ask your audience to take part by suggesting the most creative caption. Don’t forget to offer a really valuable prize.
If you want to turn your followers into customers, you have to direct them through the process, i.e. show them what to do.
Make the entire process intuitive and super easy to not let any frictions ruin a perfectly nurtured lead.
Here are some of the crucial steps you can take to make the buying process easy:
Photo: Benjamin Dada, Unsplash
