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We know it may not seem like much, but a small follower base is still a valuable asset. Those are fans who could just be a few taps away from becoming paying customers. Still not convinced?
In a survey conducted by Instagram’s parent company, Meta, 81% of those who were surveyed, reported they use Instagram to research products and services while a separate survey revealed that 83% of Millenials and Gen- Zs discover new venues via Instagram Stories.
While Instagram has changed the way we shop, it hasn’t fully taken the place of traditional storefronts. Since your feed is where you establish your brand and communicate with your audience, it isn't necessarily a place where customers can easily find information about your business. If you’re unsure of how to turn your followers into loyal customers, the answer is simple. You need to optimize your page for sales. Here’s how:
Step 1: Prioritize Customer-Generated content
These days, brands have to fight to be seen in the digital world. The competition for audience attention is fierce and as a result, customers are more selective about which businesses they interact with, purchase from, or visit.
Customers who post reviews, share your restaurant’s venue on their stories, or even post an image of their meals to their feed, are essentially producing content that is more valued than traditional advertising methods. Your followers are passionate about authentic/organic content, which is why you should always prioritize customer-generated content.
Customer reviews are trusted 12 times more than marketing coming directly from the organisation. In a nutshell, people trust people, so think of customer-generated content as the modern-day word of mouth.
Step 2: Address your venues benefits
Fill your page with it, add your service’s benefits to your bio, and include elements of your brand that separates it from others. Photo captions are a great way to include your benefits too. Here are some examples of brands that have it down to a T:
Step 3: Optimize Sales Path
The next step in optimizing your Instagram for sales generation is to create a path for your followers to get to know more about your venue which will ultimately lead to them popping in for a visit.
Start with your Instagram bio:
This is the one place Instagram allows you to include a link- so you best make it count! Make sure that your Instagram bio is impactful, as previously mentioned– include benefits. Another cool idea is to include all the specials on your menu, or weekly events your restaurant hosts. Additionally, use your bio for extra call-to-actions or to showcase branded hashtags. In your Instagram bio, you're also able to tag additional Instagram accounts you might want to showcase. Instagram in 2022 offers contact buttons for phone and email as well as an action button that allows for one-click shopping, reservations, or ordering with select partner integrations.
BUT without a doubt, the most important element of your bio is your link. This is the best shot you have at sending your followers to a destination where they can become customers i.e the reservation, menu, or event booking page on your website.
Pro tip: Linktree
These days, there are plenty of tools available to help you optimize the #LinkInBio. A common one- Linktree. Linktree allows you to create a simple webpage containing however many links you need displayed. So you can have one link in your bio that will help your customers navigate to different links on your site- have a link to your menu, booking page and even Uber Eats or Deliveroo all in one place!
Step 4: Instagram Stories- get with it
Instagram stories were introduced to the app in 2016 as a refreshing and immediate alternative to the carefully curated main feed cultivated by many users, including larger brands. With fun, interactive stickers, font options, polls, and filters, only available on Stories, the feature took the app by storm.
With half of Instagram’s 1 billion users watching stories daily- That’s 500 million people using the app just to look at their friends, family, and fav influencers or celebs’ Stories- it became a fundamental component of the app.
However, making stories takes a lot of work, because unlike standard Instagram posts, which can appear on user’s timelines up to three days after it is posted, living forever on your main feed, Stories disappear after 24 hours. The only stories that remain are the ones you select to store in your Highlights.
This is why Highlights are used by many brands, creating highlight groups that match specific product lines or campaigns each with its own custom image that lives right below the bio on the profile page- it's like having a mini-catalog right on the app.
Other techniques for increasing engagement on Stories include; telling your followers to DM you for more information.
Final thoughts
Success on social media is an art and a science. What works for one business might not work for another. This is why testing is so important. Try new things, come up with innovative ways to increase your engagement or low-key ways to promote your brand on your feed or story, and ask your followers for feedback or what type of content they enjoyed. Most importantly, keep an eye on your social media Insights- it’s the only way to truly know what is working and what isn’t.
Good luck!
Love our content? We have a variety of blogs that’ll give you important insights into social media marketing and management. We also have a range of tips and tricks you can use to improve your social media presence as well as advice on how to make money as a nano-influencer, increase word-of-mouth marketing and so much more!
And if you're looking to grow your socials, increase engagement and drive brand awareness our free app- ttagz is a great way to do it!
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