Does the time you spend on Instagram bring you lots of business, enquiries and sales? Or… do you find social media spikes your comparison, overwhelming and something you’re guessing at how to “do”?

If it’s the latter, it’s time to change gear and get focussed on actively using Instagram in a way that will drive sales. Because here’s the thing, scrolling Instagram, checking in with your favs, or saving posts to use for Inspo are all easy traps to fall in, but they won’t pay your bills.

Scrolling doesn’t sell!

Showing up on social media is great, but if you want to generate interest and make sales you need to get intentional with how you’re using Instagram, and this blog post is here to help you do just that. Read on for a checklist of 7 things to make sure you’re doing on your Instagram to make it as simple as possible for your audience to decide whether to buy from you.

Here are 7 healthy habits to increase your sales on Instagram:

1: Update your bio

Your bio is the quickest way to grab a new person’s attention. Make sure yours is specific enough about who you help and what desired outcome you help them achieve. If new arrivals to your page can’t quickly identify what you do, they won’t stick around. Include a link to what you want them to see next and a call to action to encourage them to actually click on it!

2: Establish connection

Selling online is largely about relationships, and relationships start with connection. In fact, not feeling connected to the business / product is one of the main blocks to any sale. Instead of going in cold, use your content to create genuine connection with your audience and make sure you’re engaged in the comments - because this is where you can really get to know the people in your community.

3: Show what you know

Every purchasing decision starts with the desire to make a change. So, what is it that your ideal client wants to change and how can you help them do it? The more you can demonstrate you understand where your client is at and what they want to achieve, the easier it’ll be for them to progress to buy from you when the time is right.

4: Be engaged and start conversations

Get REALLY GOOD at starting conversations relating to your specialist subject via interactive stickers, polls and CTAs across your stories and grid.

Invite interested people to express interest through polls that are specific to your topic and easy to answer “yes / no”. For example, “do you struggle with x”, “are you planning to achieve y this year”, do you feel stuck on z”. Doing this creates an opportunity for your ideal clients to let you know where their interest lies, and from there you can continue the conversation in the DMs (see next point!)

5: Chat with your audience in your DMs

When your client takes an action (replied to your poll, sent a DM, asked a question in your question sticker) you have an opportunity to start a conversation with them privately about that topic. Note: this is about understanding about what’s going on for them, it’s not about selling anything yet.

Being attentive and asking questions allows your audience to connect with the topics you like to discuss, and builds trust. When you have these two things, you can focus on content that builds awareness of the problems they face, and the solutions you have to resolve them.

6: Understand your audience’s needs

Next up, use your content and DMs to understand what your ideal client wants to achieve, where they feel stuck and what they have tried up to this point. You might choose to do this by creating this / that type content, creating a series of polls, or asking directly. The more information you can extract about the desired next outcome they are working towards, the more relevant you can be in your positioning.

7: Invite your audience to learn more about your products and services

Once you can establish the outcome your client wants, the next step is to confirm this back to them and to invite them to learn more about the solution you have in mind and how this helps them get there. Obtaining consent at every step is crucial, so never presume anybody wants to hear about your services until they have actually confirmed they do!

Using Instagram to nurture your audience in this way will not only grow your confidence in the way you talk about your products, but it will also help your community connect with you and what you have on offer and make an easier decision about whether to buy from you or recommend you to friends. The purpose of any content piece you create is to help more people move from cold and anonymous to warmed up to what you do.

Before you head off back to Instagram to put all of this into action, here’s something I reallllly want you to know…

Selling on social media should NEVER be icky or salesy.

If it feels that way it’s likely to be because you don’t have a framework or process to convert your followers into paying clients in a way that feels good to both you and your audience.

If you’re realising you need a step by step process to follow, or you’re still feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure about where to start with selling on Instagram - I’ve created a 60-minute training to help you Increase Your Sales On Social Media and to get you into the habit of warming up your audience in a way that feels really natural and effortless:

7 Steps to Increasing Your Sales on Instagram