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My Intention:
To help you achieve success without going round in circles. All outdated solutions will be removed so you get only shiit that works.
Topics:
How to Optimise Instagram Highlights for Sales
Instagram Highlights are collections of stories that you can save and showcase on your profile beyond the usual 24-hour limit. They appear in a dedicated section just below your bio, allowing followers to easily access your favorite or most important stories at any time. You can organize these highlights into different categories, like travel, products, or events, giving your profile a more curated look and offering visitors a glimpse of your key content. Essentially, they let you extend the life of your stories and keep them visible for as long as you like.
There are 4 highlights you should have on your profile to make sales or drive your brand message on Instagram. They are:
1) Behind the Scenes:
Here, you post and highlight key activities to give people a glimpse of your lifestyle outside the gram. Some example of BTS highlight posts are: (1). You packaging products for delivery. (2). Your light and camera setup for filming and photography (3). Meeting with a new client (4). Your travels (5). How conflict was resolved between you and a client (6). Your daily interaction with employees, coworkers, etc.
BTS does not require picture perfect pose, or perfect lighting, or diction etc, it should be more or less an uncut and unfiltered version of your life.
Here Are Some of My BTS:
2) Feedback and Reviews:
Never pass on an opportunity to convince a potential client. With this highlight, you let your profile visitors know you deliver on your promises thus, they can trust you. The highlight shows that people have taken risks with you and they never got burnt. One of the reasons why people don’t buy online is, they might get scammed, or they won’t get the exact product they order. Your feedback and reviews helps them overcome this fear.
Some examples of feedback and reviews are:
1. Short videos of clients while they receive their package.
2. Voice notes of clients
3. Screenshots of feedback and testimonials.
4. Some videos of you delivering service as a a service vendor (examples: Tutor, Auto Mechanic, Makeup Artist, On-sight Welder).
It’s a mix actually, but you get the drift. You don’t have to be fancy, just make screenshots, add a watermark and post.
See sample screenshot, VN and videos of my feedback and reviews
3) How To Order:
Very straight forward. You simply give detailed instructions on how to order, account details for payment, and your delivery schedule. You could have your size sheet here, price range for delivery, etc. Just be clever with the post so audience know what you mean.
4) Legal/Disclaimer:
All necessary warnings, disclaimer, terms and conditions, necessary for doing business with you should be stated here. You want to have your refund and return policy here too. It’s easier for people to have this information first before engaging with you.
5) Latest Offers:
Do you have a new product, do you have new designs? Do you have a discount for the month? It all goes here. If you are doing birthday sales, it goes here. To make it attractive, you can title the highlight “September Deals”, “Anniversary Sales”, etc.
Here are some titles you can copy and use (I’ve done all the thinking for you)
How Often Should you Update your Highlight Content?
Highlights are usually static. In the sense that they do not need to be updated regularly. Your terms and conditions are the same, your CAC certificate remains the same, your address, account number, etc remains the same. Here’s what might need some frequent updates.
1. New offers – As often as you have them. Flash sales, birthday sales, anniversaries etc.
2. BTS – Maybe twice or 4x monthly
3. Reviews – 1-2x monthly. I always advice you put your best edited reviews on the highlights and leave others as random spontaneous posts on your page.
With your highlight properly setup, you effectively convert visitors to buyers, avoid arguments over your policies and focus on what matters most. Counting money 😁 😁 😁
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How to Design and Set Effective Instagram Highlight Covers
Highlight covers are the images or icons that represent each Instagram Highlight on your profile. They serve as the “face” of the highlight collection and are displayed as small circles below your bio. You can customize these covers by selecting an image from one of the stories within the highlight or uploading a new one. Many users create branded, cohesive covers to give their profile a polished, organized look. These covers are a great way to enhance your profile’s aesthetics and make it easier for followers to navigate through your content.
Watch video below to see how to design highlight covers, and how to set them on you profile to drive attention to your highlights.
For this tutorial, we used Canva, a popular graphics design tool.
Video 1. How to Design Instagram Highlight Covers
Video 2. How to Set Highlight Covers And Create New Highlights
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6 Reasons Why You Should Add Prices to Your Instagram Posts
People often ask if they should add prices to their Instagram posts.
My short answer is YES! Except you want your DMs to be filled with questions like “How Much”.
Putting prices to your posts don’t cost anything but saves you a lot
The advantages are so much, I see no real disadvantage.
Below are more reasons why you should add prices to your Instagram posts as a smart business owner.
1. Transparency:
Displaying prices upfront builds trust with potential customers. People are more likely to engage with posts and make purchasing decisions when they know the cost of the product right away. It eliminates the need for users to ask about pricing, streamlining the buying process.
2. Convenience:
Many Instagram users prefer a seamless experience. If they see a product they like, they want quick and easy access to all relevant details, including the price. Adding prices directly to posts saves time and reduces friction, leading to faster decision-making.
3. Better Engagement:
Posts with visible prices can attract more serious buyers rather than just curious viewers. This can reduce irrelevant comments or messages about pricing and increase interactions with those who are genuinely interested in purchasing.
4. Encourages Impulse Buying:
Instagram is a visual platform, and users often make purchases based on emotion or inspiration. If they see a product they like and the price fits within their budget, they are more likely to make an immediate purchase without hesitation.
5. Increased Sales Opportunities:
For businesses using Instagram Shopping, tagging products with prices in posts allows customers to tap and shop directly from the platform. This feature makes it easier for users to browse and buy without leaving Instagram, boosting the likelihood of conversion.
6. Leverage Honesty As A Competitive Advantage:
In industries where pricing is a key factor, being transparent about costs can differentiate a brand from competitors who don’t display their prices. This openness can position a business as more consumer-friendly and honest.
Summary:
Putting price tags on your products helps you filter out unserious buyers, and saves you time. Without price on your posts, you’d have to respond to over 1,000 DMs, where only a tiny fragment end up buying. With your price tags on, you have a higher conversion rate because those who DM, or visit your sales page are ready to buy.
Smart business owners prefer to put price tags, to save time and increase conversion rates.
Go the smart way, add your prices to every post.
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Instagram DM Strategy We Use to Increase Conversion by 80 – 90%
I will write from a service vendor’s stand point first, then adapt for product businesses. Reason is, regardless of the type of business (product or service) we are dealing with humans who are at the end of their buying journey but need final guidance to buy your product, or sign-up, or book your services as the case may be.
Note, this “framework” won’t work for you if you do a poor job at driving leads and potential clients to your DM.
For a start, they must be coming to the DM with the intention of buying. A carefully curated page and Ads should filter-out window shoppers – to simply put.
With that said, let’s proceed to the framework:
For Service Based Businesses (6 Steps to closing 90% sales in the DM)
1. Respond to new DMs within 60 seconds
Most clients initiate chat with more than 2 service providers. The quickest vendor to respond and take charge of conversation has an upper hand.
Also, social media users have short attention span. They might be reaching out to solve a problem now, and next minute consuming content on your competitors’ page.
You should avoid delays that might make them find other ways to ease their pains, or realise they could live with the pain longer.
2. Ask leading questions to drive the conversation
Leading questions help steer conversations to our desired objective [sale]. As much as possible, cut them off the long stories with a question.
Asking leading questions cut the time you spend chatting or talking on phone by over 60%.
Apart from reducing the sign-up time, your questions assures the client that you understand what their problems. So use the opportunity to gain their trust even more. Next…
3. Highlight key points in the conversation. i.e. client’s problems, and what they wish to achieve
4. Recommend a service
State in details how “this xyz service” is perfect to solve their problem, and how long it would take you to deliver.
5. Ask for the sale – Proceed to close the client by asking if client wants to make payment and sign-up now.
6. Move conversation from IG DM to your preferred CRM platform (e.g. WhatsApp Business)
Product Based Businesses
1. Respond to DM in first 60 seconds
2. If client ask for details of a product, go ahead to give detail, if not,
3. Ask leading questions to attain customer’s needs.
4. Suggest Product and needed quantity.
5. Ask for the sale
6. Close the sale
7. Move client to your preferred CRM platform
Repeat this as many times as you need.
NB: While closing the sale, remind clients of your terms & conditions, and delivery schedule.
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