How to Sell on Instagram 2022: 6-Steps Guide and 15 Boosting Tips

Instagram's popularity makes it the most profitable social media platform for various sellers. Every day, thousands of users explore their feeds, searching to purchase their favorite products.

Surveys reported that there are over 1.4 billion Instagram users worldwide. And 59% of them use Instagram daily. 

Undoubtedly, Instagram is a seamless way to engage thousands of buyers with your online shop. But the question is how to sell on Instagram. Launching your Instagram shop is free and the easiest to run!

To learn each detail of how to start an Instagram business and significant ways to sell on Instagram with Etsy and Shopify, some tips and tricks, here we are offering you an ultimate guide below. So, let's explore!

Table of content

• Dropshipping and Instagram: Is it Worth Using?
• Instagram Stats That Matter to Sellers
• How to Sell on Instagram?
• Top 10 Tips to Boost Sales on Instagram
• 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling on Instagram
• Shopify vs. Instagram Shop
• How to sell on Instagram with Etsy?
• Final Verdict
• Frequently Asked Questions

Dropshipping and Instagram: Is it Worth Using?

After starting your dropshipping business you will search for profitable ways to promote your products. At this part, Instagram offers an inspiring opportunity to market your shop efficiently. 

As Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms, you can increase your exposure across many more new consumers to increase your sales. 

This visual-oriented platform offers amazing Post, Shop, Reel, and Live features to present your products in multiple ways. 

Not to mention, Instagram is a core plan for many dropshippers and online sellers because it’s highly effective for running business strategies. 

💡Need to Know: Definitive Guide to Dropshipping on Instagram

Instagram Stats That Matter to Sellers

• Instagram is the 7th most visited website in the world
• More than 1.4 billion people use Instagram actively.  As much the audience is, the better for you. 
• It is the second most-downloaded app in the world. (TikTok beats Instagram here)
• 44% of people use Instagram weekly to shop
• 75% of Instagram users take actions, including visiting your shop to discover your items and services, clicking on add to cart, or adding to a wish list right after watching Instagram ads. 

Here’s the list of countries in a huge mass use it;

• India (230 Million)
• United States (158 million)
• Brazil (119 million)
• Indonesia (99 million)
• Russia (63 million) 

All these Instagram statistics prove how valuable the network is for your business. It is not only worth it for potential ROI, but Instagram is a relatively cost-effective and easiest way to start selling. 

Nevertheless, the amount it offers for add clicks highly depends on the bidding model, like cost-per-impression (CPM) and cost-per-click. But normally, companies pay an average of $0.50-$1 per link click, which is comparatively fair and reasonable to charge. 

How to Sell on Instagram?

Here we will pen out a 6-Step guide on how to sell on Instagram in 2022. These easiest yet strategic steps will aid you in starting your business journey on Instagram without getting you in trouble. So let’s dive in!

Find the Right Niche

One of the most crucial steps before starting an Instagram business is to find the right niche. Because niche is a specific concept of your business and products that differentiate your company from competitors. 

💡Need to Know: How To Choose Winning Products For Dropshipping

If you want to locate the right Niche for your business, then follow the steps below;

• Determine your passion and strengths 

The first step to identifying your niche is examining your interests and strengths. Determine what gives you a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment while doing this. Chase your passion that you can imply to earn your income. 

For instance, if you feel you enjoy designing your everyday clothes, you may be able to pursue a fashion design niche. Further, consider your abilities and strength too while finding a potential place. 

• Assess your options and focus on profitable products

After considering your interest, choose the option that is sustainable and easily feasible for you. A new career may bring various changes to your life, so opt for the one you can do for a long time. 

Moreover, choose the one you can start with a relatively low investment to minimize the loss rate. Plus, you should select high-margin products to sell instead of not profitable products for getting numerous orders at a cheap price.

For example, if you select fashion designing, you may be unable to afford the space and advanced stitching machine required. In addition, you may have to lower prices and your profit margin because you have various competitors in this niche. So, deploy any alternative or decide on a different career. 

• Monitor the market and competition 

Another significant step to finding a niche is to analyze the market. Research the market trends and completion. Do solid research on competitors and search volume. Remember, choosing a low-competitive place is highly recommended as it makes your business rank promptly. 

💡Need to Know: How to Find Low Competition Niches with High Profit

• Use tool for product finding

Further, unique product-finding tools have a greater chance of attracting a huge audience. Multiple premium software is available in the market to find profitable niches. 

FindNiche is one of them that assists you in knowing potential niches regarding the targeted people, place, research volume, and more.  You are enabled to discover winning products on AliExpress.    

You can determine the proper niche by filtering results based on:

• Product category
• Price
• Total order
• Suppliers’ logistics (Ship from and Ship to)
• Order growth
• Total reviews
• Competition
• Seller rating

💡Furthermore, you can explore more specific items with Tags. For instance, you can find dropshipping products that are sold on Shopify and listed with a video. 

Plus, you can narrow the list with suppliers’ quality scores. It only shows the stores that have greater than 96% positive feedback.

2. Get an Instagram business profile. 

Instagram offers three types of accounts; personal, creator, and business. To sell products on Instagram, you will utilize an Instagram business account, which lets you use spectacular features for advertising your products and boosting sales. 

These features include; 

• Instagram analytics 
• Connect to a scheduling app
• Various sections boost the profile
• Instagram shop products in posts
• Instagram tagging products in posts
• Instagram advertising

You are now familiar with the extra benefits that an Instagram business account offers. So now let's take you through switching your Account to a business account to get more out of it. But how to get an Instagram business profile? Here are the steps:

Step 1: Go to your profile; in the top-right corner, click on the menu. Tap Settings and then click on Account.

Step 2: At the bottom of the page, tap on a blue line Switch to Professional Account.

Step 3: Two types of professional accounts will pop up on your screen. Choose a Business Account.

Step 4: Select the category of your products. Then enter your contact information for your business. 

Pro Tip: Users are more likely to visit business accounts that have contact information.

Step 5: The next step is to connect your Facebook page. Go to Meta Accounts Center and add your Facebook account. Once you confirm to connect with the Facebook page, you are ready to enjoy all perks of having a business account for your brand. 

If you do not have a Facebook account for your business and are not sure whether Facebook is useful for dropshipping or not, kindly check this guide: “Facebook Dropshipping for Newbies: Everything You Need to Know”

3. Set up an Instagram shop

Once you have built an Instagram business account, you need to take plenty of steps to set up your Instagram shop. As we already mentioned, a business account offers advanced features that allow you to provide complete information about your products and services to potential consumers. It gives them a sharp insight into what you sell and why they should follow you. 

So, let’s design your Instagram shop by using the following sections;

• Profile: Using your company's logo as your profile picture is the most strategic. But if you are new in the market, design your logo first so people can easily identify your brand
• Name: Name your brand by considering the products or services you sell on Instagram. 
• Username: Your username should also be your brand's name. Remember to add a username without any space. 
• Website: You add a URL Link on your page, so the consumer can easily view the Shop and proceed to checkout by clicking on it. Most businesses deploy website links to their pages. But if you are wondering how to sell on Instagram without a website, simply by adding a payment link to your profile Bio. 
• Profile Bio: Your Instagram Bio is the most important step while optimizing your business profile. Because it will help your business to attract new consumers, you can add your brand's slogan or describe the product or service here. 
• Category: it is one of the rules for selling on Instagram to choose the type that fits your brand's products or services. 
• Contact options: To provide a great customer support service, link all the possible ways for customers to contact you, such as phone number, email, etc. 
• Add action button: You should also put some call-to-action buttons on your profile. For example, "only four lefts,” “order now,” “Reserve,” and more. 
• Story highlights: Story highlights let you create defined categories according to the types of products/services you sell. Generate the product's story and add them to profile highlights so new people can easily know about your brand. 

Below you will find an amazing example of an Instagram business and shop account.

4. Generate shoppable posts

Shoppable posts are another excellent way to encourage the consumer to shop. In E-commerce, marketers earn profits by creating shoppable posts. Tag your products in your posts and make purchasing more convenient than ever. All they need is to click on the products you post, tap on the product listing and buy them without a long effortful process.

Here follow the steps below to learn how to create shoppable posts:

1. Head over to your Instagram Business account connected with Facebook.
2. Post your product catalog to the Facebook page then the products on Instagram will update automatically.
3. Go to Instagram Business account settings, click on the business, and then ShoppingShopping. 
4. Choose a product catalog you want to link to your Account.
5. Now, you are completely allowed to add product tags to highlight your products in Instagram posts. 

5. Try live Shopping

Instagram constantly releases advanced features that make the platform ideal for your business. For example, it allows users to post their content in various and eye-catching ways, so ensure you get the fullest out of it. 

A live shopping feature is one of them that is highly valuable to humanize your brand. You can engage a significant number of viewers with your brand, eventually boosting your sales and reach. 

Directly showcasing products in live sessions without any exaggeration helps to build business transparency and loyalty. Before driving live Shopping with an existing and new audience, you should be familiar with how to sell on Instagram stories and other exciting features.

To use this feature, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Instagram app and click on the “Your Story” button which is at the top left of your screen.
2. Scroll to the right and select “Live” to start a live show on Instagram.
3. Tap the shopping bag icon that is located on the left and tag the items that you want to sell on the live show.
4. You can click the “Live button” to initiate your live session when you are ready.
5. You can pin any products to feature while broadcasting by tapping “Pin” 

Pro Tips for Instagram Live

• You can save your live show once it is over so shoppers who miss the stream can purchase your tagged items via saved video.
• The live Room feature allows users to invite three more co-hosts to their live sessions. To boost your sales, you can invite other creators and influencers with a huge following to introduce your business to a new audience.

• If your video seems dry and boring, you can make it seamless by adding adorable filters, question stickers, etc., and you can also use your customized brand content on a live setting to increase sales on Instagram.

• Another characteristic of building a strong relationship with the audience is that users can show their products in action while using them live. Further, you can display your product's slideshow or other brand-related IGTV videos with Shop link.
• One of the best parts of Instagram Live Shopping is the real-time interaction between the audience and the business. While streaming live videos, viewers can ask questions about the products, get instant answers, and gain honest feedback.  

💡Bear in mind that you must enable checkout on Instagram before using live shopping. But do not worry, you will find a detailed guide below this part.

6. Use Instagram checkout

Instagram has recently introduced an extraordinary Checkout feature, making it the most strategic social media network for dropshippers. This amazing feature lets consumers purchase a product within 2-3 taps, even without leaving the Instagram platform.

Try checkout to enhance the shopping experience of buyers. And it will eventually become a sky-rocket strategy for your business sales as your products are more secure and convenient for people to buy what they discover on Instagram.

Not only does checkout make it quick to purchase from your Instagram profile, but it also sends information to the consumer about the delivery and shipment process within no time. 

To know how actually Instagram Checkout feature work for the buyer, read the steps mentioned below;

1. Click on the Shopping Icon.
2. Tap on the link on the product post that shows the photo.
3. A product info screen will pop up; tap Checkout on Instagram.
4. Select your shipping option and click on Place order. 

⚠️ Keep in mind that the checkout feature is only available to all eligible US businesses.

Top 10 Tips to Boost Sales on Instagram 

Here are the 10 most effective tips to learn how to sell on Instagram. 

1. Optimize your Instagram Bio

Instagram Bio is highly necessary to boost your products. After the profile picture, it's the initial impression of your business and services. Therefore, your bio should be well-crafted with a clear and concise description of your brand that addresses your audience. 

Let your consumer know what exactly you are offering. Further, you can create a seamless slogan for your brand to attract more audience. You may also include emojis and hashtags to grab visitors’ interest.

Moreover, add only clickable links to your Bio to drive traffic to your business website. Remember that your business profile is the first spot that allows your audience to contact you. So, make sure to make it highly impressive, which can entice people to follow your brand. 

2. High Quality and Eye-catching photos 

Post-well-edited and fancy photos that stop Instagram scrollers immediately and trigger them to visit your business profile. Your images should speak to the audience.

For example, your audience engages more in animated posts related to products. Then spices up images with innovative animated ideas to boost engagement and sales. 

Further, you do not need to use expensive DSLRs to capture product photos. Use a simple camera and shoot at sunrise and sunset, prevent overexposure and use novel frames. 

3. Generate Attractive Captions 

Writing a short but noticeable caption is essential to engage your target audience with your content. It will remarkably entice viewers to follow your brand and make a purchase. 

Try to write short but sweet captions. Add questions or an interesting story to trigger the viewer to comment on your post. Don't forget to use emojis and relevant hashtags to get found by numerous others. 

4. Offer Discounts 

Another way to boost sales on Instagram is to offer discounts on your product. Significant sales like "30% off" and "buy three get one free"  make your existing and new buyers purchase immediately. Further, add call-to-action buttons to your post to increase sales on Instagram.  

5. Instagram Ads

About 69% of United States-based marketers spend their budget on their Instagram ads. So, if you don't deploy an Instagram ads strategy to promote your business, you are missing out on a lot.

Let's start the ad campaign and analyze what your audience wants to see. Create clear but easy-to-consume messages and create them organically. It will assist in engaging with users in an actionable way. 

💡Pro Tip: The wise method for creating advertisements is to spy on your competitors with handy tools. Here, FindNiche AdSpy Tool stands out from spying tools. 

This outstanding tool offers to examine not only Instagram ads, but also Facebook and Youtube ads. Users can filter the results by country, ad type, language, engagement, and date. 

Furthermore, you are able to analyze ads from various site types including Shopify, WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. Plus, you can spy on competitors’ campaigns that are launched on top marketplaces like AliExpress, Etsy, Amazon, and eBay.

6. Analyse Insights on Instagram

One of the most effective tips to boost sales on Instagram is to analyze Insights on Instagram. 

Instagram insight aids you in increasing your follower numbers promptly, increasing engagement, developing stronger interaction, and driving more sales through your business website. Try the Instagram insight feature and use it to boost your sales potential.

7. Engage with Followers

Build a strong relationship with your followers to humanize your brand. Start live sessions for face-to-face interaction with your consumers. Try to answer some questions in the comment section. 

Further, live promoting of your brand enhances the transparency and trust of your business. 

8. Use Reels 

Instagram Reels are multi-clip brief videos from a few seconds to 90 seconds. Like many other Social Media Platforms, Instagram also offers seamless editing tools to create amazing reel videos with music and Captions.

Instagram Reels are an advanced way to increase your reach and audience and make it easier to trend your business, as Instagram algorithms prioritize reel content. Using Reels provides your consumers more directions to search your content and offers effective ways to grow. So, make adorable Reels and trend your brand over the world. 

9. Encourage Social Proof

Social Proof is the strongest power for inspiring behaviors; therefore, it's the most crucial tool for Instagram merchants. The correct use of it offers an opportunity to motivate awaited buyers that your brand is the only best option. 

You can perform various practices like Instagram ad campaigns, collaborate with other famous brands and influencers and be responsive to the customer to encourage Social Proof. And trust me, the result will be surprising! 

10. Partnership with influencers 

Studies show that 80% of marketers agree that influencer marketing is profitable. Connecting with real influencers can prove a skyrocket idea for your Instagram sales. Locate the real influencers in your community. And use different ways to promote your products with them to increase your brand's reach.

 For example, try live shopping your business with certain influencers and introduce your business to many new people. The more viewers you get, the more profitable for you. 

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling on Instagram 

Here are the five common mistakes you should avoid when selling on Instagram to increase sales. 

1. Buying likes and followers 

Getting millions of followers on Instagram is not an overnight process. The growing process on Instagram is challenging and also takes time. Therefore, most new brands are now trying to buy fake likes and followers. It gives you nothing but a huge follower number.

Remember that the following number is not your consumer, but the organic followers are. So, do not chase huge fake followers; it can be complex in your way to increase reach. Stay natural to enhance your reach. 

2. Unstable branding and inconsistent visuals 

Unstable branding and inconsistent visuals generate an asymmetrical reputation for your brands, making it harder to build trustable and long-term relations with potential consumers. 

On the other hand, when brands offer the same branding from start to end, that company emits friendly vibes, and your customer starts to trust and support.

3. Not consistent in posting (too much or too little)

If you are an old Instagram user, you may be familiar that posting too often is highly annoying. Followers get irritated with your super-often posting and end up unfollowing you. 

On the other hand, posting too little indicates to your followers that you are no longer active on Instagram. If you are doing any of them, you are making a big mistake. 

So, the best way is to create an Instagram management strategy or plan a proper time interval to post and stay consistent.  

4. Using too many hashtags

Hashtags play a core role in finding your content on Instagram. But if you are using irrelevant, long, and too many hashtags on your posts, you'll not be able to see any results. 

So, try to create short, relevant, and easily findable hashtags. Add hashtags that describe your products. The more relevant hashtags you use, the more organic customers will find you. 

5. Forgetting to proofread 

Proofreading ensures that your content targets the right audience at the right time and place. That content helps your business to build a healthy and reliable reputation in the market. 

But constant mistakes in your writing or video content can destroy your reputation. So always proofread before posting it out in the market. 

Shopify vs. Instagram Shop 

Shopify is always a valuable third-party option to consider while marketing your business. Its excellent scalability is one of the main reasons many companies build trust. At the same time, Instagram is also the most-used app by online merchants. 

At this point, you may wonder How to sell on Instagram with Shopify? After you determine your niche to sell, it is easy to complete integration with a quick guide below. 

💡Pro Tip: If you are still unsure what to sell, you can check the FindNiche Niche Recommended Tool to discover the top dropshipping product ideas that are updated every day.

Follow the steps to sell on Instagram with Shopify to boost your sales;

• From the Shopify admin, tap on Facebook below the sales channels in the left corner.
• Tap on Set up to start in the Instagram Shopping segment.
• Connect the Facebook account to the Sales channels.
• Review and agree with all the terms and conditions, then tap on Request approval.
• Integrating your Instagram account with Shopify allows you to execute dropshipping on Instagram easily. 

How to Sell on Instagram with Etsy?

Etsy is one of the growing platforms in the digital market world. Do you have an idea about how to sell on Instagram with Etsy? If not, here, keep on reading the steps below to deal on Instagram with Etsy.

• Verify your Etsy Domain.
• Now, Design your product catalog.  
• Set up your Facebook shop, then create an Etsy shop. 
• Create a collection of your products.
• Update your Facebook business account to see changes. 
• Set up Instagram Shopping. Once you set, wait until you get approval. 

Final Verdict 

In this article, we covered “how to sell on Instagram” with descriptive guides, exceptional tips, and common mistakes. We also touched the Shopify and Etsy integration with Instagram.

In short, Instagram is surely one of the great video-oriented social media platforms you would ever encounter. To sell on Instagram, the most crucial steps are to find your niche, use the latest advanced Instagram marketing features, and perform effective practices as mentioned above. 

Further, consistency is the key. Follow all the tricks and tips and be patient until you drive huge organic traffic.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q. How much does it cost to sell on Instagram?

Surprisingly, it is free to sell on Instagram. All you need is to log in to your Facebook Business account and an Instagram business account, then connect them to sell on Instagram. 

Q. How to advertise a product on Instagram?

After you set up your Instagram profile with a well-designed bio and eye-catching images you are ready for advertising products on Instagram. For this, you can use Instagram Ads and try partnerships with influencers. 

Q. How to find dropshipping ads on Instagram?

Here are the ways to find dropshipping ads on Instagram;

• By using relevant hashtags 
• By flowing relevant accounts 
• By spying on competitors' ad campaign