This is a guest post by Walter Moore. If you’d like to contribute to our blog, feel free to get in touch with us.
To say that ecommerce is driving modern business is an understatement. Today, ecommerce is worth billions and however big or small your business is, you can now leverage the increasing numbers of people shopping online. A Smart Insights Survey shows 53% of global internet users made an online purchase in 2016.
In fact, a Big Commerce Survey says 51% of American consumers say they prefer shopping online. The same study shows 96% of Americans have made online purchases. The ecommerce industry is growing 23% year-over-year. These numbers highlight the potential that you can harness online. With the internet users now reaching 3.6 billion, your business can get a major boost through its ecommerce website. Despite this impressive growth, 46% of small businesses in the country don’t have a website and those that already have one struggle with low ROI.
The main reason for the poor showing by many brands in ecommerce is lack of innovative marketing. If you are still relying on link building and other traditional SEO techniques, you are missing out on huge opportunities. One of the most revolutionary marketing techniques you must embrace is Instagram.
This might not be at the top of your ecommerce marketing strategy but this is going to change when you get insight into the vibrant social media network. In fact, a cursory glance at the highest number of searches related to social media marketing revolves around finding Instagram followers, which is an activity you should also be involved in.
Demystifying Instagram Marketing
If you are an internet marketer, you appreciate how volatile the internet market place can get. It is true there are many marketing techniques that you can deploy but new ones are always emerging. To stay ahead of the pack in your niche, you have to keep reinventing yourself. Today, Instagram remains the most effective internet marketing platform and for many good reasons.
For a start, the photo and video sharing platform that was launched in 2010 now boasts over 700 million monthly active users (MAUs). This makes it one of the most influential social media marketing platforms. Within the 6 years it has been in existence, Instagram has wowed the business community and today, 48.8% of U.S brands have an account.
An eMarketer Study shows that 70.7% of brands in the U.S plan to integrate Instagram into their marketing campaigns by the end of 2017. The influence of Instagram in marketing has seen over 8 million brands join up in order to reach their target customers. Whether you are planning to launch your ecommerce platform or you already have an ecommerce website, this social media platform has a lot to offer.
Gone are the days when all you needed was a beautiful website to start attracting traffic to your website. Today, ecommerce takes a lot of time, resources and more importantly, creativity. If you are finding it hard to draw traffic to your website or increase conversion rates on your website, it is time to integrate Instagram into your overall marketing strategy.
Why Invest in Instagram Marketing for Ecommerce?
Like many online marketers, you must have sampled various marketing strategies for your business. Most of the digital marketing techniques require heavy investment and for a startup, this might not work.
Instagram offers your business the opportunity to build its ecommerce website by gradually finding real Instagram followers. There is no capital investment involved in the process but as your business continues gaining traction, you will enjoy many benefits.
Using Instagram for your ecommerce website is a no-brainer for the suave marketer in the viciously competitive online marketplace. Take a look at some of the reasons to adopt Instagram for your marketing:
#1 Multi-channel Promotion
One of the best things about Instagram is the fact that you can upload your photos and videos and use them across multiple channels. For instance, you can add the same photos on your ecommerce website, on Facebook, Twitter and any other channels you wish. This increases visibility of your brand across different segments of your target audiences.
#2 Quick and Easy to Use
Setting up a business profile and adding your ecommerce link to the bio takes just a few minutes. In fact, you can start promoting your brand immediately by choosing popular and relevant hashtags in your niche. If you have the relevant content to share, using Instagram is easy and you don’t need any training.
#3 Telling Your Story
Instagram allows you to tell your story without any limitations. On this platform, you should avoid direct promotions and instead focus on showing potential customers why they need to follow you. Show that your brand and products add value to their lives.
For instance, you can show behind-the-scenes (BTS) to show the extra lengths your employees go to ensure only the best products end up going to the buyer. The power of visuals in marketing need not be emphasized; through visuals, you have a better chance of converting followers into buyers. It is easy to form lasting relationships with your target audience.
#4 Creating Brand Awareness and Trust
One of the easiest ways of getting into the psyche of your target customer is through consistency. By continuously posting high quality photos and videos, your brand will start gaining a following and with time, your increasing brand mentions will boost your brand’s visibility. While your target audience might first view you as the brand that posts entertaining videos, they will gradually come to love you and even start interacting with you. The more visible your brand is on Instagram, the more trust it gets from followers. If you are consistent in posting good content, your followers will slowly transform into customers.
Instagram should be an integral part of your ecommerce marketing for many more reasons. This social media platform delivers high levels of engagement, which is exactly what your online platform needs. What’s more, promoting your products on Instagram will drive more traffic to your site, which in turn boosts conversion rates. With this in mind, it is time to start growing your followers for Instagram and leverage the fastest growing social media network today.
Author Bio:
Walter Moore is a well-established digital marketer with one of the leading mobile application development companies. He has extensive knowledge in social marketing, especially gaining and marketing to followers for Instagram.
