If you are a Shopify store owner, you’re probably looking for ways to get your name out there.
It seems easy in theory but cutting through the noise and grabbing the attention of your target audience does come with its fair share of challenges.
In this guide, I’m going to explain how to promote your Shopify store on Instagram so that you can reach those customers and generate more sales.
Why Market Your Store on Instagram?
Every social media has its benefits – whether you want to build brand awareness, jump onto the latest trends, get more clicks to your website, or sell more products.
Instagram marketing covers most of these bases quite well. Even though this platform has a reputation for focusing on flashy images, memes, and influencers, it’s still one of the most effective places online to build up an eCommerce audience and market a Shopify business.
Here are some of the best reasons to use Instagram when promoting your Shopify store:
- It’s highly visual: If you want to promote your products or get your brand imagery out there, Instagram is still one of the best platforms to do so on. The combination of photo feed + TikTok lite makes it the ideal place to capture some digital real estate.
- It’s highly engaging: users don’t come to Instagram just to scroll. They want to comment and get engaged with the pages and people that are on the platform. This is great news for any business owners, as engagement is what you need if you want to get the word out about your brand organically.
- It’s relatively straightforward: Unlike some other platforms like Facebook and TikTok, Instagram is rather simple to get started on. Profile pages are simple and streamlined, uploading images and writing descriptions is easy, and it doesn’t take much to follow and engage with other accounts. Compare that to a platform like Facebook with so many different kinds of pages, groups, and different profile and page options. It’s like night and day!
- Instagram has the reputation: even though TikTok has recently taken the spotlight, Instagram is still recognized as a platform of authority, especially where it matters. When a brand or store has an active Instagram page with quality content and an engaged user base, it signals trust in the minds of the shoppers.
- eCommerce functionality: Instagram has great features that help Shopify stores promote their goods seamlessly. With eCommerce product tagging and even shopping on the app for qualified merchants, there are plenty of options here that will complement your online store quite nicely!
This captures the bulk of the reasons why Instagram is so effective when it comes to marketing Shopify stores. Let’s go into a little more detail as to how you can specifically use Instagram’s features to promote your store.
Easy Ways to Promote Your Shopify Store With Instagram
Promoting your Shopify store on Instagram can be a great way to increase brand awareness and drive sales. Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Optimize your Instagram profile: Before anything else, make sure your Instagram profile includes a link to your Shopify store and includes a clear and concise description of your brand. A catchy description with some emojis doesn’t hurt either.
- Create visually appealing content: Use high-quality photos and videos to showcase your products and make them look appealing to potential customers.
- Use hashtags: Use relevant hashtags in your posts to increase visibility and reach a wider audience. Understanding the right hashtags to use is half the battle on Instagram in terms of reach. You want to maximize your reach, which will translate into more followers and engagement.
- Host giveaways: Host a giveaway on your Instagram page to encourage followers to engage with your brand and share your content with their friends. This is a an easy way to generate engagement that is meaningful and strategic.
- Use Instagram ads: Consider running Instagram ads to reach a larger audience and target specific demographics. You don’t even have to run any complex sales-orientated ads. Instagram offers follower campaigns that basically serve your profile to other users that Instagram thinks would have a high chance of liking and engaging with your content. This is an easy way to build your profile in the initial stages, and it can also lead to some sales here and there as well.
- Engage with your audience: Respond to comments and direct messages to build a relationship with your followers and potential customers.
By implementing these marketing strategies, you can increase the visibility of your Shopify store on Instagram and increase the chances of your Shopify store taking off.
Creating a Promotional Strategy on Instagram
When trying to draw attention to your Shopify store using social media, it’s worth taking a step back and working on a strategy before going off and doing random promotions.
A strategic approach is always better when doing anything marketing related.
Think about what goals you are trying to achieve first. Are you simply going for more sales, or are you focused more so on followers? Are you trying to sell products online or in-store? Is local recognition important or are you looking for a national audience?
The goals you decide will help you craft a more effective marketing approach. Your Instagram audience should largely mirror the users that are actually shopping on your Shopify website.
If not, you could be generating a lot of traffic or followers that won’t offer any lasting value to your store. Followers for the sake of followers never results in anything meaningful.
You also want to make sure that your Shopify store and Instagram feed speak with the same voice. If your website is really serious, you might want to stay away from the memes on Instagram. Likewise, if you are in an industry that wants to be engaged with user generated content, bland product photos on a white background might not cut it for your store.
Your Instagram strategy and Shopify store should synergize as best as possible for maximum results!
Starting on Instagram
Promoting your Shopify on Instagram isn’t going to be an overnight process. It could take months to generate meaningful results, and that’s if you start out with a smart strategy that resonates with your audience.
If you can’t see yourself managing an Instagram marketing campaign for your Shopify store, you may want to consider working with us! We know a thing or two about Instagram advertising. Our social media experts can help you promote your store using the latest Instagram features and marketing tactics.
Learning how to promote your Shopify store on Instagram can be incredibly rewarding, but there’s also value in letting an Instagram advertising agency take care of it! Contact us today if you want to learn more about how we can help.
