How to Grow Your Shopify Store’s Visibility and Sales via Instagram

2021 was a great year for online store owners on Shopify. Merchants successfully sold products work $175.4 billion via their digital stores on Shopify's world-renowned platform. According to Shopify, this figure went up by 47% from 2020. Shopify's market share also stood at 7.63% in 2021, making it the fifth-top eCommerce platform in the world.

Now, imagine if Shopify online store owners were able to seamlessly leverage the power of a social media platform like Instagram to grow visibility for their businesses and drive sales.

In 2021, Instagram had 1.21 billion monthly active users. By 2025, Instagram is expected to have 1.44 billion monthly active users. This means 1.44 billion potential customers will be looking to purchase products for their needs and to enhance the quality of their daily lives.

Brands that build their Instagram marketing strategy early on will also have a competitive advantage in building up their Shopify store's presence on Instagram.

To this end, here's a guide on how to grow your Shopify store's visibility and sales via Instagram.

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Why Shopify Stores Must Leverage Instagram

There are several reasons why an Instagram marketing strategy must be part of any Shopify online store's overall strategy.

Here are the top reasons recommended by Shopify experts:

• As the numbers indicate, Instagram traffic is growing rapidly. It is one of the most engaged consumer audiences on any social media platform.
• The discovery of new products via social media is an important part of the consumer journey. Known as social commerce, Instagram is one of the frontrunners spearheading this trend. Users love to discover new products and services via their feeds. This culture of discovery amongst consumers makes Instagram an ideal platform for Shopify merchants to market their products.
• By design, Instagram campaigns are seamlessly weaved into the user experience without appearing intrusive. This is not the case with several other social platforms, where ads have a spammy impact on the overall consumer journey.
• Instagram advertising is a cost-effective option for Shopify store owners, thus making it affordable without eating into profitability.
• Instagram's algorithm enables more of what appeals to consumers to show up on their feeds. This especially works in favour of businesses. For instance, if a consumer looks at vegan recipes, brands marketing vegan products are most likely to appear in their consumer feed. The algorithm works in favour of enabling content to show up based on user interests and aspirations.
• The platform enables shop owners to market products using the power of storytelling through tools like reels, posts, stories, and lives. Hence, content is queen on Instagram, and brands can capitalize on this with a robust Instagram content strategy.

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Guide to Set up Instagram Shopping

Instagram Shopping is a cool feature that's enabling more shop owners to drive traffic to their eCommerce platforms.

Here's a quick run-down of steps to start promotions for your Shopify store on Instagram and market products in a way that increases return on investment:

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Set up Your Shopify Instagram Feed

Featuring your shop's Instagram feed on your Shopify website adds an attractive, dynamic element that's continuously changing.

Your Shopify Instagram feed also tends to plug your products in interesting ways. This is a great way to grab the attention of shoppers instantly.

This can be done directly via the Shopify website or through an app like Glood.AI, which has additional features to make the process more seamless.

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Switch to an Instagram Business Profile

Every business must set up an Instagram Business profile, which offers additional analytics and features that can boost your business. If your shop already has a personal account, all you need to do is fill out the signup form.

Then, visit the Settings menu and tap on the "Switch to Business Profile." This is a critical step as it unlocks the Instagram Shopping feature.

There are certain merchant requirements that must be met to leverage Instagram Shopping:

• Your store must have an Instagram Business account.
• Your Instagram Business account must feature product listings that are available for direct purchase on your website.
• The Instagram Shopping feature has to be accessible within your geography.
• Your Shopify store must market products and not services.

The next step is to apply for an Instagram Shopping review:

• Visit the Settings menu, and go to the Business tab.
• Click on "Sign Up for Instagram Shopping."
• Follow all the instructions and click Submit.

The review process may take two to three days. Be patient. Once approved, the shopping option will appear on your settings menu.

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Kickstart Your Shopify Instagram Shop

On approval and activation of your shopping profile, you need to now turn on the shopping feature. This is the most important step, as it enables tagging of Shopify product pages on Instagram posts. This allows customers to visit your Shopify website and start placing orders! Here's how to do it:

• On Instagram, click on Profile Settings, then Shopping in the drop-down menu. Next, click on Continue.
• If you have a Facebook Channel, you can also link it to your Instagram business profile, though it's not necessary to have one to start selling. You can start selling even if you only have an Instagram account.

Add and Tag Products on Instagram Posts

To successfully leverage Instagram shopping, creating posts with high-quality, attractive, eye-catching images of your products is essential. Add meaningful text that also shows the utility and features of your products.

Once done, it's important to tag them with the respective and correct Shopify links. This allows customers to visit the page and place their orders.

You can tag a maximum of five products on one post. The link must go to the corresponding product, or it can be a turn-off for consumers if they go to incorrect or dead links.

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Leverage Instagram Stories

Even though Instagram stories are available only for 24 hours, they are a high-traffic feature on Instagram, which generates a lot of engagement and clicks.

Shopify stores are encouraged to leverage Instagram stories to draw attention to product posts, create engagement and drive consumers to make a purchase.

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Top 5 Instagram Marketing Strategies

Here are five smart strategies to connect the dots between your Shopify presence, Instagram feed, and the products you aim to sell.

The most important thing is not to forget to link Shopify URLs to Instagram posts. It drives traffic to your Shopify eCommerce website and to specific product pages that you are looking to promote.

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Leverage Influencer Marketing

The right set of social influencers who align with your store's values and vibe can help amplify your brand's message and, in turn, products.

For instance, roping in a sustainable fashion influencer to market upcycled mufflers and dresses is a great fit. Don't forget to tag products with their corresponding shop links, as this can drive a high amount of traffic to your Shopify online store.

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Tap User-Generated Content

The best brand ambassadors for your Shopify online stores are the consumers themselves. Consumers love leveraging Instagram to promote their favourite brands for free.

Turn this valuable user-generated content into reels, posts, and Instagram stories, and tag products with their corresponding Shopify links.

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Host Contests

Conceptualizing contests is a great add-on to any Instagram content strategy as a way to encourage your users to engage with your brand, invite their friends and share user-generated content.

The product giveaways can be tagged to your Shopify links to build curiosity around your brand and drive traffic to your shop platform.

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Build Conversations

Instagram lives are a great way to build a sense of community around your Shopify online store's offerings and also plug relevant products into the conversation.

For instance, if your run an online pet products store, you can host a series of expert conversations about better pet care. Products like pet food, beds, and toys can be plugged into the series and tagged back to your Shopify store.

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Link Back Sponsored Ads

Sponsored ads appear in the most unintrusive ways on Instagram via reals and static posts. Ads are also tailored to your budgets, thus giving you the opportunity customized Instagram campaigns to your specific needs and budgets.

It's a good idea to choose a mix of bestsellers and new products when creating ads and tag products to their corresponding links.

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The Takeaway

Growing your Shopify store with Instagram is one of the fastest ways to build buzz and visibility for your brand, drive traffic to your website, and generate sales. However, optimizing your Instagram marketing strategy can still prove to be a challenge.

For instance, what is the right budget for an Instagram campaign? As a business owner, you have a lot on your plate and will need to focus on your core business.

By partnering with an AI-driven partner platform, Shopify online stores can optimize their Instagram marketing strategy by leveraging valuable data-driven insights and automation to make superior decisions.

Start a conversation on how we can help your brand create a delightful retail experience for your consumers, attract more traffic, and boost sales and profitability.