Use These Instagram Features to Increase Sales

Years ago, people logged into Instagram to sort through selfies, photos of meals, and other personal posts. Now, people use Instagram to find products to buy. If you have something to sell, you can use the site to increase revenue quickly. Check out some of the top Instagram features you can use to boost your sales. These features are easy to use, so you can get started today.
 

Instagram Shops

Instagram unveiled lots of new features in 2020, including Shops. This tool allows you to create an immersive storefront for people to browse. You can group your products by collection to make the browsing process more accessible and enjoyable for your followers. That, in turn, will help you move products quickly. 

You must have an eligible product for sale to use Shops. Also, your business needs to be in a supported market, and you have to own a website where you sell products. Finally, you need a business account to list products in Shops. Then you can upload your products via the Catalog Manager or by integrating with BigCommerce, Shopify, or another approved e-commerce platform. If you have a lot of products to sell, consider using a third-party e-commerce platform to make it easier for you to keep up with everything. 

Once you set it up, people can click “View Shop” on your profile to see your Shop. Users can also find your products by browsing the Instagram Shop tab. The more products you sell, the easier it will be for people to find your page on the Instagram Shop tab. Promote your Shop to your followers, so you can get more exposure on the social media network. 
 

Instagram Checkout

If you decide to add an Instagram Shop, you should also get Instagram Checkout. This tool will allow people to buy products from your Shop or a shoppable post without leaving the social media platform. 

The process for buying products via Instagram Checkout is simple. People will browse your Shop, click on something they want to buy, and add their shipping and payment information. Then they’ll buy the product without leaving Instagram. They can save their information, so they won’t have to re-enter it when making additional purchases. 

This tool has hit the mainstream, and now, users expect to be able to make purchases inside of Instagram. If you don’t use it, you could end up losing sales, so make sure to check it out.
 

Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are massively popular on the social media network and a great way to increase your sales. Because Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, they are the ideal tool for announcing limited-time offers. If you make a habit of promoting special offers in your Stories, your followers will always be on the lookout. This can give you quite the sales boost on Instagram. 
 

Story Highlights

You can also use Story Highlights to increase your sales. You can save highlights to your profile for as long as you want. Choose Story Highlights that feature your best products. When people visit your profile, the highlights will be the first thing they see. They can click through them and find products they want to buy. Then, if you have Instagram Checkout, they can pay for it on the site, and you’ll just need to ship it to them. 
 

Instagram Badges for Live Video

You don’t need to sell physical products to increase your revenue on Instagram. Instagram launched the Badges feature for live videos in 2020. Like most features, it wasn’t open to everyone at first. But now, you can enable Badges on your Creator or Business account by going into the settings. You’ll need to select either “Creator” or “Business” and then tap on “Badges.” Instagram requires a payout account for you to receive money. Add it, tap on the camera icon, and click “Live.” Tap on Badges to enable Badges for your live video.

Once enabled, viewers can buy badges when you’re streaming live. A single heart badge costs $0.99. Viewers can get two for $1.99 or purchase three for $4.99. Each purchase sends money to your payout account. 

You can keep an eye on the chat stream to see who has bought badges from you. Be sure to give them a shout-out to encourage others to follow suit. Also, remind your followers that buying badges helps you earn the money you need to continue uploading fabulous posts.
 

IGTV Ads

IGTV ads are yet another way to increase your revenue on Instagram. These are similar to the ads you can run on YouTube. If you enable this feature, people will see an ad when they click on your IGTV videos. The ad will run for up to 15 seconds, and you will receive a portion of the revenue. 

If you have a Creator account, you’ll receive a notification from Instagram once you can begin using this feature. Once enabled, you can start earning some extra cash every time you make a video.
 

Engagement Features

You can also increase your sales on Instagram by making use of the engagement features. Likes, comments, and shares are ways for people to engage with your posts. Engagement is a form of social proof. The more engagement you have, the more social proof, which increases the likelihood that people will buy your products. 

If you’re still growing your account, increasing your engagement levels can seem like a long and laborious process. Buying Instagram likes is one way you can accelerate the process and reach more people. You can buy real likes on Instagram to create social proof. Then use the social proof to make more sales. 
 

Create an Action Plan Today

Now that you know what tools to use, you’re ready to create an action plan. Begin by purchasing Instagram likes, so you can grow your social proof. Then add the other features to increase sales quickly on the site. Before long, you will turn your account into a money-making machine that drives your digital sales.