This social media platform gave the world a unique way to share images and videos with friends and followers. Online social sharing became engaging and fun!
Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has molded itself to the evolving interests of its users. One of the Instagram highlights has been the advent of influencers. Brands have taken advantage of the fan following of the influencers to promote their products and get visitors to their online stores.
Influencer marketing has now taken over the traditional methods of marketing like TV commercials or print advertising. Influencers promote cosmetics, fashion & lifestyle products, IT services, toys, financial services, and everything to their followers. Brands have tasted immense success with influencer marketing campaigns. Influencers create a better experience for followers, increase the brand reach and drive e-commerce sales.
Instagram has a host of features that influencers and brands take advantage of to drive in promotions. Here we discuss ten ways to drive e-commerce sales with Instagram influencer marketing strategies.
Instagram Reels
The short form of video content in TikTok gained immense popularity. Instagram introduced this feature in August 2020. Reels is a 60-second vertical video format to be experimental and try something new. It has creative tools like audio, text, filter and camera special effects. It is a fun way for influencers to create engaging and entertaining content to promote brand products and drive e-commerce sales.
Instagram Story
Just as in WhatsApp and Facebook, Instagram has the Story feature to post images and videos that disappear in 24 hours. The Instagram Story offers influencers swipe links (for followers above 10k), stickers, fancy fonts, face filters, doodles, Q&A, polls, and music to make their Stories more engrossing. With the Instagram Story becoming a popular format, brands are utilizing its benefits for influencer marketing. The swipe-up link redirects the followers to that particular e-commerce product page.
Instagram Highlights
Influencers can add the brand stories to the Highlight section to store them on their profile permanently. Influencers who seek long-term brand collaboration create separate Instagram Highlight profiles. It allows visitors to view the Stories in the Highlight section at any time. Influencers can also add the brand logo as the Highlight cover photo.
Instagram Live
Influencers can cover the brand’s new product launch or any other brand-related events through the Instagram Live feature. Influencers can also collaborate with brands for interesting sessions like Q&A, giveaways, product unboxing and demo videos. By utilizing these Instagram features, brands can expect an increase in their follower count. Also, adding the online store product page link in the Live video description allows curious followers to visit the website.
Instagram Feed
Instagram rose to fame with the image format through posts. But with videos becoming a rage, it allowed users to post a minute-long video on its feed. The short video is the most sought format for the young generation. It gives brands an opportunity through influencers to create video content that conveys the brand identity perfectly. Product shout-outs, their features, uses, experiences can all be depicted in the videos in a creative way for user engagement. The link to the e-commerce product page is placed on the influencer’s bio for brand promotion.
Instagram Ads
Through the Facebook Ads Manager, brands can promote influencer marketing content on their profiles. When done in parallel with influencer marketing, Instagram ads offer better reach and help brands promote their product to a new audience. The Shop Now CTA in the video and image ads takes the followers to the e-commerce website. Also, the carousel format helps brands to promote multiple products in one go.
A separate landing page is created for traffic through Instagram Ads to persuade the viewer to buy products or services.
Discount Codes
Brands generate special discount codes and offer them to influencers. The influencers promote this discount code on their social media profiles. They mention the code on the images, videos and descriptions. The followers use the code to shop for products at a discounted rate on the e-commerce website. The sales generated through the influencer discount code are counted to measure the Instagram influencer marketing campaign success.
Referral Links
Brands generate a referral link to their landing page. The influencer promotes the referral link through their Instagram profile. The influencer uses stories, reels, and the feed to promote the brand and mentions the link. The link is placed on the influencer bio for followers to click on it. It takes them to the product page on the e-commerce site from where they make the purchase. The link remains on the influencer bio till the duration of the campaign.
Creative content
Hire Instagram influencers who can create content that promotes your brand in unique ways. Educate the influencer of the product and brand. Communicate your intentions and expectations from the brand promotion to the influencer. Brands offering creative liberty to influencers stand to gain because such content gels well with the followers. Influencer-created content offers authenticity and flows through naturally. An effective influencer marketing campaign conveys the brand message and gets visitors to the e-commerce store.
Customer Engagement
An influencer’s job is not just limited to creating content and posting it on Instagram. The followers engage in the post through comments. The influencer has to keep the follower engagement going by resolving their queries. Influencer support helps to build trust and gives credibility to the brand campaign. The brand gets more store visitors.
In a Nutshell
Instagram influencer marketing campaigns drive e-commerce sales in multiple ways. Hire Instagram influencers who convey the message creatively and drive their followers to the online brand store.
Brands can also take advantage of the influencer marketplace to hire Instagram influencers based on their target audience. Such online influencer marketplaces also offer campaign services to make it easy for brands to get visitors to their e-commerce websites.
Instagram influencer marketing is indeed a powerful tool for brands to drive e-commerce sales effectively!
