I’m Daniel Umeh.
In this article, I’m going to take you through a full guide on how to promote Etsy Shop on Instagram.
The greatest e-commerce platform for creative entrepreneurs so far is Etsy, and for good reason:
It’s a terrific site that connects craftsmen and artists to their market.
Etsy allows them to sell their handcrafted works and handmade items with only a few mouse clicks.
With an Etsy account, you’ll have access to a variety of useful administration, analytics, and advertising options.
These tools provide you with a powerful arsenal for driving visitors to your business and turning your passion project into sales and money.
Etsy is a platform for everyone, whether you’re a marketing newbie or a seasoned entrepreneur.
What if you wanted to take your marketing skills to the next level?
What if you could take hold of Etsy’s advantages by using the power of social media to bring a slew of new followers to your Etsy shop?
The solution is right in front of your eyes:
Instagram.
Let’s look at the stats for a moment.
On any given day, more than 200 million Instagram users view at least one company profile.
Over 80% of Instagram’s more than a billion users follow a business page, with over 30% of them allegedly purchasing an item they originally saw on the platform.
It’s simple to understand why Instagram has become the greatest social media channel for companies wanting to improve their e-commerce game just by looking at this.
So, if I’ve aroused your curiosity, keep reading.
I’ll show you how retailers like you can utilize Instagram to engage with their intended audience, build brand awareness and affinity, and ultimately drive traffic to their Etsy shops.
1. Getting started
First and foremost, consider opening a separate account for your Etsy company;
This will allow you to build a professional-looking feed from the start.
Of course, this doesn’t rule out the occasional personal post to show the people behind the business, but you should try to keep them to a minimum.
Separating your company and personal Instagram accounts also helps you to fine-tune your strategy without having to worry about spamming your friends and family’s feeds.
If you haven’t already done so, creating an Instagram account is free and simple:
Simply download the Instagram app on your phone or join up through Facebook (as both companies are one and the same).
Prepare to not be able to register your precise Etsy store name as your Instagram account name because someone else may already have this as their username:
It’s not the end of the world if this happens – just try to get as near as possible.
2. Create an appearance that is completely unique to you
Know the first and most essential guideline after making your Instagram profile and before publishing your first post:
Stay consistent with your images.
Posting beautiful photos isn’t going to cut it, especially if you want people to know who you are as a business.
Consider it like having a “uniform” – when you have a distinct appearance, it’s simple for others to recognize and remember who you are and what you stand for.
The same can be true for your graphics;
Keep some components constant so that your audience understands your brand.
- The Brand Color
First and foremost, pick an aesthetic.
What is your brand’s current state?
What are the ideal hues, tones, and colors to describe it?
Do you have a collection of menswear-inspired timepieces?
Maybe you look best in neutral hues like greys and blacks.
Is your company’s image fresh, charming, and unabashedly feminine?
Shades of pink with a flash of orange or yellow might work wonders for you.
Then experiment with filters.
Commit to a handful that best represents your aesthetic, and use them to filter all of your images before uploading.
Stick with it once you’ve created a solid appearance or a visual guideline.
- The Borders
Playing with borders, in addition to utilizing filters, is a wonderful method to unite your post.
By using white borders on your photos, you can keep your feed looking clean and fresh while also visually increasing the distance between images (as seen below).
On the other hand, using multiple colored borders helps you to color-coordinate and categorize your article by kind (like lifestyle content, new releases, and brand promos or announcements).
You now have a visually gorgeous feed that is really simple to create.
- The Typefaces or Fonts
Finally, choose a font or typeface that best represents your company.
Text will appear in some of your postings, particularly if you’re advertising promotion or a sale.
As tempting as it is to pick any font that looks good, the same visual branding guideline applies:
Find one that represents your brand’s look and feel and stay with it.
A decent editing tool should be able to provide you with a variety of alternatives.
3. Sell a way of life, not just a product
The main objective of selling your items and wares on Etsy is to show them off in every detail.
As a result, product images take center stage.
Instagram, on the other hand, needs a whole different strategy.
It doesn’t matter how many corporate profiles there are on Instagram;
It’s still a social media site.
This implies that individuals browse through their feeds and different profiles in order to be sociable, interact with others, and learn new things.
They don’t want to be simply sold things as car salesmen or shopping TV networks do;
They want to be piqued and aroused.
So, by all means, post lovely product photos.
But do it in such a manner that it promotes your brand’s lifestyle rather than merely selling your products.
One suggestion I have is to share images of your items in scenarios that demonstrate to potential customers how you or your customers might utilize them.
Try experimenting with natural or organic backdrops and layouts instead of the standard white background.
Focus on getting people enthusiastic about who you are as a business and inquisitive about what else you have to offer rather than putting all the details of your product in the shot.
The objective is to capture and retain their attention before luring them to your Etsy website, where they may learn more and hopefully make a purchase.
4. Always provide a link to your website
People won’t be able to locate your Etsy shop if they don’t know where to look for it.
As a result, whenever you have the opportunity, provide a link.
Here are several places where you may put links to your store:
- Your Instagram Bio
It’s only natural to add a link to your Etsy shop in your Instagram bio because it’s always accessible on the top page of your account.
Take advantage of one of the few locations on Instagram where you may have and establish a link.
- Captions
You can’t include a URL in your captions as you can in your Instagram bio.
However, you can urge potential customers to visit your business by just clicking the “link in bio” to view more of what you have to offer.
Keep this in mind while writing subtitles for your social media postings.
- Watermark
Although few companies use a watermark on their photos, it’s still a good idea to do so, especially when users repost your material or share it on their own social media feeds.
This guarantees that your logo is constantly visible on the image, and if you use your shop’s URL as your watermark, customers will always be able to locate you online.
- Do well to invest in Sponsored Ads
The cost of advertising on Instagram ranges from 20 cents to $2 CPM (cost per thousand views or impressions), but the results are generally well worth it.
Advanced targeting, greater click rates, customized post formats, and, of course, more views are all possible with each dollar spent on the platform.
After you pay for a sponsored post, it will appear in the feeds of people who have similar interests to your account, even if they aren’t following you.
Turning your content into an ad also allows you to link visitors to your Etsy shop with a clickable call-to-action placed at the bottom of the image, which isn’t possible when publishing organically.
The call-to-action button may be modified to fit your goal, whether it’s to encourage visitors to “learn more” or “buy now.”
Although Instagram offers a variety of customized ad types, one that I recommend checking out is Instagram’s Shopper Post.
Because it allows your audience to tap on your content to learn more about what’s being displayed, this style is ideal for showcasing your items and generating traffic to your Etsy shop.
They tap again, and they’re sent to your Etsy shop, where they may make purchases.
5. Use Instagram Stories to your advantage
Instagram Stories has about 400 million daily visitors, according to the latest data.
This implies that if you want your brand to be seen, you should post on Instagram Stories as frequently as you do on your feed.
Remember that, unlike your feed, everything you publish on IG Stories is only visible for 24 hours.
Because postings on IG Stories are less permanent, it’s the ideal place to engage with your audience in a genuine way, and to sometimes thank them for following your company.
People will be impressed with a gorgeous Instagram feed, but taking them on your brand’s journey helps them to connect with you.
Consider your brand as a person:
What would his or her narrative be?
Don’t know where to start?
Here are some suggestions:
- Show Your Audience What Happens Behind the Scenes
Give your followers and viewers a feel of what your brand is all about by engaging with them.
Take them behind the scenes of a photograph or offer them an early look at a product in the works.
Do you have any plans to collaborate with an influencer in the near future?
Give your audience a behind-the-scenes look at their favorite celebrity, as well as a sneak peek at the campaign you’re about to launch.
- Communicate with your target market
In addition, IG Stories allows you to make polls and ask questions, which is excellent for two reasons:
Boosting audience interaction and, more crucially, gaining vital data into what your target market truly wants.
This function is ideal for when you want to introduce a new product but want to check if customers are genuinely interested in buying it before doing so.
- When at all possible, use hashtags
Hashtags have been linked with Instagram since the platform’s inception, and for good reason:
Using hashtags in your posts allows others outside of your following group to locate your material more quickly and easily.
The same can be said about Instagram Stories.
If you include hashtags in your IG Story, they will most likely appear on people’s explore pages.
The disadvantage is that there is no 100% assurance.
The quality of the image or video posted, as well as the interaction rate, determine whether stories are allowed into Instagram’s hashtag aggregation.
So, before you post, examine what you can do to improve your Story;
Merely applying a filter to your images or changing up your layout might make all the difference.
- Make Promos and Giveaway
Making time-sensitive content, such as fast and dirty promos and pop-up events, is a fantastic way to make the most of IG Stories’ 24-hour constraint.
Offer discounts, benefits, and freebies to individuals who saw your Stories at the proper moment.
This not only piques your audience’s interest but also has the potential to increase their spending.
Always remember to include a link to your Etsy shop in any material you publish, and urge visitors to swipe up to begin shopping.
Conclusion
With all of these resources at your disposal, keep one aim in mind:
Make people interested in who you are and what you say on Instagram.
Make it simple for customers to connect with your brand.
People will flock to your website on a daily basis if you regularly offer your visual material with care and sincerity.
