Jan 13, 2020
These days, it seems like everyone wants to go viral — even, and maybe especially, brands. ...
These days, it seems like everyone wants to go viral — even, and maybe especially, brands.
That’s right, it’s not only aspiring fashionistas, budding bodybuilders, and other consumers who try to find the perfect image to reel in the “likes” and launch them to fame and fortune on Instagram. Increasingly, B2B and B2C sellers are going social and taking to platforms like Instagram.
That’s because nearly 3.5 billion people around the world (or 45% of the population), count themselves as active social media users, and Instagram is increasingly the platform of choice.
Already, the platform boasts more than 1 billion users and counting, meaning that there’s no shortage of potential customers to reach with the perfect photo. What’s more, these social media scrollers are typically open to being influenced by something they see on the app. According to one survey, 72% of Instagram users report making purchase decisions based on something that they saw while browsing the app, making this platform a place for more than just pretty advertising.
Finding success on Instagram, however, isn’t as simple as snapping a selfie and watching the sales roll in. Selling via any social channel, particularly Instagram, poses additional challenges for companies, from added channel complexity to specific channel requirements, and much more.
So how do you make sure this information is up to par and ready to turn scrollers into buyers?
Time is of the essence on Instagram and other social media sites.
New posts are added every second, and consumer tastes change nearly as quickly, meaning your team needs to be able to move quickly and capitalize on emerging trends or opportunities to have success on Instagram. What’s more, when Instagram users click on a branded post, they’re taken to a product description page where they will see information like product images, descriptions, and prices, along with a link to your website. Customers expect to find the answers to their questions within moments — but if your team is wasting time with time-consuming and tedious processes, you won’t be able to provide the kind of information your customers expect and demand.
Tackle these tedious tasks with Akeneo’s PXM solution. Akeneo offers features designed to help you add accurate measurements, compelling product descriptions, emotionally resonant images, and other assets to your product information quickly and easily, making sure that you make the most of every second.
Just as quickly changing timelines and trends necessitate speed, they also require accuracy.
Consumers, particularly social shoppers, won’t spend time searching for information or data about your product. If they can’t find the info they want quickly, they’ll abandon the purchase or patronize another merchant who tells them what they want to know. The same can be said if they don’t trust the information or if the information is wrong — and even customers who are convinced to make a purchase will return the product and likely won’t shop with you again afterward.
This means that product information must be airtight — accurate, consistent, and easy to find. Use PIM features like automation, catalog completeness, and more to ensure that no incorrect or inconsistent product information gets anywhere near your customers.
Even if your information is accurate and easy to find, it won’t much matter if you aren’t speaking directly to Instagram users when selling on the platform.
Context is king when it comes to social selling. Just because something works on your eCommerce store doesn’t mean it will work on other digital platforms, including Instagram. That’s also true of other social media platforms. It’s all about high-quality images and long captions on Instagram, not so on other platforms. As a result, it’s crucial to tailor content to fit the guidelines and unique elements for each social media network, otherwise, you won’t properly connect with your customers.
With Akeneo features like export profiles, which ensure marketers export only the data they need, and route it to the desired channel and locale, along with Akeneo’s diverse and dynamic ecosystem of partners and connectors make it easy to send product information in context to all of your sales channels.
Instagram is such a powerful engine for sales in large part because of the emotion it can generate among customers.
When shoppers see an item on Instagram that catches their eye, they’re often acting on an emotional impulse. But those powerful emotional impulses don’t appear out of thin air — you need to cultivate an emotional response from social media shoppers by providing them with the compelling and emotionally resonant customer experiences that will convert them from followers to customers. Offering that customer experience starts and ends by providing product experiences built on a foundation of high-quality, compelling product descriptions, dynamic digital product assets like photos and videos, and more.
By utilizing robust PXM solutions to tackle tedious, time-consuming work, your marketing team will have more time to create these assets and foster emotional customers between you and your customers on Instagram.
Instagram holds no shortage of opportunities for brands of every shape and size — especially fashion, tech, and sportswear brands, which already experience plenty of popularity on the site. But no matter what kind of business you run, interacting with customers via social media platforms like Instagram can allow you to expose yourself to new customers and market your products without spending a dime, and help you open a whole new sales channel.
But in order to take advantage of these opportunities, your product information needs to be up to par. Use PIM features and tools like automated business rules engines, validation workflows, export profiles, and more to more efficiently and successfully sell your products via social media networks like Instagram.
Get instafamous by boosting the quality of your product experience!! Learn how PIM and PXM can help your company turn social media into a serious driver of sales and revenue by reading our blog on Turning A New Commerce Channel Into A Success or get in touch today!
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