“Wow, I love spending all my free time on Instagram and not making any sales!” – said no one ever
It’s no secret Instagram is a robust platform that’s fantastic for building an engaged audience online. (It does have 1.4 billion users, after all.) But when you’re a busy-yet-brilliant entrepreneur, you don’t just want an audience who binge-consumes your content, you want an audience that buys from you, too. (And let’s be honest: You deserve it!)
So, what can you do to ensure you’re reaching–and then converting–your ideal clients on Instagram?
Here are four tried-and-tested tips for giving your sales from Instagram a super boost:
1) Create Content that You (and Your Potential Clients) Love
Obviously, content is everything on Instagram. But you can’t just post “any old thing” and expect to see results–or a bump in revenue.
Quality, interesting, and relevant content is so important. The good news?
No matter how you prefer to create (or your audience prefers to consume), there’s an IG feature for that.
Pro tip: Think of your Instagram presence as an ecosystem. Every type of content you create for IG–from your Reels to your Posts–should work together. In general, you can use Instagram Reels to grow your audience (because anyone–not just your followers–can find your Reels with a quick hashtag search), Stories to nurture and build deeper relationships with your current followers and Posts and Reels to share your expertise.
If you’re not sure what to post exactly, here’s a look at the types of content consumers need to see to feel confident spending:
- Brand-building content that shows potential clients who you are and what you do (Think personal stories, behind-the-scenes peeks at your life and business, etc.)
- Social proof that proves you know what you’re talking about (This might include client testimonials in your post descriptions, client video testimonials in your Stories, Instagram Lives with delighted clients. You can even Story Highlights specifically for client testimonials & results, the places you’ve been featured, etc.)
- Content that showcases your expertise. Give people a small taste of what it’s like to work with you via education and value like tips, education, how-tos, etc. (You really want people to look at your Instagram and think, “Wow–if their free content is this great, I can’t imagine what it’s like to actually work with them!”)
2) Add Calls-to-Action, Everywhere
Captivating content is a start, but compelling & creative calls-to-action are what turn your incredible content into actual clients (and cash).
Let’s be real: You can labor over the perfect Instagram caption for days or publish a seriously impactful Reel that speaks straight to the souls of your ideal clients, but if your reader doesn’t understand what you offer–or how to buy it–they’ll never actually inquire (or click “Add to Cart”).
The solution? Craft a compelling CTA for every piece of content you create for Instagram.
You can include one clickable link in your Instagram bio, as well on Instagram Stories (yep–you no longer need 10k followers to provide your Story viewers with a direct link!). Even Instagram Reel Captions allow you to add a URL. And while you still can’t put a clickable link in your IG posts just yet, you can direct readers to check out the link in your bio or type out the URL in its entirety.
What types of CTAs work best?
You can directly make sales from a CTA by sending people straight to a juicy sales page. This works best for low-end offers or time-sensitive workshops, webinars or programs.
You can make more indirect sales by including a CTA to a valuable freebie so you can get them on your email list and nurture them over time. The reality is not everyone is going feel comfy DMing you about coaching after watching a few Reels (even if they’re really awesome), but they might just whip out their CC details after they’ve read a few of your oh-so-valuable emails.
Be sure to switch things up and experiment with different CTAs to figure out what works best with your audience. Oh, and don’t forget that you can also offer special Instagram-only offers or discount codes in your bio for extra incentive to purchase right from your profile for a quick cash boost.
3) Don’t Dismiss Your DMs
We get it: Selling in the DMs can feel sleazy, overly salesy and downright scary. The problem with “selling in the DMs” is that people treat it like “selling,” rather than “having a conversation to see if we jive.” (We prefer to take the latter approach!)
Our top tip? Take it slow and talk to your prospect like a real human. Don’t send cold DMs, but do reach out proactively to people who’ve specifically asked for more information about your coaching. Once you’ve got the convo rolling, don’t just drop a link and disappear (and/or follow up relentlessly). Instead, allow the conversation to unfold naturally.
If you’re looking for a more technical or automated solution, you can scope out tools like ManyChat or MobileMonkey, which allow you to send an auto-reply to anyone who DMs you–and include a clickable URL, too.
At the end of the day, success (and more sales) on Instagram is all about content.
If you’re struggling to come up fresh content ideas for Instagram (or any other social media platform!), click here to check out CoachGlue’s VIP Club, where you’ll find professionally-crafted, done-for-you resources (like courses, workshops and even blog posts) designed to help you whip up all kinds of both free and paid content with speed & ease.
