Introduction:
Ray : Hi Tammy! How are you? Yesterday there was a 9.9 sale in the Philippines?
Tammy : Hi Ray! Yes, there was a 9.9 sale yesterday here in Lazada, and I bought a lot of items! Like a keyboard, mouse and computer chair. Because my keyboard here is starting to be not nice to me, you know it’s getting old. So checked some hot sale items to buy.
Ray : That’s great! What are we going to talk about today?
Tammy : Yes, from the previous podcast, we talked about selling in facebook marketplace. And today, we’re going to talk about selling on Instagram.
Ray : That’s a nice topic, as most people also do have an instagram account apart from their facebook account. Right? So yes, this one will be another interesting topic for our listeners.
Tammy : Because we’re giving more options to the entrepreneurs on where to sell their products. And Instagram is also a great place to sell.
What is Instagram:
Ray : Okay, maybe we can tell our listeners first, what is Instagram, it is actually a social networking platform launched maybe around 2010, it is where you can share your photos and videos with your friends or followers, and this is also owned by facebook.
Tammy : That’s why you will notice that when you post something on instagram you can also share it in your facebook account and vice versa. Anyway, people are also into instagram, because of it’s super easy and fun access to everything.
Ray : I agree with you, like if you’re looking for something, you just have to search in the search page, or put the tag, or location. Then all results will show up.
Tammy : It’s actually fun, because if you’re looking for some popular korean actor, or products that you are looking for, just simply put the name on the search button, then poof! All results will show up.
Why sell on Instagram?
Ray : Beside using Instagram for social networking, you can also make a business account for your business, like instead of creating a personal account, you may create a business account.
Tammy : What I like about this Instagram business is that you can categorize your business, in this way, people can find you easily.
Ray : Also, you have to follow their policies on posting your product, do not neglect it, as a lot of business user’s accounts have been disabled with thousands of followers. You don’t want that to happen to you.
Tammy : That’s Right, Ray. I’ve seen a lot of business owners here in the Philippines with 10,000 followers and their account has been disabled by instagram for some reason.
Ray : Oh that’s very devastating. That’s why it is very important to read terms and conditions. So What can you say about using Instagram as your online business platform?
Tammy : Well, personally I think this is a good idea, other than it has millions of users around the world, it is also free of use.
Ray : Yeah, that’s one of the cool things about instagram is that it’s free of charge, the only thing you have to pay for it is running ads for your business, well if you don’t run any ads, then everything will be free.
Tammy : Yes, also you can always change your business account to personal account every certain week, maybe 2 weeks or 3.
Ray : Instagram is flexible with things you want them to be. Just as I mentioned a while ago, you just have to follow their terms and conditions. Anyway, besides selling your products on instagram, you can also do a business for marketing, or by just simple promoting your business.
Tammy : Well, instagram is a visual platform to help you connect with your customers, you can share your photos or videos of your team and customers or any feedback to engage with your audience. You can use the platform to update your customers about your upcoming events, promotions or sales.
Ray : Yes, that would be a great idea, I suggest here that you run campaign ads so that, not only your followers will get an update of your promotions, but also the people who are interested in your products.
Tammy : In addition to that, you may also want to add a sneak peak to your new launch items or services. Just target the right audience. For me, this is the best place to promote your items. I just want to share with you that here in the Philippines, there are a lot of business owners who are currently doing business using instagram, or maybe they shift to this platform, because it’s free. Anyway, there is currently a trend now here that you don’t need to boost or run ads to gain more followers or buyers. But they do a contest.
Ray : Wow! That sounds so cool, so what kind of contest is that and how do you win?
Tammy : Okay, for example you are selling an iphone, of course, let’s face it, a lot of people want to have an iphone. So they will join the contest. The contest is quick and easy. You just have to follow 3 steps. The first step is : to follow the instagram account of the owner, second is : to like the picture posted for that certain contest. And the 3rd is : to tag 3 friends. So the more people do that, they will gain a lot of followers, imagine if those 3 friends that were tagged multiplies and multiplies, it’s not impossible for you to gain 1,000 followers in just 1 hour.
Ray : wow! That’s so fun! A fun way of joining the contest! Very quick and easy. And an engaging one for both sellers and buyers. You should also think of marketing strategies like that. It is really important to be creative in this online world.
Tammy : I agree! What about let’s talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using instagram for business?
What is the advantages and disadvantages
Ray : sure! Let’s talk about advantage first, there a lot of benefits you can see when using instagram for business, like example is:
(1) it has a lot of users now, like millions of users.
(2) It’s no wonder engagement is so high. By jumping on a platform that is entirely built for sharing photos and videos, brands can leverage consumers’ love for imagery quickly and effectively.
(3) The post of images will remain forever as long as the user did not remove it from the account of instagram, So, the new followers or users can have a look at the product of business and connect with the business brand.
Tammy : Yes, Instagram is a valuable medium of social media in the future especially for the business purpose because the method of marketing and strategy are rigid but the feedbacks are higher and the positive impact was very good, and it is easy for the business owner to use.
The business owners can buy Instagram followers, So, Business owners using Instagram must ensure that they are producing professional pictures of their products or services and giving the correct message to their audience.
Ray : The best features of Instagram is the high visibility of a post, where every post of images can appear in the newsfeed or home of the followers, the hashtags also enable the capabilities of Instagram to give an impact to the posts to the new users or followers.
Tammy : The business through Instagram can start and have a small community of customers and it will grow up rapidly, the seller of the product can manage a real attitude of the customer from a normal buyer to a regular buyer or customer, Instagram can connect with the targeted audience. While the disadvantage of using instagram is that The copyright of the photos that posted will be easily lost, That is one of the risks of using the social media, and for business marketing, their photos of product can be repost or copying for other parties use it without asking permission, and people can copy your photos.
Ray : That’s why it is also important to put a watermark on your photo to avoid these situations, Instagram presents powerful options to marketers. It gives us the ability to reach new audiences, increase exposure and take brands to a new level by creating content that people love to engage with.
Tammy : Of course, there are challenges: it’s difficult to stand out and it’s difficult to turn interest into bottom line conversions.
Ray : correct, but overall, for me it is great to use instagram for your business as a start up business. It’s free anyway. Why not!
Tammy : Yea! Why not! Anyway, listeners can always research this instagram for more information!
Ray : And learn more marketing strategies for your business!
Tammy : Yes! Thanks ray for today’s discussion, til next time!
Ray : Bye Tammy!