How to Use Instagram Influencer Marketing in eCommerce

Empire builders, you already know that marketing is key when it comes to growing your dropshipping business. Facebook ads are the common go-to for eCommerce marketing, but how can you advertise your products without going down the Facebook route? The simple answer is influencer marketing. Ecommerce Empire Builders has found tremendous success in working with Instagram influencers as part of our marketing strategy for our supplement business. Check out our strategy for converting Instagram shoutouts to sales below. 

How Untapped Focus Grew

At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we have created a successful supplement company known as Untapped Focus. This company has truly been built on the backs of influencers. We have paid very little in ads toward this business. We took our Instagram page from 100 followers to over 10,000 followers in just a month through our Instagram marketing strategy. 

Our marketing strategy was simple. 

We paid Instagram influencers for shoutouts. We spent around $600 on this process. However, the investment turned out to be well worth the initial costs as Untapped Focus has been able to thrive from influencer marketing. 

The influencers we worked with are probably not the ones you think of right off the bat. In terms of Instagram influencers, there are two types. There are meme page influencers and then personal brand influencers. Meme pages are the Instagram pages that center around a single topic like entrepreneurship, business, or investing. These pages give people tips and content focused on these subjects.

In comparison, personal brand influencers have Instagram pages that are focused on their personality or lifestyle. For growing our supplement company, we primarily worked with meme page influencers. While some dropshippers in the industry have said meme page advertisement is dead, our company is proof that this strategy is still thriving (and it can help no matter what you’re selling). 

How to Create a Winning Instagram 

new business owner creating an Instagram page

Instagram influencer marketing is great for building your brand awareness. But first, you have to create your own winning Instagram page. Your Instagram page is essentially the landing page of your brand. You have to create an Instagram page that can be a conversion machine before you can have success through influencer marketing. 

So, how do you create a winning Instagram page?

1. Writing a Captivating Bio 

One element that is extremely important in successful Instagram brand pages is the bio. In the first three to four lines of your bio, you have to sell your product. You do this by showcasing the one main benefit your product can bring to people.

 For us, our big, bold statement is that our supplement provides everyone with all-day focus naturally with no calories, sugars, carbs, jitters, or crashes. Remember, your business goal is to provide people with solutions. Make sure your Instagram bio relays to the customer how your product will make their life easier or better in some aspects. 

2. Utilizing Story Highlights 

A second element you need to nail down on your Instagram brand page is the story highlight feature. Stories are an Instagram feature that allows for both monetization and product education. We use the story highlight feature to educate our customers on everything they need to know about the product. We also have story highlights that go over details like shipping.

Having story highlights that answer common questions in an easy-to-access space is an excellent feature for customers. It also gives you a place to direct customers, so you don’t have to answer the same question repeatedly. Instagram stories also allow you a space to sell your product. This is a feature we use regularly and suggest that you do the same. 

3. Having a Mixture of Posts 

Post content is the third element that you need to master to set up a winning Instagram brand page. Ultimately, your brand page needs to have a mixture of posts. The two main types of posts you need to have on your Instagram page are viral content posts and product posts

Viral Style Posts

Viral style posts have a hook and draw people in with valuable information nuggets and captivating graphics. This style of post gives people a reason to follow you even if they’re not going to buy your product right away. But make no mistake: each follower you gain is a potential customer. 

Product Style Posts

Product style posts educate your followers on what type of products you sell. These posts are designed to help followers see how your product can make their lives easier. These types of posts have a longer copy to drive home the benefits of your product. Think of your Instagram posts as your social media landing page. You want potential customers to know two things. The first is the products that you sell, and the second is how the product can help them better their lives.

You will always want your Instagram branding page to have a variety of these two styles of posts. Utilizing both styles will keep current followers engaged and help to bring in new followers, as well. It also sets a solid foundation for your Instagram influencer marketing strategy.

Working with the Right Influencers 

two people browsing Instagram memes together

After you’ve set up a winning Instagram branding page, you need to start working with the right influencers for your Instagram influencer marketing strategy. If you’re looking to grow your following, we recommend working with meme page influencers. There are a few steps that we go through to find the right type of pages to reach out to and work with. 

1. Research Popular Meme Pages

The first step in finding influencers to work is conducting research. Get on Instagram and search a keyword like entrepreneurs or business. A ton of meme-style Instagram pages will pop up. Go through this list and look at the content these pages put out and the number of followers they have. 

2. Check Out Their Metric on Social Blade

After you’ve created a list of some meme pages that you like, you can head on over to Social Blade. This website will give you all the stats you need to know about these pages, like their engagement levels and daily average growth. A page’s daily average growth is the determining factor for us when it comes to striking an advertising deal with the page. If the page has been able to grow itself successfully, it will help your brand page grow. 

3. Strike a Deal 

Once you’ve found the prime influencers you want to work with, it’s time to strike a deal. We start by contacting pages, and they generally come back with their rates. We always pay based on a page’s stats. If they come back with an offer that is too high, we respond with something along the lines of, “Based on your stats, this is the offer we are willing to pay.”

This negotiating tactic has worked well for us, and most brands take the deal we offer. The great thing about researching is that a page can’t lie about their metrics. A page’s metrics can easily be found, and their page’s performance metrics ultimately determines their worth. 

Paying for influencer shoutouts has yielded our business significant returns. You can have the same results for your eCommerce business as long as you do your research

Consult With the Pros 

screen grab of researching influencers on Social Blade

If you’re ready to start your own eCommerce empire, check out our exclusive free webinar today. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we can help you build, launch, and scale your very own profitable eCommerce business. For more eCommerce knowledge bombs, check our YouTube channel, which is stacked with tons of free eCommerce and dropshipping resources. 

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