Instagram has become one of the social media platforms who drive money. Today, it has become the go-to place if you want to see a photo of some sort that cannot be found in any other place. Little did we know that you yourself can actually earn using your Instagram account. Even if you don’t have some things to sell, even if you’re not that popular, with the right tools and techniques, you can drive profit from your Instagram account.
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Last March, Instagram was able to release probably the biggest driver in the e-commerce brands; those are shoppable posts. With this change, it is clear that Instagram is slowly transitioning to becoming an e-commerce platform.
What are shoppable posts?
Shoppable posts, based on their definition, are posts where you have links where it can have direct access so people and consumers can purchase them. Instagram’s shoppable posts will allow users to tag up to five (5) organic and legitimate products in which shoppers can tap on to get more information and to make a purchase.
Having that said, the brands and companies that were able to transition smoothly will have an advantage especially if they have thousands and millions of fan and followers. Why? Because they can use their Instagram account to be a money-making machine.
With over 800 million Instagram users worldwide, wouldn’t it be an excellent platform to which you can start your business or to which you can earn a good quality of profit? Wouldn’t it be nice to for you to earn using your Instagram account? What things do you need in order for you to start gaining profit?
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You don’t have to be a movie star or anyone famous
This is a common misconception among people; Instagram is a social networking platform wherein everyone can join and interact with each other. Their new business model, which includes the shoppable media feature, you can now make use of the people who like, follow, and share what your content is. You don’t have to be famous to earn money. Although fame comes with it, you don’t need to be a Hollywood actor or actress to earn profit using your Instagram account.
What do you need to do in order for you to earn using your Instagram account?
Before diving right into that topic, we first need to understand the do’s and dont’s in gaining Instagram exposure and reliability.
- Ensure that you have the latest app so you become aware of new updates and features;
- Setup a professional and a business profile to build up the tension on what you are looking to do;
- Maximize all of your social media accounts; link them if possible;
- Make sure to utilize all of the tools you have to spread the word about what you want to achieve; and
- Lastly, make sure to know the different rules and compliances with Instagram through the Instagram’s commerce policies
Use interesting and captivating captions
Although Instagram is a breed of photos and videos, having a good caption can turn bad things around. It can have a good sense of humor, it could be definitive, it could be smart, it could be whatever as long as it fits what your content is. Some brands use it as an engagement to their consumers and use it as a leverage to generate more sales.
Study the language that your market speaks; once you have their hearts and their minds, you can think about how the setup will look secondly. This is one of the easiest and the best ways on how you can be better in earning money through Instagram.
Make your posts shoppable
Instagram did not make this feature just for nothing. It’s one way of them helping business owners and sellers to generate more sales. What’s in it for them is that more and more people will be using Instagram and that would be a beautiful song in their ears.
You might not be understanding fully what making your posts shoppable really means. Tagging your contents shoppable will allow viewers to tap and click on the image and the description. Doing this will redirect them straight to the add cart section on your website.
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Although making your posts shoppable should not be done in ALL of your posts, you need to strategize on which products you will make shoppable to enhance your sales and your customers’ shopping experience. So, control your urge to make your posts shoppable as it can also be oversaturating.
How do you make your posts shoppable?
Shop owners and business owners need to understand that this new feature is only available in selected countries only. To know the list, visit their help center. However, we’re sure that the Philippines will be on that list any time soon.
Before even thinking about adding products in your posts and stories, you have to make sure that:
- You have the latest Instagram version; and
- Your account has been OK-ed by Instagram to sell products
If both of these are good, then you have to enable this feature. You can enable it in a few easy steps:
- Tap on the “person” icon which will take you to your profile
- Hit on the gear icon to be directed to Settings
- Select “Shopping“
- Hit on “Continue“
- Choose a product catalog for you to connect your business
- Press “Done“
I don’t see Shopping in the business settings… What does this mean?
If this is the case, chances are your profile is still under review or it has not been approved for shopping. According to Instagram, the review process usually takes a few days before it gets finalized. However, there are times when they take a week or two because of further review and analysis.
Have great and blending content
Your posts should complement each other. The essence of having a feed is for it to look great and for it to blend with whatever your niche is. It’s not easy to clutch on fans and followers on Instagram, it’s not that difficult as well. What you can do if you’re not familiar with how you can have great content is to find help from other professional bloggers/photographers/videographers/directors. You can hire them and pay them for their services.
Make use of hashtags
Hashtags are one of the things that can direct people to your post even if you’re not directly linked. Hashtag researching can take care of your sales on a daily basis if you do it correctly. Although it does not look good, have a combination of hashtags on your account posts to get the audience you want to target. You can seek assistance from different applications to get trending hashtags like Top Tags.
Engage with your clients
Every comment, like, and inquiry; literally anything connecting to your content you receive should receive attention. This keeps your post active and alive and by doing this, it’s like proving that what you’re doing is legitimate and that you are trustworthy. Engage with your clients through different outlets as well like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, all channels wherein you can fish in clients.
Connecting your social media accounts can help in gathering people around your circle. By doing this, it’s like having many different physical stores near each other.
Instagram has been a big help to social media influencers, businesses, and other people who are looking for entertainment. Now, they’re slowly turning to be an e-commerce website wherein you can earn money. Hopefully, we’ve given you enough tips and techniques on how you can earn using your Instagram account.
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