Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms today. From celebrities to stores to nail salons to teens, everyone’s in so why should you miss out on all the fun?

The great thing about Instagram is that it is a simplified platform where basically you can share, like, tag and comment on your pictures and on those of others, similar to Facebook.The filters offered by the Instagram help you set the tone and mood for your pictures so you can create quite a varied gallery of a colourful palette.   Just like its name suggests, everything happens instantly and in an instance! It is super easy to use and it can generate great sales for your online store created with Shoptsie. If you don’t have an Instagram account just yet, download the Instagram app and join the Insta community.

Tips on how to boost your Instagram presence:

1. For the love of God, do not share boring pictures that are very alike! Crop, adjust, color, filter, there are so many tools to be creative! Let your imagination loose and take pictures of your products that have a positive vibe to them!
2. Use #hashtags. The art of using # may seem complicated but it’s really about pointing out tags that will help your existing and future customers to find your products. Don’t just use them for the sake of using them, be strategic. For instance you are a shoe seller and post a picture of a high-heeled women’s shoe. The hashtags you might want to use should be somewhere around the lines of: #boots #heels #redsoles #leather #snakeskin #fashion #footwear. Don’t overuse them, 6-8 appropriate hashtags will do the tricks, no need to go overboard.
3. Since you cannot add a link under the picture, only in the bio section, you could be adding the link of your shop directly onto your picture, this way everyone will know and remember your store and they might start from one product but once they visit your store, chances are they will buy more than one product.
4. Motivate your followers to buy by making promotional sale campaigns, use discount codes that you can add either in the description or again, directly onto the picture. Shoptsie offers a great discount code application solution that can be perfectly aligned with this.
5. Be consistent about how often you post. If you decide to post twice a day then stick to it. Some stores manage to post every hour, some post three times a week. Find the tempo that works for you and pay attention to your followers, if they drop like flies, you either lost their interest by posting too rarely or you scare them away with a post every half an hour.
6. Another great way of promoting your store and increase the number of followers is to make a contest. Create a contest theme, choose a product, find a #hashtag that goes well with the product, and start posting. For example, you represent your clothing store. Holidays are around the corner, so choose a pair of gloves, name the contest Christmas Giveaway Contest and create a related hashtag like #iwantthosegloves. You can appoint the lucky winner among those who follow you, who like your post, and use the hashtag under your post.
7. Announce a long-term discount project. Tell your buyers to post pictures on Instagram wearing/showcasing your product and mentioning you in the description and in hashtags and they will get a 15% discount when purchasing the next item from your store