How to Create an Instagram Shop to Sell Vintage, Craft, Art, Fashion and More.
Selling one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind goods is tough. You probably spend most of your time buying or making, and have little time left over to run a full-fledged e-commerce shop. Like most creative people, you like what you do because you enjoy making, creating and curating — not sitting at your laptop all day uploading products and managing complicated dashboards.
In addition to e-commerce, social media is essential. If you’ve created an e-commerce shop, you know how difficult it is to get customers to visit. A social media presence on Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook can certainly help drive traffic to your site, but managing social media is time-consuming.
Postcart lets you combine efforts — so when you post to social media through Instagram, you are also building an e-commerce shop simultaneously. Postcart turns your Instagram posts into shoppable products and helps you sell on Instagram. You can use your Postcart generated products to build a simple website, or you can link these products to your existing website.
Instagram is a powerful tool for your business.
Instagram is fun and easy to use, and is the perfect platform for sharing creative visual content. Think of it as an evolving product catalog — an essential tool for driving e-commerce sales. Instagram has over 600 million users worldwide and over 300 million users daily. Six out of ten adults have an Instagram account. Instagram followers are loyal — seeing your posts in their feed if you post regularly, engaging with your content, and sharing the content that moves them.
There are a few reasons why Instagram + POSTCART is a great way to generate and increase sales:
The right customers: Instagram users are savvy, online shoppers. And unlike Facebook users who primarily login to connect to friends and family, Instagram users want to connect to loved ones as well as discover brands and products. In fact, according to a recent study, 70% or more of Instagram users have searched for brands, and 50% of users follow at least one brand. Additionally, 5% of Instagram users take action immediately after seeing a post — such as visiting a website, shopping, or telling a friend.
High engagement and conversion with products: According to a study by L2 — what resonates on Instagram can be surprising. “Sixty-five percent of the best-performing posts on Instagram feature products, while 29% feature a brand ambassador or influencer. Photos of brand products posted by users are the real drivers of conversion. Consumers who see a user-generated photo on their path to purchase have a 4.5% higher chance of conversion, which increases to 9.6% once they interact with the photo.”
The power of the image: According to John Medina, “we are incredible at remembering pictures. Hear or read a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add an image to that information, and you’ll remember 65%.” According to Static Brain, the average attention span is less than 8.25 seconds. So the fact that Instagram triumphs over Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Snap regarding engagement probably lies with its emphasis on a simple visual format. According to a recent Forrester Research study, Instagram’s engagement was 2.3% whereas Facebook’s was 0.2%, Pinterest was 0.1%, and Twitter 0.03%.
Why POSTCART is easier to use than other shoppable Instagram apps.
Over the past two years, Instagram has released updates to make the social platform more shoppable, such as adding a “Buy Button.” But in this case and others, a brand or business would still need to have an active e-commerce shop with the product already listed to link back to.
Postcart is different. Postcart turns the images you create and post on Instagram into shoppable products on the fly — and builds a website for you. With just a few posts you can build a new e-commerce shop in minutes. Or, add an “Insta shop” to your existing website — easily creating a new selling channel. Either way, your sales will likely grow with fresh content, frequently updated products, and a better in-stock rate.
A shoppable Instagram feed is good for business.
Do you remember the days when big glossy catalogs would arrive in the mail for your family’s favorite brands? Customers like to understand your brand through images and storytelling. With Instagram, you do not need a million dollar budget to create your own evolving product catalog. And when you add images of your life, process, or show behind the scenes of your business, it encourages customers to become loyal fans — because everyone loves a good story.
Postcart + Instagram will turn your most loyal followers into your best customers — allowing them to easily shop from the images you post. If they are inspired by your image, they will want to buy from that image — not some sterile version of your product on a typical e-commerce product page.
You can add your Postcart link to your profile — which will take your followers directly to your products. Or direct followers to your main website by including a link to your “Insta Shop” or “What’s New” in your site’s navigation. It’s like having a second location for your business with the newest inventory!
Plus, the more you post, the more people will engage with you business.
Give Postcart a try free for 30 days! Then, for as little as $10 a month paid annually or $14 month to month, Postcart provides you with a new and powerful selling channel. Every subscription includes discounted shipping labels, analytics, and unlimited posting. Add advanced business tools such as real-time shipping fees, product variations, and promo codes with Postcart’s Business Plan for $20 to $24 a month.
Grow your business! Start using Postcart today!
