Instagram is one of the largest social platforms in the world, with over a billion users globally.
And the target audience isn’t just browsing the app – they are too the shopping.
This means that you have a huge opportunity to get your products or services in front of the people who need and want them – all through the creative opportunities offered by a visual platform like Instagram.
I’ve earned over $32,500 in the past five years on Instagram.
It wasn’t my main selling platform. However, it has been a great side income generator and a place to have fun and experiment a bit.
However, since it is so popular, Instagram can also be crowded.
Here are some tips to help you get noticed and be more successful selling on Instagram.
1. Make sure your account is a “Business” account
Before you can expect to make a dollar on Instagram, you need to have some grounding.
First: Make sure your account is a Business account.
This may seem obvious, but it is important.
Business accounts It has specific features that make marketing easier, such as:
- Insights about your audience.
- More options to add valuable information to your profile to help people find/connect with you outside of the app.
- The ability to promote posts to reach more people.
2. Double check your brand
Next, double-check that your branding is consistent across channels, including Instagram.
This makes your presence known and memorable.
Your profile picture, the style of your posts, and even your bio should align with your existing brand presence.
For inspiration, check out accounts like @employee And the teachable.
3. Maintain consistency and deliver value
How do you sell on Instagram once you’re there?
Just as with your other content, focus on consistency and delivering value — not just selling.
The sales account is a huge turn-on for many people.
If all you post are product features with links to buy, you won’t have an engaged audience for long.
And as you know, an engaged audience is crucial to making better conversions.
People who know, love and trust you are more likely to buy.
Consistent, high-quality Instagram content is vital to the selling equation.
Posting regularly — not just in Reels or Stories — helps build that trust over time with a foundation of high-value, consistent posts and circular engagements.
4. Create quality posts to sell more on Instagram
High-quality posts help build your Instagram presence and attract new followers, who may eventually become customers.
What do high-quality posts look like?
- High quality photos Blends with the overall look of your brand.
- Valuable and relevant information – whether in the posted photo itself or in the caption – proves your expertise, is thematically relevant to your industry and gives your audience something to chew on (for less serious accounts, entertainment value matters too!).
- Reliable publication Your audience can count on it (Meaning, you don’t disappear without warning for days or weeks at a time.)
- Part of the planned table of content Pre-select weeks as part of an overall content strategy.
4. Use gadgets
Managing your Instagram account manually is a recipe for headache.
Posting daily, sometimes multiple times a day, in various formats, can be stressful.
Fortunately, there are quite a few tools out there to help you plan your Instagram grid to look cohesive and stay consistent.
The good tool will also help you schedule posts and create captions with relevant hashtags.
Some tools to consider:
- Edgar meet – Lots of cool features, including an automatic content scheduler that pulls posts from your library.
- Later – All-in-one tool with a range of flexible plans.
- agorapolis – A tool to manage all your social accounts, not just Instagram.
5. After the rollers treat the pain points
For best results, use all of the features at your disposal for selling on Instagram.
One great strategy is to publish Reels that specifically address your audience’s difficult pain point.
Your solution should be your product/service, which you can link to in your bio and reference in the reel itself or caption.
6. Use the “link in bio” strategically
To sell more on Instagram, don’t link to your homepage in your bio.
Instead, link to a targeted landing page where customers coming from the platform can make a purchase.
You can change the link to point to different landing pages linked to specific products, then add calls-to-action to the “link in bio” on static posts featuring those products.
Since you can’t link to static posts directly, this is a great way around that.
for example , Check out this post from VSCO, and note where they direct you to “Find out more through the link in our bio.”
7. Link to products/services in stories
Getting stories and shares about a product or service is another great way to sell on Instagram — especially since you can link directly to the product with a sticker.
It doesn’t have to be fancy either – talk about the product directly to the camera and show it, tell a story about a customer who was successful with a service, etc.
You can add a link sticker that points directly to the product page directly in the story.
By the way, this feature was locked for some types of users, but Instagram I opened it recently For everyone.
8. Save stories that contain products to highlight them
Are some of your stories featuring products really well done? There’s no need to let them disappear into the ether – save them for the highlights of your story!
Make sure to only create a specific “highlight” for stories featuring products so customers can find them easily. See how magnolia They did it on their profile – they kept it simple and titled “Shop” the highlights of their products.
You can also create different features for different product types, etc.
9. Promote posts that contain products/services
Promoting (or “boosting”) a product post is one of the easiest ways to create an Instagram ad.
This will make your post more visible and attractive, thus more eyes on your product or service.
Specifically, promote posts that are doing fairly well in terms of engagement.
These posts stand a better chance of performing in front of new eyes because you know they appeal to your existing audience.
Check out Instagram’s A short visual guide To boost posts to get more good tips.
10. Use Hashtags wisely
Using hashtags along with the many selling tips in this guide can give your products/services a bigger boost.
The right hashtags can make a huge difference in how easy it is for new customers to find you, your business, and your products.
Spend some time searching for these posts and tagging posts, stories, and reels accordingly.
Don’t forget about branded hashtags, too.
These are the tags you create just for your brand and products and can help customers who are already shopping with you find exactly what they’re looking for.
For example, Magnolia contains “#magnolia_rugsSo customers can find posts featuring this type of product.
11. Sell with Instagram Shopping
Finally, don’t forget that Instagram has rolled out a feature that allows you to sell directly within the app: Instagram shopping.
After you register and connect your online store, you can create a “shop” on the app and link directly to the products on your store in posts, reels, and stories.
Start selling on Instagram
It’s very easy to start selling on Instagram, whether you have a well-known brand with a website or are just getting into selling online.
However, a good content strategy will help you sell better.
After all, selling online these days is as much about trusting the brand as it is about displaying products cleverly.
Once you nail both, the sky’s the limit.
More resources:
- Search and Explore Instagram: A Complete Guide for Marketers
- How the Instagram algorithm works and IG content best practices
- Social Media Marketing: A Complete Strategy Guide
Featured image: Look Studio / Shutterstock
