It’s 2019 and all you hear about Instagram marketing is “get influencers.” And this has been a sticking point for you because influencers cost money.
Maybe you’ve talked to your friends who’ve tried influencer marketing. They’ve tried giving people products for their posts, but those influencers were small potatoes.
So, you leave Instagram alone for a while and go back to your tried and true PPC marketing or whatever.
It’s time to come out of your cave and join the millions of marketers who’ve already figured out how to utilize Instagram for their marketing. Here are a few tools you can use right now on Instagram for cheap.
Instagram Shopping Tags
If you tried to sell merch on Instagram several years ago, you know the hassle. Write a killer CTA in a post that directs to your profile and hope people click on the link there. Maybe you mention it in your stories.
You probably weren’t getting huge conversions with that technique. Well, things are a bit different now.
You might have noticed this already. Some Instagram posts will throw up little tags if you tap on the post. These are Instagram shopping tags.
The idea is simple. Feature a product in the post. Maybe your model is wearing the shoes you sell. You insert a tag overlay on the shoes which links directly to your store Instagram Store page.
People can buy your products directly from your Instagram profile now. You do have to set up a Facebook Business and use the Facebook Business Manager to create the product catalog, but this is a quick and easy way to set up a store and hit the ground running.
If you’re hoping to eventually branch out to influencer marketing, you can give influencers access to these tags as well. They’ll be able to quickly create links to your products without ever leaving Instagram.
Instagram Stories
When Instagram added stories (or stole the feature from Snapchat) back in 2016, it boosted the amount of time people spent on Instagram by 32 minutes a day. Now people are spending up to 53 minutes a day on Instagram.
That’s a 250% increase in engagement.
Wow.
What if you could tap into that? Well, it’s easy. In fact, you can create stories and keep them consistent and professional.
Tools like an Instagram story template or a mobile video editing software make Instagram stories marketing easier than ever.
The most difficult part about using stories to market is the consistent nature of the beast. This is why, if you’re going to use Instagram stories for marketing, you need your life to be consistent with your brand.
And perhaps this is a good thing. Your target audience wants authenticity. And if your life is consistent with your brand’s values, you can showcase your life as an example of your brand lived out.
Lastly, post consistently. Your audience expects to see you every day.
Optimal posting on Instagram varies. Twice a day is what I recommend. Post at various times of the day to see what gets the most engagement. And then stick to that schedule.