3 min to read
By the numbers, your Instagram account is flourishing. You’ve accumulated an impressive group of followers, and they’re interacting with regular likes and comments.
However, this apparently engaged audience isn’t generating e-commerce conversions. As interested as your followers seem to be in your Instagram presence, their interest doesn’t extend to your products or services.
Why aren’t your Instagram followers converting? The answer lies in your approach to social media marketing for business.
1. Organic Social Media Is Insufficient for Driving Conversions
No matter how well you time your posts, consistent delivery of content on any social media platform doesn’t guarantee visibility.
On Instagram alone, users share 95 million photos and videos every day. This means the moment you post something, it can get buried by a flood of other images. Even strategic use of hashtags isn’t enough to allow you to rely only on organic content.
Constant changes in the algorithms used by social media platforms have undermined the impact of organic marketing, making it necessary for brands to invest in paid ads in order to be seen.
Once you get your brand in front of your target audience, those who choose to follow you are 51 to 67 percent more likely to become customers.
2. Your Followers Aren’t in Your Target Market
It’s possible to have a group of followers who don’t actually care about your brand’s message.
People may choose to follow your account simply because they’re looking for eye candy and they like the pictures you post. While this may generate engagement, these followers aren’t going to convert.
You need to research your target market and focus your efforts on reaching out to them instead of waiting for them to reach you first.
There are 400 million active users on Instagram, so your target audience is out there.
Compare your website's analytics with your Instagram Insights, and see where changes can be made to connect with a group in need of your products and services.
3. Instagram Isn’t Driving Traffic to Your Website
Your posts should be focused on taking users off Instagram and to your website.
But when your followers click on a link in one of your Instagram ads or in your profile, are they sent to a landing page for the associated offer?
If you’re only directing them to your homepage, you need to work on conversion path optimization.
Generating conversions from social media marketing requires a compelling call-to-action (CTA) and concise landing pages with clear messages. Every marketing post on Instagram must include a CTA guiding followers to perform whatever action is necessary for them to convert.
Keep the message simple, straightforward and true to your brand to avoid any potential confusion.
4. Your Digital Marketing Efforts in Other Channels Are Lacking
Posting only to Instagram and ignoring your other social profiles limits the power of your brand.
Visibility is key in social media marketing, and this requires regular activity on all channels. Having a consistent posting strategy also gives you more insight into your target audience, their needs and their behaviors. You can take what you learn and apply it to your Instagram marketing efforts to reach a more relevant group of potential customers.
For the best results on all social channels, avoid hard-selling and opt for a value-driven, buyer-centric content strategy.
Being seen as helpful, informative, and influential has more power to generate conversions than just promoting your brand name.
5. You Don’t Tailor Your Marketing Efforts to the Platform
Your content strategy on Instagram must be adapted to speak to the types of people who use the platform.
Instagram relies heavily on visuals to attract attention and pique interest. If your photos are of low quality, appear cluttered or don’t have anything to do with your brand image, no one is going to pay much attention.
Think of Instagram as a gateway to your website. Keep storytelling and branding in mind when crafting Instagram posts, focusing your efforts on creating a compelling presence on the platform.
Incorporate user-generated content to boost your credibility factor.
6. You’re Failing to Inspire Action
So how do you spur action from people whose main interaction with the platform is absentmindedly scrolling through posts on their lunch breaks?
You don’t need a high engagement rate on Instagram to see results.
The average level of engagement for most brands is two to five percent, so if you’re already achieving these numbers, you have strong potential for increasing conversions.
You just have to remember that your main goal is to inspire an action. Like this one.
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