In this article we will see how we can increase sales through Instagram Marketing without advertising. Just using the organic results of the most trusted social network nowdays.

Why a business should focus on Instagram Marketing.

In the last two years, Instagram has become a very important marketing and sales tool, something that is recognized by marketers in all industries. All the new tools produced by the parent company, Facebook, are tested on Instagram. Especially in the last year a lot of new tools have been created.

Initially Instagram Marketing became popular due to influencers. Those who had many thousands of followers got free trips and clothes and other items from businesses to promote them. Although this confused some audiences and businesses, it demonstrated the effectiveness of the platform. Over time it became clear that what matters is building relationships.

And so, in the last two years, Instagram has become the leading platform for building relationships between businesses and customers. It became a top place for the development of followers who are interested in the subject and who can then become an important customer base.

The most important thing on Instagram Marketing is the content

As we have written many times the content is the king! This means that your content must have the following characteristics:

• It "brings out" emotions
• People can relate to it
• It is original
• It is notifiable
• It is imposing (in the sense of compelling)

At the same time, videos on either IGTV or stories are a very, very important piece of content.

What Instagram features match the organic sales funnel?

As we are all consumers and we all buy things, some brand must have inspired us in some way.

First, we need to know that the brand exists. This is awareness. The next thing is to be intrigued by what the brand offers. Then, let's start by wanting what the brand offers and what leads us to become customers. These are roughly the stages of a buying journey. And Instagram has many features that help customers navigate this path.

If we move to the business side to get to know our product to someone we need visibility, ie our product to be visible. And for that we need development, ie followers. Then we have to create interest which we will achieve only if we manage to create engagement in our posts with comments, notifications and messages.

To create desire we need leads. We need to find out which of those who are following us thinks "hmmm, great idea! Let me give my email or let me answer the question".

Finally, we need SALES.

This is where the link between brand needs and Instagram Marketing features comes into play. For example, stickers, live broadcasts, IGTV, comments, messages are things we use depending on the stage of sales we are in to promote our brand. Only by understanding the customer's path can we understand what we use when and why.

This route has the shape of a funnel. It starts wide and ends narrow. In the wide part are all the followers but only some of them will end up in the narrow part. Our content must move accordingly. The more content we offer, the more you should focus on raising awareness. A smaller portion of the content should be aimed at: getting people to know what the offer is and committing to it. Then, an even smaller portion of the content should create a desire for the product / service or offer and explain exactly what the product / service or offer does. The smallest piece of content will be related to the sale. All these phases are not evenly distributed. The main one is that of awareness as we wrote above.

4 phases to Instagram Marketing success

The four phases are: visibility, engagement, leads, sales. We do not do everything at once. Not everything for the whole year. We divide it into phases.

Content for visibility

Here we create content that is communicable, so that followers if they share it go up in the eyes of others, to look up to date. This way we get good recommendations. We win word of mouth.

Hashtags are very helpful here (up to 10, do not overdo it). If it is a post the hashtags must be very specific. If it is a story the hashtgs should be more general. More specifically in terms of stories, three stickers are what make the difference: location, hashtags and mentions.

Finally, and in terms of visibility always, a very useful tool is IGTV.

Engagement

Now is the time to see the loyalty that your followers nurture. And how will this happen; Very simply asking for it! It's the moment you get feedback from your audience.

Content for engagement should definitely include a call to action (to measure loyalty). Ideal to save or share. What else do we need? Post with useful content, post with content for future use. And what else do we need? Stickers with question marks, polls etc.

Creating leads

Leaving the phase of interest, we move on to the phase of being a potential customer. The creation of candidates, that is, leads. Here we are talking about action on the part of the audience. In a way it is a phase that could never stop. Always be active and work alongside the rest.

The content we need at this stage should be such that it is answered with a direct message or a more specific comment. A link in the bio is not enough. May be accompanied by a give away

Polls are a good way to generate leads. The questions will be structured so that there is no "no" as an answer. Instead there will be an option "send me the link". So we immediately understand which user is proceeding with the process and which is not.

Messages are extremely useful in creating leads as they stay in place forever and remind the product / service.

Sales

We are in the final stretch for the offer that will bring sales. The offer runs again and again. The audience must learn what and how in a clear way because the offers do not last forever.

The content we need can be in the messages, in the bio, in the stories.

But basically the sales "are hidden" in the messages. That is where the bonds are created. Anyone interested in a purchase will ask and ask again to find out what they need and thus cultivate a relationship. Of course this requires work, dedication, immediacy, speed.

We can even prejudge users who see our stories by sending a message saying we saw that they saw the story and asking if they have any questions or need any information.

Instagram Marketing with Paid Ads

If all this does not work then there is the solution of advertising. Advertising can bring faster results but with a constant cost. So, before you try paid ads on Instagram, try all the tips of Instagram Marketing we mentioned above.