In our last social media blog, we promised a follow-up, so here we are— back for Round 2. Less than a month away from Valentine’s Day (one of the biggest days of a jeweler’s year), we’ve decided to focus on the upcoming holiday and how you can use Instagram to sell this season! We call it: Instagram for beginners!
Tip #1 – Content
We hear it all the time. The biggest struggle jewelers face regarding your social media presence is content. How in the world do you find something to post every day? It’s as simple as this: Stuller’s Free Content. We take photography and shoot video for every selling season of the year, and we love sharing it with you. Here’s a peek at what we have available for Valentine’s Day:
Here’s the best-kept secret to Instagram for beginners – all of our photos, as well as the previous video, are available and up for grabs on our various social media platforms. By now, most of you have gotten the hang of the Facebook “Share” feature which allows you to share any Stuller post onto your store’s Facebook page. But sharing on Instagram isn’t quite as simple. Within the Instagram mobile application, your only options are to Like or Comment on a post. But never fear, we have a solution! And that leads us to . . .
Tip #2 – Repost App
Before the birth of this app, reposting consisted of many steps: 1) Screenshot 2) Crop 3) Upload 4) Caption 5) Give up because that is entirely too much effort. Those days are over! Here’s how the app works:
First, download the Repost app.
Then, find the photo you would like to repost within the Instagram app.
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Next, open up the Repost app.
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Now, you will be automatically transferred back into Instagram with your photo ready, your caption copied to your clipboard and a perfect Valentine’s Day post! All you have left to do is play with filters, paste your caption and SHARE!
Tip #3 – Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag
Instagram lends itself extremely well to jewelry. The platform is all about visual stimulation, and its users eat up bright, beautiful photography. When it comes to taking your own photos and writing your own captions, here’s our advice:
Take good photos
These don’t have to be high resolution, professional images. They do, however, need to be clear, well-lit and visually compelling. Use your smartphone, take a photo of a new piece or hot seller and choose a filter within the Instagram app that makes the piece POP.
Write a clear call-to-action
When it comes to Instagram, if a user is reading your caption you have already captured their attention. Congratulations! Your clear, well-lit, visually compelling photo did that! Now, your caption should encourage an action. Try phrases like: See this piece in person. Visit our website for details. Call us to put this piece on hold today.
Hashtag, hashtag, hashtag
Once you have a great visual and a clear call to action, your post is ready to be seen by the world. But how do you get your post out to the world when your account only has a limited amount of followers? You guessed it— hashtags! Tagging various phrases using this method allows your content to show up in the newsfeed of consumers who aren’t already following you. Here are some suggestions:
We also recommend incorporating specifics of the piece as hashtags for your post. For example, a photo of a rose gold stackable ring could also use #RoseGold, #RingStack and #RingOfTheDay. Play around with them! Don’t be scared to get creative or use too many. Test out different ones on various posts and monitor any changes in the number of likes your posts receive. Let us know what’s working for you in the comments below!
Tip #4 – Link Cheat
Instagram may lend itself to jewelry, but it doesn’t necessarily do the same for selling. The main obstacle we face as businesses on the platform is link limitation. You can include URLs in your photo captions, but they aren’t clickable… so what’s the use, right? The only clickable URL on the entire platform is the link in your account bio. Here’s how to use that limitation to your advantage!
On any given day, the link in your bio should click through to your jewelry store’s website. Let’s say though, that today you want to feature something specific. For our example, we will be sending our users to Stuller.com/ValentinesDay.
For our link cheat to work, there are a few steps you must take.
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First
You need to edit the link in your account bio. As you can see, we’ve changed ours to Stuller.com/ValentinesDay. Maybe you could send your customers to a similar category page. OR if there is only one product featured in your post, you could send them to the specific product page. The possibilities are endless!
Next
Post your photo! Remember, your caption’s call-to-action needs to be similar to the one pictured above: Click the link in our bio to shop! Instagram users (especially millennials) are used to seeing this phrase so using that same repetition will easily transition them from your post to your website.
Finally
Test it out! Start off on your post, make sure your call to action is clear, click on your account name, then on the link in your bio, and make sure that clicking the URL drops you exactly where you want users to land. Working your way around Instagram’s link limitation is that simple!
There you have it – Instagram for beginners!
So far we have covered Facebook Advertising Basics and now Instagram for beginners. What would you like to read about next? A Quick Guide to Pinterest? Instagram Advertising? Let us know in the comments below!
