From Likes to Leads: Converting Instagram Followers into Customers

Wondering if images or videos work best for your Instagram channel? While images might attract the audience, videos retain their attention. An effective way to increase your Instagram followers is to diversify your content.

With 200 million businesses on Instagram, your brand needs to stand out. Experimenting with a mix of each content type increases the chances of getting leads. PlayStation is a powerful example of how brands can explore content formats. The brand shares engaging videos, carousels, and stories on its channel.

The blog discusses the strategies to convert Instagram followers into customers.

What is Social Conversion?

People generally consider Instagram as a platform to improve visibility and engagement. But it can be a potential source for getting leads. A conversion happens when a user performs an action that accelerates your business. Social Conversation Rate is the ratio of the total audience to the number of people who completed the intended action from social media. The conversion rates and metrics across different social media platforms might vary. The average Instagram conversion rate is 1% for leading brands.

A social conversion happens when a user:

• Purchases a product or service

• Fills out a form

• Reaches out for a demo

• Subscribes to your channel

• Uses your online chat

• Downloads your application

Defining the Roadmap: From Fans to Leads

A significant number of Instagram followers is a massive achievement for online businesses. But converting them to loyal customers is the actual milestone.

If you are exploring ways to get leads from Instagram, here are a few golden rules-

Create a Content Strategy with the KLT Framework

Devising a strategy based on the Know, Like, Trust (KLT) factor effectively builds trust. Do you wish to convert your strategies into actionable goals? The Growth Jockey team values your insights and offers deliverable results.

Before implementing the framework to your business, let’s dissect it:

• Know: In this phase, brands can use content to educate and inform the audience. The goal is to create brand awareness and address the audience’s pain points. Blogs, informative videos, and how-to guides are suitable content types in this phase.

• Like: The next step is establishing an emotional connection with the audience. Post behind-the-scenes glimpses and user-generated content that resonates with the audience.

• Trust: To build trust, show your brand’s expertise and reliability. Share content that solves customer’s problems and offers social proof. Customer testimonials and case studies are content forms suitable for this stage.

Best practices for implementing the KLT framework:

1. Create a content calendar for giving equal importance to all three content types (KLT).

2. Assess your content strategy frequently and adjust it according to the results.

3. Experiment with different content types on different days. E.g., Useful tips on Monday, behind-the-scenes glimpses on Wednesday, etc.

Diversify Your Content Formats

Experimenting with the different content types on a single platform is essential. Diversifying content formats helps to make the feed engaging for your followers. Growth Jockey devises a 360-degree content strategy involving diverse content forms.

These are some of the high-performing content types on Instagram:

• Photos: A photo post with a catchy title engages the followers. Share product images or behind-the-scenes glimpses to showcase your brand’s personality.

• Carousels: Carousels use multiple images or videos to increase customer engagement. Create a carousel with related images to tell a story or share features of a single product or service.

• Videos: High-quality videos help to capture user attention and convert them into leads. Tips for followers or videos featuring your new product launches increase Instagram followers.

• Reels: Engaging in short-form videos is a popular trend among millennials. Create reels about your product’s features or build suspense about a launch.

Share User-Generated Content

Brands are increasingly using user-generated content (UGC) to foster trust. UGC is typically non-branded, hence considered authentic by people. They capture followers’ attention and ultimately convert them into leads.

84% of consumers state they prefer following peer recommendations over forms of advertising. Product reviews, customer testimonials, and mentions in comments are examples of UGC.

Here’s how user-generated content can help your business-

• Provides social proof: Influences the buyer’s journey and leads them to the product. Testimonials provide validation that the product is authentic and backed by people.

• Humanising marketing efforts: Brands sharing UGC show a closely-knit community. Users feel an urge to belong to the community and buy the product.

• Authentic and unfiltered content: UGC is created by people rather than brands. So the content appears real rather than promotional or superficial.

How can brands use UGC on Instagram?

• Repurpose and reshare the UGC to showcase that followers like your brand

• Share product reviews and testimonials on stories

• Post relevant photos from users with a cause

• Create an offshoot account like Uber if you have a massive repository of UGC.

Running Targeted Campaigns

Instagram has 2 billion active users and an average session time of 53 minutes daily. So, running Instagram ads can be a high-converting method targeting specific users. Why use Instagram Ads when organic strategies work? While organic strategies are cost-effective, they are time-consuming. Moreover, the results rely on complex social media algorithms.

Running targeted ads on newsfeeds, stories, or searches helps to capture customer attention. The best social media strategy combines both organic and paid tactics.

Another way to run targeted campaigns on Instagram is through influencer collaborations. Leading brands experiment with collaborating with influencers. As influencers have the highest followers on Instagram, they boost conversions. So, choose the right influencer for your niche and demographics. Growth Jockey helps you to identify the influencers who can amplify your campaign’s message.

Best practices to run targeted ad campaigns:

• Partner with an influencer to host a giveaway or viral contest

• Collaborate with influencers for a product launch

• Create a social media challenge with influencers to boost engagement

Utilising Instagram’s Shopping Features

Earlier brands redirected customers from Instagram to their websites. With Instagram Shopping, users can shop from the app. About 130 million customers view Instagram shopping posts each month. Simply put, Instagram shopping allows users to share the product’s digital catalogue on the app. So, users can shop in the app or the brand’s e-commerce site.

To get started, here are a few basic elements for retailers-

• Instagram Shop: The brand’s storefront where users can make a purchase.

• Product detail pages: It displays all the critical product information from description to price. It can be pulled to the product-tagged posts on the app.

• Collections: This is a merchandised way of curating the products for the user.

• Shopping tag: Use stories, reels, or posts to tag products for the audience.

• Checkout: Allows users to purchase on Instagram directly.

• Shop discovery tag: A feature for exploring different products on the app.

Best Practices for Instagram Shopping-

1. Create striking visuals to feature your products.

2. Add relevant hashtags to your shopping content.

3. Offer discounts or promotional codes for customers.

4. Use video content in shopping posts.

Wrapping Up

Earlier, people accessed Instagram to boost their visibility and engagement. However, Instagram has evolved as a high-converting platform for businesses. To get started, it is essential to understand the target audience. Create buyer personas based on the engagement pattern and demographics of the audience.

Run targeted ads and robust Instagram shopping features to expand your reach. Most importantly, don’t ignore the power of user-generated content. If you wish to grow your brand on Instagram, you can use the best Instagram followers app. Napoleon Cat, Free Instagram Followers, and FollowMeter are great examples.

Are you looking to tap into innovative social media strategies? Growth Jockey crafts excellent social media strategies per your business needs. Our team has in-depth knowledge of different social media platforms and tailor strategies for audiences. We design strategies based on data insights and industry trends to transform your business.

Take the decisive step to leverage our social media marketing expertise. Contact us today to optimise your social media campaigns for a high ROI!

FAQs

How can Instagram interactions impact conversions?

Interacting with followers through comments on your posts improves engagement. Followers feel more connected to the brand, which can convert them into customers.

Is consistent posting crucial on Instagram?

Yes, posting content consistently is essential to keep your followers engaged. Highlighting products regularly through posts can also boost conversion opportunities.

Do lead magnets work on Instagram?

Yes. You can arrange giveaways where the followers need to give their email addresses to participate in the event. These can work as lead magnets to fetch user information and expand your database. This way, sending targeted emails will be easier.