How to Sell on Instagram: Useful Tips & Tricks

Learning to sell on Instagram can be challenging and holds some hidden tricks. So if you have just launched a print on demand store and want to promote your products on Instagram, read on!

If you’re not a teen with too much time on their hands, then you might not know there is a lot more to Instagram than just being a social platform where you spend your time scrolling through interesting things.

In fact, numerous sellers use Instagram as a business tool. The platform is one of the most powerful online tools to promote and sell more products, like hoodies, mugs, wall art, or t-shirts.

According to Statista, more than 85% of the largest online stores in the US have a profile on Instagram. This reality is based on more than 1 billion active Instagram users worldwide.

Selling on Instagram can be challenging and holds some hidden tricks. So if you have just launched a print on demand store and want to promote your products on Instagram, read on!

In this blog post, you will discover all the effective ways to promote your brand on Instagram and sell your products.

Enable Instagram Shopping – Create Shoppable Posts

The very first thing you have to do is to create an account or switch to a business account. Let’s have a look at the simple process you need to follow.

How to Get an Instagram Business Account

If your business doesn’t already have an Instagram account and you want to create one from scratch, there are a few steps you should follow:

1. Download the Instagram application on a mobile device and select “Create New Account”
2. Then choose a username for your business account
3. Add the business email or a phone number
4. Press on “Complete Signup”

Congrats! Your Instagram profile is now ready. All that’s left is to transform it into a professional account. To do that:

1. From the top  right corner select “Menu”
2. Tap “Settings”
3. If you scroll down you will find “Account”
4. Press “Switch to Professional Account”
5. Swipe to the features and select “Continue”
6.  Tap “Business”
7. Lastly, select “Next” and connect your Facebook business page to your Instagram account.

What is Instagram Shopping

Instagram Shopping is an easy and effective way to sell your products on Instagram worldwide. There are millions of people using this social platform.

Instagram offers a number of features that allow users to easily shop without having to visit a physical shop. It allows your customers to explore your products and browse your collections.

All you need to do is place all the important information about your brand’s products in your posts and stories. Instagram Shopping is a fantastic way to spread the word about your brand and give your customers the opportunity to engage with your business.

Requirements for Instagram Shopping

There are some eligibility requirements that you need to be aware of:

1. First of all, you should own or create a business Instagram account.
2. Your account should comply with Instagram’s commerce policies and merchant agreements.
3. You must be located in one of the supported markets on this list.
4. Your Instagram business account must be connected to your Facebook business page.

Once you meet the above criteria, you can start creating Shoppable Posts, which will include important information like the description of the product and the price.

How to Create Shoppable Posts with Instagram Shopping

There are many people who get to know a brand through Instagram because they use the platform every day. Here are a few tips that will help you promote your products and increase your sales on Instagram.

The first tip is to use product tags as often as possible. Product tags are a feature designed to help e-commerce companies get more results from their posts. Whenever you post a photo with a product tag, potential customers can see the name and price of your product, and by clicking on the tag they can directly visit your website. This is especially useful since Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links in captions.

Make sure that each tag addresses the right product. Try to post images with product tags at least 5 times a month.

When you start using Instagram for online shopping, you need to include product catalogs. When you update your product catalogs, you should make sure to share them on Instagram.

Make your Instagram content as engaging as possible. Allow your buyers to comment and like your products. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different posting formats like single photos, post carousels, stories, or videos.

To be specific, your Instagram business account will be more successful if you:

1. Run Ads

Just like Facebook ads, Instagram gives you the opportunity to run ads and ad campaigns for as low as $5. If you have just created your merch store, this is a great way to boost your brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.

2. Pay Attention to your Analytics

Instagram offers a detailed analytics section where you can see how your account is performing.

To be more specific, you can look at the users your account has attracted in the last 7 to 90 days. You can also examine how your posts and stories are performing to find out which products your followers prefer the most.

3. Plan and Schedule your Posts

Although publishing a product directly is preferred by many companies, we definitely recommend that you plan and schedule your posts.

There are many platforms like Buffer that can help you organize your upcoming posts and automatically upload them on your behalf.

4. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are crucial to the success of your posts. If you want your account to reach more people, take a look at the most commonly used keywords in your niche.

For example, if you want to promote your latest hoodie collection, be sure to add keywords like a hoodie, print on demand, and so on.

5. Add Links to your Bio

Since Instagram doesn’t allow you to add links to your posts, you should use the links in your bio.

There are tools like Linktree that will help you create more than one link and leverage the interest of your visitors.

6. Add Links to your Stories

There’s no denying that Instagram Stories are very effective when it comes to selling and promoting products.

Recently Instagram allowed adding links to Stories for every user. Because before this feature was available for users with over 10,000 followers. Don’t hesitate to add links to your Stories, if you have a website or an Etsy store.

7. Sell on Instagram through Shopify

This is a very useful tactic for stores built on Shopify. The platform allows you to integrate your Instagram shop account and edit it from the Shopify main dashboard. This proves to be a powerful and time-saving feature.

Now you have the tools!

Instagram is a great platform when it comes to start selling your products, with many powerful tools at your disposal. If you take the above tips to heart, you will increase your user engagement and thus increase the conversion rates of your store!

Are you ready to start selling online? Sign up for your free Awkward Styles account and start selling 150+ customizable print on demand products worldwide. Etsy, Shopify and WooCommerce integrations available.