If you’re a retailer looking to increase your brand awareness, engage with customers, and boost sales, then look to Instagram! This social media platform is a great tool for retailers and businesses, and these 8 effective ways will tell all!

Plan

First, ask yourself: “What do I want to do?”

“Don’t just post random things, and expect people to notice,” says John Pritchett, a project manager at Revieweal and Study demic. “Before you post things, have a plan of what you want to do on your Instagram. So, if you’re a retailer, for example, you may want to focus on your products and services that your store has to offer. Keep in mind: have a plan, and be consistent with it.”

Create A Story

Everyone loves a good story, especially if they’re Instagram Stories. And since Instagram is already the place that people can see and hear stories, this can translate to how retailers can interact with customers.

Brands can add photos and videos through Stories. Plus, Stories is a great way to promote flash sales and events, since each Story tends to last for 24 hours, thus creating an urgency for users to interact with the post. So, the more you show what your brand is about, the more likely you’ll show up in users’ Instagram feeds.

Share High-Quality Visuals

When it comes to Instagram, visuals matter. Therefore, your visuals must be high-quality. Just keep in mind: if you’re unable to take good pictures or video, then let someone else in your company do it for you; or, research how you can improve your skills.

Go Behind The Scenes

The most crucial thing to remember about Instagram is that it’s all about connecting with your followers (more importantly, your fan base). Therefore, it’s important to take viewers behind the scenes of what goes on at your brand. Here’s how you can take people behind the scenes:

• Show products being made.
• Show the inside of the shops.
• Show what the CEO is doing.
• Show your staff working and having fun.
• Show how your brand gives back to the community (i.e. donations, acts of charity, etc.).

By using this strategy, you’re giving a human face to your brand.

Use Geo Tags

Instagram has the geo-tagging feature, which gives users the ability to transfer location information on posts to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, etc. After the 3.0 update, users can now use its photo map on their profiles, which displays where a photo was taken.

All in all, geo-tagging lets you involve your communities on multiple platforms at once, which can help you promote an event or your participation at the event.

Create Hashtags

Hashtags are what make up Instagram, besides photos and videos. In fact, creating, using, promoting, and monitoring your own hashtag comes with some great benefits for your brand:

• Photos of you and your brand are easy to find with hashtags.
• You can easily determine who your devoted fans are when they use your hashtags.
• It is easier to interact with your community and for your brand to be shared when you encourage the use of your own hashtags.
• These hashtags can be used on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. When someone clicks the hashtag, they’ll be sent to the original Instagram post that it had come from. This allows you to gain more visibility, as users interact with your hashtags.

Post About Flash Sales And Events

“Everyone loves flash sales and special events,” says Abigail Hopkins, a business writer at UK Writings and Academized. “Flash sales and events are some of the best ways to bring in customers. And with Instagram, retailers can make that happen.”

Place Instagram Ads

Nowadays, you’ll see ads pop up on Instagram. Why not take advantage of this?

All you need is a Facebook account, so that you can create these ads. On Facebook, you can choose the pictures and copy what you want displayed. You can also choose who you want your ads to target.

This is a simple strategy, even for novice marketers.

Conclusion

So, why wait to expose your brand to Instagram? As you learn these 8 awesome tips on how to utilize Instagram for your retailer, you’ll soon learn the ropes to this modern way to market your business, while creating buzz from your followers and fan base.

Kristin Herman is a writer and editor at Writemyaustralia.com and Australianreviewer.com. She is also a freelance blogger who writes articles for numerous online magazine and blogs, such as Topcanadianwriters. As a tech enthusiast, she blogs about the latest trends on technology and marketing. And as a project manager, she has overseen many writing projects nationwide.