Tips and Hacks To Sell Better and Grow Your Business On Instagram

Using Instagram
To Grow Your Business

Tips and Hacks to Sell Better and Grow your business on Instagram
www.instamojo.com
Using Instagram To Grow Your Business
CO NT ENTS
INTRODUCTION 02
Why Instagram 03
Setting Up An Instagram Account 05
Using Instagram Like A Boss! 06
Making Money On Instagram 16
01
INT R OD UCTIO N
Do you want to sell your products online? Want to get more people
to discover you?
Do you sell visual products or services like food, fashion, travel etc?
If that’s you, Instagram is the answer!
People took photos even before Instagram existed. But the social
media platform revolutionized how photos are shared on the
internet. With it’s snazzy filters, it’s story features and video +
boomerang options, Instagram has opened up a whole new world
for businesses.
We looked up multiple exciting Instagram facts on the internet, but

one stuck with us.
70% of Instagram Posts

Don’t Get Seen!
This is huge. If you’re reading this, you probably have an Instagram

account for your business or are planning on selling on Instagram.
We want to help you be the 30% - the most successful Instagram

businesses. In this eBook, let’s discover ways to use Instagram the
way it should be done - like a boss!
02
Wh y In s t a g ra m?
There are multiple reasons why we think Instagram is a great place
to start off for your business. But don’t take it from us, take it by the
numbers from these data points:
According to a report by Satista, India is among the top three

countries with the largest Instagram audience. We are talking
about 59 million monthly active users after US (120 million
monthly active users) and Brazil (61 million monthly active
users).
United States 120
Brazil 61
India 59
Indonesia 56
Turkey 34
Russia 31
Iran 24
Japan 23
United KIngdom 23
Mexico 21
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Source: Statista Monthly users in millions
03
Some More Numbers to Crunch on:
1 Billion 80%
Users on Instagram Over 80% of them follow an Instagram
Business Profile.
500 Million
About 500 million accounts are active users - they access
Instagram everyday.
200 Million
Over 200 million Instagrammers follow a business profile everyday.
60%
About 60% of Instagram users said they discovered a product or
service on Instagram!
We’ll let that sink in for a bit.
Also, if it matters - PIZZA is the most instagrammed food of all time.
From major brands to local brands, mom and pop shops, businesses
around the world are driving proven results with Instagram!
In this ebook, we are going to unlock some secret tips to increase

your sales from Instagram that is going to take your business to the
new heights !
04
Se t t i n g U p An
In s t a g ram A c c ou n t
Before we get into strategies that can help you increase your sales
through Instagram, let’s get you started with an Instagram account.
For those who are new to Instagram, here are the steps to set up an
Instagram account for your business:
STEP 1: Download the Instagram app (from the App Store for
iOS or from Google Play store for Android, or from the
Windows Phone Store for a Windows device). Once the app
is installed on your phone, tap to open it.
STEP 2: Tap Sign Up, enter your email address and tap Next (or
you can tap Log in with Facebook to sign up with your
Facebook account).
STEP 3: Within the app, find settings, then scroll down to Switch to
Business Account.
STEP 4: Once you have a business account, you can add in

important information like business hours, address, and a
phone number.
What’s more? If you already have a Facebook page, you

can connect it to your Instagram account.
05
U s i ng In s t a g ra m
Li ke A Bo s s !
Now that you’re all set with an Instagram account, let’s get you
started. Here are some questions we should be pondering about at
this moment:
How can we build an audience that falls in love with my

brand?
How can I make the most of this social media platform?
How much money should I be spending on ads, if I must?
Let’s dive straight in with some easy tips.
Tip #1: Optimize Your Profile

Note: You can’t do much with Instagram until you optimize and fill
out your profile properly.
06
Make sure this is your “topmost” priority on your To-do list!
1: Profile Photo - Choose a profile photo that helps your user

identify or relate with your brand easily. The best practice
would be to use a high-quality company logo!
2: Account Name – Make this your business name and make

sure it is identical to your brand’s other social media profiles
as it helps in brand recall.
3: Username – This should also be your business name. Note

that your username cannot have empty spaces. For example,
your username can be Forever21 or Forever_21.
4: Website – This is the only clickable URL on your Instagram

profile. Most of the businesses either use their website or
link to their promotional post/videos on other platforms (in
case you don’t have a website).
5: Bio – This is an important space because this entices your

Instagram profile viewers into exploring your product
selection, helping you increase traffic and boost sales. You
can either describe what your business does, hype up your
website or slap your brand’s slogan here (or all of the above,
actually).
Here are one example you may recognise:
07
#Hack
Wouldn’t you say It’s important to have a human touch to build
customer loyalty for your brand?
Profiles with additional contact and location

information have an added advantage over the others.
Consider adding these details to your profile while
setting it up.
This helps customers get in touch with you easily. Such profiles also
have access to in-depth analytics and this will help you understand
your user behavior (a key aspect to growing your business).
Tip #2: Adopting a ‘Tribe’ Mentality

What strategy does a tribe follow? They do not believe in the
strength of their numbers but how connected they are!
Instead of worrying about “How I can get a million followers for my

Instagram account?” switch to thinking about “how can I engage my
existing customers to gain their loyalty.”
Loyal customers act like pillars for your business. Every business
has ups and downs but If you want to win the battle, you will need
supporters i.e. loyal customers!
Consider tapping into niche communities where the audience is

already hanging out.
Are you thinking
“Where do I find such potential customers?”
08
Here is the solution

1. Uncover Niche Hashtags
Hashtags play an important role when it comes to growing your

business online as they act as a search function for Instagram to
find relevant followers and brands.
Here are some most popular hashtags:
Source: Buffer Blog
Also, it’s important to do a competitor study to understand what

kind of hashtags are used. So that you can effectively use them to
increase your follower base.
09
#Hack
Check businesses who have a verified Instagram account i.e.
Instagram account with a blue tick!
It is important for you to find the right targeting audience i.e.

Specific audience. For example, here is a post from a women’s
fashion blogger. Take a look at the hashtags she has used.
2. Engage with Your Customers
It is important for you to incentivize your followers to tag you in

their photos. This can help you increase the reach of your brand on
Instagram.
Start engaging with them by tagging them in a post, replying to their

comments, serially liking their post and following relevant users.
10
3. Time Your Posts
To engage the customer in an effective way, you should have a keen

understanding of how often to post on Instagram and according to
Sprout Social Q1 2017 survey:
The best time to post

on Instagram
WEDNESDAY AT 3 P.M
THURSDAY AT 5 A.M., 11 A.M., AND 3 TO 4 P.M.
FRIDAY AT 5 A.M.
The safest times to post to Instagram are
TUESDAY through FRIDAY FROM 9 A.M. TO 6 P.M.
The best day to post to

Instagram
THURSDAY
SUNDAY is the least engaging day for Instagram.
Tip #3: Content Strategy

Plan a content strategy that can make every post speak to the
right audience to achieve the goal you set.
Your goal can be anything: Social selling

Brand awareness
Product selling
11
Or anything else, but it is important to have some kind of a goal for

your business.
While developing a content strategy keep the following things

in mind :
Maintain a regular posting schedule, but don’t bombard your

followers with too many posts. Test different intervals and time
and then track the results.
Try different content themes as this might help you make things
interesting for your followers. For example, a post-secondary
institution aiming to increase awareness and attract new
students might use contests, alumni stories, and campus life as
its main content themes.
Create a style guideline - for example - do you use emoji in your

captions? Are there grammatical guidelines your brand follows?
What hashtags do you use? What types of photos do you post?
Are there visual cues that every post should adhere to?. Define
your style guidelines and stick to it.
Tip #4:
Be Creative With Your Narratives
The common thread with the big brands on Instagram is they
have some sort of narrative. You just need to let your picture
and caption do the talking.
12
Here are some great examples:
13
Tip #5: Engage With Influencers

One of the quickest ways, by far, to rise on Instagram is to engage
with influencers!
Who are influencers and How to Engage With Them?
An Influencer is a user on social media who has established

credibility in a specific industry and has access to a large audience
and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.
If you hang around Instagram eough, you’ll see some people

endorsing brands, running ads and rallying for products on their
feed.
To engage with influencers, all you need to do is start commenting

on their posts and tagging them in your posts.
Whenever you tag someone, they’ll receive a notification and

will become familiar with you. This will make them more likely to
connect with you. You could also connect with them on other social
media platforms like twitter, facebook etc.
Make sure you build an influencer community in your niche.
Tip #6: Instagram Ads

Did you know Instagram has over 2 million active monthly
advertisers that bought in about $4 billion in revenue in 2017!
All that money is not wasted. If you’re ready to invest money, put
them in Instagram ads to keep yourself ahead of the game.
13
There are numerous Instagram ads such as Image Ads, Video

Ads, Story Ads etc. that you can try. They will appear in your ideal
followers feeds (As per the targeting audience chosen).
Instagram ads help you to target very specific audiences to see your
posts, and control how much you spend, how long the ad runs, etc.
For starters, you can simply “boost” posts you’ve already shared
on Instagram to get more reach. Instagram helps you with this by
automatically creating a target audience similar to your current
followers.
Beyond boosting posts, you can also create ads optimized to

highlight your products, such as carousel ads.
Here are some case studies from around the world:
Source: Instagram Blog
14
Source: Instagram Blog
Instagram is constantly changing, adding new features and unique

ways for businesses to reach their target audience with their
products. Start out with these tips, and you’ll optimize your content
better than the majority of sellers out there.
Beyond that, just be on the lookout for future updates that you can
take advantage of to stay ahead of the game.
15
M a k i n g M o n ey
O n In st a g ra m
You can’t share a link with your Instagram pictures. A lot of product
sales inquiries will come as comments and direct messages on
Instagram. Map them regularly. Here is how you can accept
payments on Instagram:
1. Sign up with Instamojo and create your account: Follow the

verification steps. It should take a few minutes to approve your
account after you have uploaded your KYC.
2. Get your own Payment handle: While you are signing up with
Instamojo, @username is your payment handle (Pretty much like
your Instagram handle). This automatically creates your link as
www.instamojo.com/username.
3.All your payment links will appear on your Instamojo dashboard:

Share the link with your customers in the direct message on
Instagram to let them buy your product. As soon as your customer
buys the product, you are notified via email.
4. Use Request a Payment: If you don’t want to create separate links

for each product, just send your payment handle (www.instamojo.
com/@username) to your customers via messages. They will land on
your Instapay page as where they can make a payment.
Several sellers on Instagram already are using Instamojo to grow

their business.
16
Nikhil Harihar, founder of @BestExhaustWraps and @Bikersoul

on Instagram got 3,000 Instagram followers in 5 months; 10,000
followers in 10 months and, 50k in less than 18 months!
“Instagram is a very powerful tool, adding instamojo to it gives it

wings.” - Nikhil.
17
Supriya Donthi, founder of terrarium jewellery brand, Leafy Affair

has been using the Instamojo store and payment links to build her
business and live her dream.
“Using Instamojo has made my whole sales cycle very smooth. You
get to reach out to customers from all over the country. Smooth
transactions, no fuss or delay in crediting payments. During offline
events I share the instamojo links to the customers and they can pay
easily as I don’t carry a swiping machine. I can also use this platform
to create payment links who make customization requests.” - Supriya.
18
Po weri n g 500, 000+

B us i n ess es in In di a
Get more than just a payment gateway. No setup fee,
No maintenance fee. Use it the way you want !
Start Collecting Payments With Instamojo Now
Useful Links
More Tips For Businesses
Get Help From Support Ninjas
www.instamojo.com
www.instamojo.com/blog 19

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Using Instagram

To Grow Your Business

Setting Up An Instagram Account 05

Using Instagram Like A Boss! 06

Making Money On Instagram 16

If that’s you, Instagram is the answer!

We looked up multiple exciting Instagram facts on the internet, but

70% of Instagram Posts

This is huge. If you’re reading this, you probably have an Instagram

We want to help you be the 30% - the most successful Instagram

According to a report by Satista, India is among the top three

United States 120

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Source: Statista Monthly users in millions

Some More Numbers to Crunch on:

We’ll let that sink in for a bit.

Also, if it matters - PIZZA is the most instagrammed food of all time.

In this ebook, we are going to unlock some secret tips to increase

STEP 4: Once you have a business account, you can add in

What’s more? If you already have a Facebook page, you

How can we build an audience that falls in love with my

How can I make the most of this social media platform?

How much money should I be spending on ads, if I must?

Let’s dive straight in with some easy tips.

Tip #1: Optimize Your Profile

Make sure this is your “topmost” priority on your To-do list!

1: Profile Photo - Choose a profile photo that helps your user

2: Account Name – Make this your business name and make

3: Username – This should also be your business name. Note

4: Website – This is the only clickable URL on your Instagram

5: Bio – This is an important space because this entices your

Here are one example you may recognise:

Profiles with additional contact and location

Tip #2: Adopting a ‘Tribe’ Mentality

Instead of worrying about “How I can get a million followers for my

Consider tapping into niche communities where the audience is

Are you thinking

“Where do I find such potential customers?”

Here is the solution

Hashtags play an important role when it comes to growing your

Here are some most popular hashtags:

Source: Buffer Blog

Also, it’s important to do a competitor study to understand what

It is important for you to find the right targeting audience i.e.

2. Engage with Your Customers

It is important for you to incentivize your followers to tag you in

Start engaging with them by tagging them in a post, replying to their

3. Time Your Posts

To engage the customer in an effective way, you should have a keen

The best time to post

The best day to post to

Tip #3: Content Strategy

Your goal can be anything: Social selling

Or anything else, but it is important to have some kind of a goal for

While developing a content strategy keep the following things

Maintain a regular posting schedule, but don’t bombard your

Create a style guideline - for example - do you use emoji in your

Here are some great examples:

Tip #5: Engage With Influencers

Who are influencers and How to Engage With Them?

An Influencer is a user on social media who has established

If you hang around Instagram eough, you’ll see some people

To engage with influencers, all you need to do is start commenting