Carlo Pacis — September 29, 2017 — September 29, 2017
Reliably driving sales from social platforms like Instagram is one of the biggest challenges that digital marketers face.
And it makes sense. It’s tough to drive fleeting, generally low-intent Instagram followers all the way through your marketing or sales funnel to generate revenue.
That being said, there’s a few strategies you can employ to maximize your sales from social media. With that in mind, I present to you 15 awesome examples of Instagram posts that drive sales, featuring content from huge brands like McDonald’s, Spotify, and H&M.
1. Foot Locker
How this post drives sales:
This is a pretty straightforward offering as far as Instagram posts that drive sales go. It’s a product launch-based post – Foot Locker is promoting an upcoming Adidas sneaker launch with this post of the product.
As far as the photo goes, it’s simple but beautiful. It’s easy for potential customers viewing this post to see what the product is in great detail. If you’re planning on sharing your own product shots, do your best to make sure they look outstanding.
I like that the caption includes the specific launch date, as well as where followers can find and purchase the aforementioned product. They’ve also included the link to find stores, which is great, but keep in mind that caption links in Instagram aren’t clickable. I’d have preferred if they directed people to a link in their bio, which would be clickable.
2. Nespresso
How this post drives sales:
This is a clever Instagram video post for a few reasons.
The first thing that jumps out at an Instagram user is the fact that actor George Clooney is in the post! This is a great use of influencer (a term that’s probably an understatement for Clooney) marketing to build attention and generate engagement for a brand. The post is a video, but Nespresso has carefully chosen a thumbnail that clearly displays Clooney – making it more likely that people will click through from their News or Explore feeds.
The video itself is great because it highlights someone who is admired enjoying a certain product. This is a source of social proof, which is a psychological phenomenon that refers to people’s tendency to do what others do. When that “other” is George Clooney or not, it’s appealing to see someone else enjoying a product.
Finally, I like that Nespresso links to their bio. It’s the easiest way to get someone to click through to the destination you’ve intended for them.
3. Spotify
How this post drives sales:
Similar to the previous post, Spotify catches your attention with Sting, a legend in the music industry.
The photo itself is just fine – even though it looks like a quick shot taken from a smartphone, I like the fact that it feels “in the moment”, and that it conveys the “live” feeling that’s representative of Spotify Singles’ recordings.
What I like most about this post, however – and how it drives sales – is that the caption shows potential buyers that the featured “products” (in this case, Sting’s Spotify Singles) are exclusive – you need to sign up or pay for Spotify Premium to listen to them. Clearly communicating a benefit exclusive to your paying customers is a good way to get more sales through the door.
4. Square
How this post drives sales:
Square’s whole Instagram strategy is amazing when it comes to driving sales through social media. Almost all of their posts highlight one of their users and how they’ve found success with Square.
As appealing as the previously mentioned celebrity testimonials are, they don’t provide nearly the same magnitude of social proof that customer success stories do. Showing potential buyers what they can get out of your product by sharing customer experiences with them is incredibly powerful, and can help you push massive sales.
You’ll also notice the caption includes mention of Square’s integration with Weebly. Even though this is a testimonial-type post, Square still manages to mention a feature that might be important to customers.
5. Waze
How this post drives sales:
Partnerships are another great way to drive sales. Waze knows many of their users are Spotify users, and vice versa. Highlighting their partnership (and the way their apps work together) is an awesome way to share customers. Customers that enjoy Waze will be more likely to try Spotify (this works the other way around as well) because they’ve previously had a good experience with the app.
Though this isn’t a direct sales post – Waze actually directs viewers to a blog post – it serves to inform users (both future and existing) of features and integrations they may not have been previously aware of.
This post drives sales by leveraging another respected company’s customer base, as well as by sharing a new feature. If I were to change one thing, I’d make the CTA more direct – maybe change the link to direct viewers to a landing page or product page.
6. HP
How this post drives sales:
In addition to being a visually pleasing video, this post is great because it’s topical. HP knows which product perform well at certain times of year, and they leverage the back-to-school crowd by creating a seasonally relevant post about their Sprocket printer.
Though it’s not technically part of the post, I like that HP does a good job responding in the comments section to queries from their followers and fans, directing people to sales channels.
However, this specific query shouldn’t be necessary – HP should already have directed people to these channels within the video itself or in the caption. That being said, it’s still an awesome post to drive sales.
7. Amazon
How this post drives sales:
This is probably the most direct sales post on this list. To promote their Amazon Fresh service, Amazon posted a coupon to their Instagram account to encourage people to buy.
Coupons are an awesome – and easy – way to push fans out of passively following your social media accounts into becoming actively paying customers. They’re attention-grabbing and can make the difference between someone simply admiring your products and actually buying them.
The photo itself is quite good – it highlights the offer clearly in bold text, which is sure to stand out on a follower’s crowded News Feed.
Finally, I love the way Amazon frames the coupon as a “thank you” for being rated #1 amongst online grocery stores. It’s a great way to make fans feel appreciated.
8. H&M
How this post drives sales:
Though it’s hard to tell from this static screenshot, H&M does an awesome job promoting their new partnered line with Justin Bieber with this video that highlights all of the items in the collection. This video is simple, but very effective in showing off their newest products.
Creating a short video can be effective if you’re looking to highlight or promote multiple products at once (another option is using a Carousel post).
Like I’ve mentioned about other posts, I would’ve liked if H&M took the time to link to their bio to make a direct sale. H&M has a relatively strong e-commerce site – it’s a bit of a waste that they’re not pushing traffic to it.
9. KFC
How this post drives sales:
I’ll be honest – I included this post because it’s silly. KFC are one of the unsung masters of social media; they’ve built their presence with strong branding and a commitment to outrageous content, care of the Colonel himself.
This post is great because it’s effective at drawing attention. When it comes to quick-moving platforms like Instagram (ever lost a post you wanted to a show a friend because your feed moved too quickly?), it’s important to post content that’s engaging.
This post does that, which pulls people into reading the caption, where KFC highlights their real ask: check out their $ 10 Chicken Share!
10. Gymshark
How this post drives sales:
This is a classic example of Instagram influencer marketing. Lex Fitness is a representative of Gymshark, a fitness apparel company. As a result, many of his posts feature Gymshark clothing – in all of which he tags the Gymshark account. This helps direct his own legion of fans (he’s a YouTuber) to Gymshark, leveraging social proof to drive sales.
This post is a little different than a simple partnered product post in that he’s highlighting an event. If your own business is hosting (or attending) an event, it’s an awesome idea to partner with local influencers for a meet-and-greet as it’s going to drive a ton of foot traffic to your event (and that means more sales).
11. Lokai
How this post drives sales:
This is another relatively simple product post to drive sales. It’s great because Lokai directs people directly to where they can buy (using the link in their bio). Though it doesn’t make a big impact on how effective the post is for sales, I also like that they’re using a reposted photo from a fan. It creates a bit of social proof, and is a nice way to show followers you’re paying attention to them.
What I do particularly like about this post is that Lokai highlights a deadline. Telling followers that there’s “only a few hours left” creates urgency and will force people who are on the fence about a purchase to make a decision. This same reasoning will follow with any other time-sensitive offers you have, like coupons, discounts and promotions.
12. McDonald’s
How this post drives sales:
Just like coupons, discounts and promotions are a direct sales offer – probably the best way to quickly drive sales from a social media post. This post from McDonald’s does this well; the caption highlights a BOGO promotion they hosted for Friendship Day.
Not only is the promotion enticing (c’mon – who wouldn’t want a free sandwich?), it’s topical and thematic, lining up with Friendship Day perfectly.
If I could make one recommendation, I’d say McDonald’s probably could have highlighted the promotion better in the photo itself. Though it still represents this promotion, I think big, bold text would help to generate awareness – many people don’t actually read the captions on their feeds.
13. Lululemon
How this post drives sales:
This is sales on Instagram done right.
Though at first glance this post looks incredibly simple, Lululemon uses Instagram as an effective entry step in its sales funnel.
Let’s start with the photo – it’s a simple photo of a young woman who’s representative of the company’s target market. It does a good job of highlighting multiple Lulu products in a way that doesn’t feel overly “in-your-face”.
The caption directs followers to the link in Lulu’s bio, which directs people to a third-party page. This page basically holds a replica of Lululemon’s Instagram feed, which allows them to link directly to product and e-commerce pages for the various products they feature in their photos (as you can see below).
Using a service like this (such as Like2b.uy or Have2Have.It) is awesome for a couple reasons. First, it means you never need to change the link in your bio – meaning “link in bio” captions from older photos never become obsolete. It allows you to link to multiple locations from your posts, which isn’t otherwise possible.
14. Kellogg’s
How this post drives sales:
Kellogg’s has their Instagram strategy on lock. As you can see in the example above, Kellogg’s often posts recipes that feature their products. The photo itself looks great, and the caption is even better – it direct viewers to the link in their bio, which holds a recipe featuring Kellogg’s cereal.
Educational posts like this one are great for driving sales – they encourage people to buy and use your product, but still provide benefit and knowledge to people who already own it. Communicating the benefit people can get from using your product (as opposed to its features) can be a more compelling way to drive sales on Instagram.
15. Harry’s
How this post drives sales:
Besides being my subscription shave service of choice, I love Harry’s branding.
In case you’ve been living under a rock (or giant quarry of dragonglass), this post is a direct reference to the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. It’s an appeal to Harry’s target market, showing that the company’s personality lines up with that of their fans and followers. This creates an emotional connection with followers – and though that might not drive sales right away, it helps when customers are choosing from multiple options in the future.
To make the sale, Harry’s makes a cheeky reference to the high quality of their products (comparing it to the show’s fictional – and sought-after – Valyrian steel), and then leaves it at that. It’s a bit shameless, but the effort put into the image itself warrants the promotion.
Conclusion
There you go: 15 Instagram posts built to drive sales. Hopefully, you’re coming away from this article with a few takeaways about how you can create awesome content that will drive sales for your own business on Instagram.
Questions? Any other strategies you’ve seen that work well for Instagram? Let me know in the comments below!
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