Step by step: Convert your followers into your customers

By now, we all understand social media's potential, Instagram in particular, in spreading brand awareness and attracting clients for our businesses. However, none of the social media and marketing experts have warned us how challenging it would be to cut through all of that noise. After all, Instagram has reached over a billion active monthly users, and the upward trend doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.

If you, too, are wondering how to get ahead of all the competition and how to make money on Instagram in this day and age, you've come to the right place. We're breaking down a step-by-step process on how to convert your followers into returning customers.

Craft a plan and execute

Defining your goals will help you get a clear path to follow and not get lost in the overall frenzy that is social media marketing today. Create a goal that is in line with your industry and business plan, and make it realistic and achievable.

For example, as a local shop, you won't have to target the global market, so be sure to define your priorities from the get-go.

Next up – execute like a pro. Deliver content that speaks directly to your ideal audience to get that conversion down the line. Learn about their values, motivation, and general preferences beyond your business. This will help you deliver the content that nurtures your targeted leads to becoming loyal customers.

Focus on value – Center the majority of your content around the info your audience finds valuable. The 80/20 rule works best here. Only 20% of your content should directly promote your products or services.

Create relatability

Long gone are the days when famous A-listers could convince people to buy a product through a perfectly edited ad. The truth is people trust more the recommendation of real-life individuals, someone they can completely relate to.

Use this to your advantage. Create strategic user-generated content campaigns, and turn your customers into authentic brand ambassadors. Ask them to tag your business and use the branded hashtag to help create a buzz around your business. Seeing genuine people's customer satisfaction will entice others to try out your products.

Play the game

Our Instagram feeds are swarming with brand giveaways and contests. The simple reason – they are that effective. The oldest story in the book – people love free stuff and are willing to go the extra mile to get their hands on a cool free product.

That said, you don't have to do what every brand out there does. Add some originality to the mix. For example, instead of the traditional giveaway model of following and commenting, go for the caption contest instead. Post a fun photo featuring your brand, and ask your audience to take part by suggesting the most creative caption. Don’t forget to offer a really valuable prize.

Streamline the buying process

If you want to turn your followers into customers, you have to direct them through the process, i.e. show them what to do.

Make the entire process intuitive and super easy to not let any frictions ruin a perfectly nurtured lead.

Here are some of the crucial steps you can take to make the buying process easy:

  • Optimize your Instagram bio – In addition to making it super informative and catchy, add the link to your website where your audience expects to see it.
  • Use shoppable stickers and posts – Don't let your audience wander away trying to find all the info about your product. Tag each product featured in an IG post to give your audience a streamlined shopping experience.
  • Utilize the IG Stories – If you've reached 10,000 Instagram followers, use every opportunity to add the Swipe-up feature to your IG Stories featuring a product. Be sure to never miss out on a chance to make a sale and provide your audience with the most intuitive shopping experience.

Photo: Benjamin Dada, Unsplash