- Hey,
(party horn buzzing) congratulations.
(crowd applauds) You did it. I'm proud of you.
You know why?
(dark hip hop music) Because through your hard work
and dedication, you've grown a
sizeable Instagram following (neon sign buzzing)
for your business.
You've been creative, you've been authentic.
You've been consistent
and, you've engaged your followers.
You were diligent about community management,
maybe even had a couple of hashtags go viral,
(xylophone melody rings out)
but, despite all your success building a brand,
you haven't been able to figure out
how to generate revenue from Instagram.
What's up?
It's Jamal from HubSpot,
and in this video,
I'm gonna help you turn Instagram followers
into paying customers by updating your content strategy,
and, I'll go section by section through the Instagram app
to make sure everything you do is optimized for sales.
To help you get the most out of Instagram,
check out the free Instagram for Business Templates
available in the description.
And don't forget to like this video,
subscribe to the
(electronic bell dings) HubSpot YouTube channel
and hit the notification bell.
Whether your Instagram has 100 followers,
1000 followers or 100,000 followers,
those are all fans who could just be a few taps away
from becoming paying customers.
Don't believe me?
Honestly, I wouldn't trust me either,
but, the numbers don't lie.
In a survey conducted by Instagram's parent company,
Facebook, 81% of respondents report using the app
to research products
and services, while a different survey by Facebook
revealed that 50% of Instagram users
have visited a website to buy a product or service
as a result of seeing it in Stories.
What's really amazing about those numbers is that,
unlike other social media platforms,
Instagram doesn't make it that easy to drive sales.
The app only allows for one hyperlink in your profile
and no links are allowed in captions or comments.
And that Swipe Up to See More feature
that you've probably seen in IG Stories?
Well, that feature is only available
to accounts with
(sad note buzzes) over 10,000 followers.
Instagram recently announced
that it's replacing the swipe up with link stickers
and it's testing making those available to users
with fewer followers, but concerns about spam
and misinformation mean they'll be rolling it out slowly.
In the meantime, there are still plenty of things you can do
to optimize your entire Instagram strategy
to generate sales.
The first thing to do is review your content
and make sure that it does the following.
Number one, convey what you're selling.
This might sound obvious,
but a lot of brands, when building a following,
focus on lifestyle content
that generates lots of comments
and likes, but doesn't clearly explain
what it is your business provides.
Memes, polls, inspirational quotes,
they're all great for engagement,
but it can be hard for a follower to understand
how these equate to whatever it is you're selling.
I'm not saying you should get rid
of the content your followers already enjoy,
but be sure to add content
that makes it clear what you offer.
This could be product shots
or promotional posts about special offers.
The good rule of thumb is use the 80-20 rule,
where 80% of your content is
whatever high engagement content you've been producing,
and 20% is more self-serving promotional posts.
Any more than that,
and you might find yourself losing some
of those hard earned followers, but in that 80%,
you can still be doing more to increase sales indirectly.
For example, social proof is a major factor
in convincing potential customers to try your product.
In fact, 92% of consumers are more likely
to trust non-paid recommendations
than any other of advertising.
So, why not spotlight some
of the great things customers are already saying
about you in your posts?
Be sure to tag whoever said it,
so other users can see that it's real praise
from a real person.
You can even recruit ambassadors to testify
on behalf of your brand.
This is especially effective if your brand is aspirational.
I'm probably never gonna try
to climb Alaska's North Slope,
and it's not because I can't.
I'm just, you know, I'm super busy, you know?
(air whooshing) But, I sure would
want to travel with a duffle
(stamp slams) as tough as this Yeti.
The second way to adjust your content
to encourage sales is to address the benefits
your product or service offers to customers.
Yeti does this really well,
when it states in its bio,
"we make gear that helps you stay out longer,
travel farther
and live harder."
You know, they're starting to win me over.
Maybe I should give this whole
Alaska North Slope thing a try.
You know what I'm saying?
Photo captions can also include benefits statements
like, "lets you hold an entire day's hydration in your hand"
and "enjoy more thrills with no spills".
By adding promotional posts, social proof
and product benefits to your Instagram content mix,
your followers will start
to think of you like a brand that they need.
The next step in optimizing your Instagram for sales is
(air whooshing) to create a path for users
to learn more about your products or services
and eventually lead them to make a purchase.
To do that, let's start with your Instagram bio.
Your bio is the one place
where Instagram lets every account put a link,
so that link better be a good one.
But before we go there,
let's take a look at what other top brands do
to make their bio impactful.
I already mentioned how Yeti uses its bio to clearly state
the customer benefit.
Quad Lock calls out all of the countries
they ship to for free,
and St. Frank includes social proof
in the form of a quote from Vogue,
as well as location of its retail store.
You can use this space for additional calls to action
or to showcase branded hashtags.
You're also able to tag any additional IG accounts
you might want to showcase.
And, Instagram 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,
literally beyond a shadow of a single hair,
a single crumb of doubt,
the most important element of the bio is your link.
This is literally the best chance you have
to send followers to a destination
where they can become customers.
If your business has a well-functioning website,
then your homepage is probably the best bet
for sending traffic.
But, that's not the case for all brands,
which is why plenty of tools have been built
to optimize the #LinkInBio.
A common one you'll find is Linktree,
which creates a simple webpage
that contains however many links you need.
Another popular app is LikeShop,
which recreates your Instagram grid,
but every image is clickable.
Now, I'm gonna let you in on a little pro tip.
Everyone knows to type #LinkInBio in your post captions
to direct your followers to your clickable link.
But, users have to think about where to tap to get your bio,
and in the game of social media marketing,
even a split second pause can be the difference
between a user siphoning into your sales funnel
or to just keep on scrolling.
So, be sure to just tag yourself right next to any CTA.
That way, followers can get right where they want to go
with absolutely minimal friction.
You know, if we're talking friction,
I'm talking like (imitates whooshing),
it's like you're gliding.
You know what I'm saying?
You don't, (wood skidding)
there's there's almost no air drag, you know,
we're just (imitates whooshing).
(dark hip hop music) Finally, let's talk
about Instagram Stories.
Stories were introduced in 2016 as a more immediate
and off the cuff alternative
to the carefully curated main feed
cultivated by many Instagram users,
including a lot of big brands.
With fun, interactive stickers
and filters only available on Stories,
the feature became a huge hit
with half of Instagram's 1 billion users
watching Stories daily.
That's 500 million people just going,
"I sure do love this content".
Madness, absolute madness.
I already talked about how Stories let accounts
with over 10,000 followers add links to Stories,
which is one reason why Stories have become so popular
with brands, but making Stories can be a lot of work
because unlike standard Instagram posts,
which can appear in a user's timeline
up to three days after being posted
and live forever on your profile page,
Stories disappear after just 24 hours.
The only Stories that remain are the ones
you select to save in your Stories Highlights.
This is why savvy brands will create 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 followers to DM you for more information
or tell them, "share this post,
and I'll DM you the deets".
I just made that last one up myself.
Will it work? I don't know.
Is it worth a try? I think so.
Let me know in the comments.
Success on social media is an art
and a science.
What works for one business
might not be so great for another.
That's why you always want to be testing out new ideas
to see if they work.
If you want to learn more about techniques
for mastering Instagram, including
how to properly track your performance
and other essential skills, click the link below
for our free online Instagram Marketing Course available
at HubSpot academy.
You can also explore
our Social Media Strategies for Business playlist,
and, you already know what to do.
Don't forget to subscribe to this channel
and hit the notification bell,
so you never miss a new video.
Now if you'll excuse me,
it's time for me to get lost in the sauce
of Instagram Stories
and stores, all right?
You won't see me for weeks
and if you do,
it's just a hologram, all right?
Don't be alarmed. I'll see you next time.
Hair combing, brought to you by HubSpot,
everyone's favorite pastime.