Introduction

Today, social networks are universal platforms for business, where you can not only keep in touch with customers, but also open online stores. According to Statista: “a study conducted among global marketers in January 2020, evaluated their use of social media and planned spending changes. During the survey, 67 percent of respondents stated they would increase their usage of Instagram in the near future.”


An online store on Instagram is an excellent solution for those who want to sell goods or services without high costs. A page on Instagram can be both an additional sales platform, as well as the main platform operating in the format of an online store. We will consider an option for aspiring entrepreneurs: how to open an online store on Instagram, attract customers and establish online sales.


Advantages of a store on Instagram

Instagram works great for online sales. The monthly audience of the social network is more than 1 billion users, about 500 thousand people use the application every day. Here lies a huge potential for attracting customers. 

Why you should open an online store on Instagram: 

  • Small capital is required to start. Save on hosting, domain, website development. Everything is already working on the platform of "Instagram" itself;
  • Customer proximity: you can constantly interact with potential customers, stimulate repeat orders, find out their preferences in order to form interesting proposals;
  • Simple presentation as an account on a social network is a ready-made online catalog that can accommodate any number of goods;
  • The potential growth of audience and profit is unlimited;
  • Free and paid tools can be used for promotion, which expands the marketing capabilities of even small projects.
  • Instagram is, first of all, a mobile application that allows you to view the news feed from any modern gadget. Users will always be aware of the latest ads. For an online store, this shortens the path to the customer and allows you to sell products faster (provided that you have already formed a subscriber base). 

Features of sales through "Instagram"

"Instagram" was created as a visual social network for communication. But over time, it turned into a full-fledged trading platform. The vector for the monetization of the platform became even more obvious after Instagram became part of Facebook. 


Given the history of the development of this social network, the following sales features can be distinguished:


  • great importance is attached to the visual component : firstly, visually attractive products are sold better on Instagram. If you are going to sell auto parts, think carefully about whether you need to do it on the basis of Instagram. Secondly, it is very important for sales to have high-quality, attractive product photos. An Instagram store is essentially a showcase that grabs the attention of customers and demonstrates the benefits of products. 
  • for sales you need a base of content and subscribers . It is not just quantity that matters, but activity and efficiency. Therefore, it makes no sense to wind up a "dead" audience through mass following services, etc. These subscribers will not buy anything from you. You need an interested audience. How to interest her? Generating high-quality content means not only talking about the benefits of your product, compulsively offering to buy it, but communicating with potential buyers, finding out their preferences, entertaining and sharing useful information. 
  • To count on sales on Instagram, you first need to fill your commercial account with content, launch ads, and gain subscribers. Someone will make a purchase right away, someone will stay and make a decision later. Do not expect orders to spill over as soon as you sign up for an account.
  • goods and services are sold not only directly. Instagram has developed lifestyle content and blogging directions that can reveal the benefits of products through a visual demonstration of their use in life. In many cases, such native advertising turns out to be much more effective than direct ads. 
  • The main specificity of the store on Instagram is that the visual plays a decisive role in the advertising of the product, and not the selling text, as is the case in standard online stores. This sales format assumes a special approach to promotion: an emphasis on the visual and aesthetic qualities of the product, and only then on the technical side and description. We have given in this article about which products are selling well on Instagram and examples of online stores on this social network.


Who buys on Instagram

Before starting an online store, you need to determine what audience you will have to work with. The majority of users on Instagram are young people aged 18-35. The overwhelming majority of buyers are girls. Focusing on these statistics, you can choose the niches that will be in demand on Instagram. 

What to sell on Instagram

The first point of opening an online store is to decide what you will sell. It is necessary to assess the potential of your product or service on Instagram. 


Handmade goods are selling well - clothes, accessories, and lifestyle goods. The reason is simple: these products look aesthetically pleasing in the feed and are suitable for the Instagram audience. 


These niches are the most in demand. But this does not mean that if a product or service is not included in the list, it will not be sold. As practice shows, the secret of success lies in the correct approach to the very trade through social networks. The main thing is to find the right approach to the audience and the positioning of the product itself. 


The following tips will help you decide on a niche:

  • choose a narrow niche and a certain target audience - do not try to sell everything to everyone;
  • the main price range on Instagram: 2-10 thousand rubles. Do not focus on very cheap positions (there is a risk of not recouping your costs) or too expensive (so as not to fall out of the target audience of "Instagram");
  • if you have a small margin and a lot of competition, this is a bad niche;
  • be wary of those products that are difficult to beautifully photograph or video. On Instagram, visuals are important! 
  • Determine the benefits of your online store. It can be an exclusive product, fast delivery, special packaging, add. service. But don't bet on an affordable price. There will always be someone who will dump.


What to choose: a regular page or a business account

To open and promote an online store, it is better to create a business account linked to the Facebook page. 

What are the advantages of a business account

  • The button "contact" with the store appears. This can be done in any convenient way: write, call, build a route, etc .;
  • You will be able to see analytics right in your account. Statistics allow you to track important data: the growth of subscribers, likes and reposts, audience coverage, clicks to the link in the profile, the time of maximum subscriber activity, etc.
  • You can use Facebook advertising tools: AdsManager and PowerEditor. With their help, you can create and set up advertising campaigns, attract an audience by the desired attribute.

How to attract an audience


How to get users to go to your account, become subscribers, and ultimately customers? There are several marketing tools and techniques that work well on this particular social network. 


So, your helpers in engaging your audience: 

  • form style;
  • hashtags;
  • geolocation;
  • native advertising from bloggers;   
  • targeted advertising;
  • contests, marathons, sweepstakes;
  • direct mailing;
  • catching trends.

Filling the online store 

Let's repeat an important point: Instagram users most often use the social network to view a visual feed - in posts or stories. Your task: to create high-quality, interesting content for your target audience. Posts should be 100% consistent with the philosophy of your business and its core values. An online store on Instagram is not just a catalog of goods. This is an opportunity to tell your brand story. Who you are? Why do you? What views do you support? What do you see as the mission of your activity? What is your benefit? The answers to these questions can be traced:


  • in the profile description, in the keywords that you specify in the account name;
  • in colors (for example, green is often used to emphasize the environmental friendliness of products);
  • in the style of the visual itself (a good example is clothing stores: for young people, content will emphasize brightness, dynamism, creativity, and for an adult audience the landmarks will be different);
  • in the texts (the topics that you are discussing play an important role; and the style in which you present information);
  • in an additional service or "chips" of the store (for example, the use of environmentally friendly packaging);
  • in promotions and contests that are held in your account.

So, the main function of content is to convey to your subscribers who you are. In social networks, acquaintance and communication is important. This way you get closer to the customer and increase their loyalty. Accordingly, the better you build communication, the easier it will be for you to sell. Also, the content should evoke emotions, grab attention. Most purchases (especially on social media) are driven by emotions. Under their influence, a person can make a variety of and sometimes spontaneous decisions. 


Now let's talk about filling the Instagram store. 



Photos. An image is the first thing that a client will see in their feed, in recommendations or when they visit your profile. For 75% of users, it is the high-quality visualization of the product that is the motivation to buy.


Several ideas for photo and video content: 


  • Original art photography of the product;
  • Use of the product in real conditions;
  • Customers in the process of using the product;
  • Inside view of the store, workflow;
  • Unusual product use;
  • Entertaining content using your product;
  • Instructions or tips for using the product.


Use different content formats: photos and videos in the feed, stories, IGTV, live broadcasts. Instagram provides more opportunities to showcase your product than a standard online store. It is very important for a corporate blog to show the company's activities in a lively, informal, customer-friendly manner. You can talk about discounts in Stories, hold master classes on IGTV, and answer questions from subscribers in live broadcasts.



Texts. There should be variety here too. If you write a selling text under each post, then subscribers will get bored of your endless "write to direct to order". To sell on Instagram, don't just sell. Become useful to your subscribers - share interesting information, love hacks, tips. Entertain them - create creative videos, arrange a prank, use gamification.


Stories and highlights. Use stories to get closer to the client: show the process of work and video of your products. Submit reviews, report updates. In eternal stories, you can fix a catalog with current prices, answers to popular questions from subscribers. What highlights should be placed if you are an online store: what is available, discounts, reviews, delivery. 

How to communicate with subscribers and receive orders


Automated sales are not yet provided on Instagram. Although functions have already begun to appear that simplify online commerce on social networks. One of these innovations is product cards. Shopping tags work much like tagging friends in a photo. That is, you can mark on the photo a label with a price, a link to the site and product characteristics. A separate view of the assortment is carried out on a special account tab.

A few golden rules for communicating with online store customers: 

  • reply to all comments on posts and private messages;
  • not refuse clients in consultation;
  • use personal correspondence to process orders: discuss the details and conditions of the order personally with the buyer;
  • handle all reviews - even negative ones. Try not to delete negative comments, but to find a solution to the conflict;
  • answer quickly, while the client is most interested in buying;
  • immediately provide maximum information about the product and order conditions. This will save time for both you and the buyer;
  • immediately indicate the price of the product. There is no need to make a quest out of this called "price on request to direct". If you are aiming for a high volume of sales, this scheme will only add work to your manager. The same applies to other important information for ordering: delivery terms, payment methods - write down these data initially, and it will take you less time to communicate with customers;
  • keep in touch with the customer even after placing the order. This is an actual problem for online stores on Instagram, when, after paying for the order, the seller stopped responding to messages, did not provide delivery data, etc. So pay attention to this aspect of the job.

How to effectively organize your work in your account


Any online business requires a clear system of work. An attractive showcase of goods, fast order processing, the shortest possible customer journey from acquaintance to purchase, a convenient payment system, social proof of the quality of your products, the opportunity to get advice, etc. 


Therefore, for the effective operation of an online store on Instagram, you need to provide the following:


1. Simplify the ordering scheme 

In online trading, it is important for users to make purchases quickly and without much effort. The simpler the buying process, the better. This means that unnecessary conditions and actions at the stage of ordering will irritate the buyer, and in some cases force him to abandon the purchase and go to your competitor, who will offer an easier way. 


2. Think over a payment system

For online sales, it is very important to establish a payment system to make it convenient for the customer. The simpler and more variable it is, the better for the client. Here it is worth taking care of the payment scheme - advance system, 100% prepayment or postpaid; as well as different methods of accepting payments - bank card, paypal, "online wallet", etc.


3. Provide the required information 

Having information increases customer confidence and makes communication easier. Be sure to include information about the product, its characteristics, terms of payment and delivery, your corporate address, phone number, email and other information that your customers may request. Use a multi-link that allows buyers to contact you directly through different messengers, go to your website and other important resources.


4. Solve the issue of packaging and delivery of goods

At the initial stage, determine whether you have the possibility of delivery or the client himself must come for the goods. What services will deliver your goods - you can send parcels through couriers, or you can conclude contracts with various courier organizations. Pre-study the terms of cooperation and choose the options that are favorable for you. Delivery is an important part of the order structure. Firstly, it is a service, the quality of which affects the customer's experience of your store. It is important to pay attention to the speed of delivery, the ability to track the parcel, etc. If the service is of poor quality, you will still be responsible to the client. Secondly, this is the monetary component: courier services cost money - and you need to calculate the costs for this. 


Free shipping is an advantageous offer for the client. If you decide to arrange delivery in your online store, calculate how much the order should be from so that you can afford to take the cost of it. This amount may be different in different niches. On average, free shipping starts for orders over $10. But you can adjust these conditions based on your business.


Another important point is packaging. For some reason, many people forget about it or save on purpose. As a result, it is not uncommon for a product from a perfect photo to come in a very unpresentable form, and this spoils the overall impression of the purchase. Packaging should be beautiful, inexpensive and reliable to protect the product from possible damage.


5. Ensure a constant flow of applications

The more incoming calls, the more sales. And in order to ensure a sufficient number of hits, you need maximum user coverage. To do this, it is important to collect the target audience in your account, regularly attract new subscribers and think about how to stimulate repeat sales to your customers.

Repeat sales strategies:

  • creation of a club of interests, a community of loyal customers;
  • profitable promotions;
  • cumulative system of discounts;
  • special offers for their clients;
  • targeted lists of past buyers;
  • additional sale - you are offering a customer something that complements or matches their previous purchase. A great example: Pandora bracelets, when, after one purchase, a customer returns to the store and buys jewelry for his bracelet. 


Business registration

An urgent question for online stores in social networks - is it necessary to register a business? Yes, it is. Depending on your country’s tax law and business registration requirements, you just need to register an individual entrepreneur and choose a simplified tax system to pay taxes. The procedure is standard, no difficulties should arise. Registration is correct from the point of view of the law. This is more reliable from the perspective of buyers when they see that they are sending their money to a registered seller. It is convenient for you to receive payment via bank cards. 


One "minus" is the need to pay taxes. Because of this, many entrepreneurs conduct a shadow business until a certain turnover is reached, and only after that they get registered for tax purposes. In principle, this method still works, but it must be understood that if the fact of illegal entrepreneurship is revealed, this can lead to serious consequences. 

When to expect profit


The payback of an account directly depends on a well-thought-out strategy, the speed of promotion of the store and the resources invested. Everything is individual for each project. Without investments, even with a successful scenario, you will have to wait for profit for about six months. 

When the first sales start. If you foresee a budget for promotion at the initial stage, then you can count on profit already during the first months. Usually active sales start from the second month, but this is not always the case. Much depends on the chosen niche. It is more difficult to break through the most popular and competitive ones, and it will take longer. Specific niches are easier to occupy, but clients will be fewer and more difficult to find. Building an audience from scratch takes cost and effort. It is important to analyze a niche, select a target audience, set up and conduct a marketing campaign - all this takes time. 


Marginality. Online trading on social media can be classified as a high-margin business. You save on rent, site maintenance, employee salaries, etc. The rest of the processes - advertising, customer acquisition - are in many ways similar to traditional sales channels.