Instagram has approximately 1 billion active users worldwide each month, making it an ideal way to get your content seen and your brand recognized. By pairing the recognition possibilities of Instagram with email marketing’s ROI of 4,400%, you can easily create a brand that’s driving revenue and attracting new interest each month.

Instagram’s dedicated user-base and email marketing’s unmatched ROI give marketers the ability to use the two channels together to boost sales. Wondering how exactly that can happen?

That’s where we come in. Read on to learn how you can make Instagram and email marketing work together to drive revenue for your business.

1. Use Instagram to get more email subscribers

With its user-base already at 1 billion (and counting), Instagram is an immensely powerful social network. Capitalize on Instagram’s popularity by using it as a platform to grow your email list.

All you need to do? Add a sign-up form in your Instagram bio and boost it to your followers.

You can even design a custom sign-up form and integrate it with Instagram and other popular platforms. Most email marketing services have this feature, so it wouldn’t be difficult for you to create a sign-up form that you can use specifically for Instagram.

The trick is to make sure your subscribers know what they are signing up. In a few lines describe the value you are going to bring to them via the email channel. Exclusive extra’s? Discounts? First in line? Ability to stay in touch? All valid sign up reasons that can nudge them and get people excited.

The next step of course is to send them an automated welcome email campaign or welcome series that delivers that value. Even a simple “say hi and ask me anything” type message can go very far with a socially engaged fan base. There are many cheap email marketing tools available that are able to do all these things, sometimes even from a forever-free account.

Make sure your first email is recognizable to your new found follow-scribers (that’s how you can call your most engaged fans from now :D). The from name, brand color scheme and imagery in your email should be recognizable. From a personal IG account, think about including your avatar in the footer or header of your email and refer to the signup source (being Insta).

What you just did is go from a single channel engagement, to including them in email database, one of the owned channels best for lead generation and sales. From there, taking the relationship to a next level  becomes even easier.

Luckily, users who subscribe to your email list through Instagram are quality leads. They are already familiar with your brand, or they took the time to review your profile.

Those who subscribe via Instagram have shown interest in your brand, which will simplify your processes moving forward. You can easily nurture these leads and hopefully convert them into paying customers.

2. Increase your Instagram following through email.

As a growing brand, you can always gain more followers on Instagram. But don’t spend your resources attracting new followers who are unfamiliar with your company. Instead, attract the customers who already subscribe to your email list.

It’s likely not all of your email subscribers follow you on Instagram. The quickest way to remedy this is by implementing a CTA in your emails that encourages subscribers to follow you on social.

For example, you can place a CTA with the text “Follow us on”, and then place a button that links back to your Instagram profile. It doesn’t have to be just Instagram, either. You can also add buttons that link back to your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.

The more Instagram followers you have, the more your content will be seen. This increases your chances of boosting your sales figures.

3. Take advantage of influencer marketing.

Social media influencers have a strong standing in today’s market, influencing subscriber decision-making in a variety of ways.

There are influencers for fashion, cosmetics, food, and virtually any other field of interest. Across all industries, however, influencers truly are influencing buying behavior among followers. In fact, 92% of consumers say they trust word-of-mouth recommendations compared to other forms of advertising.

This is why you need to leverage influencer marketing.

Simply put, influencer marketing means focusing on influencers who can persuade their followers to become your followers. Once familiar with your brand, these followers will ideally subscribe to your emails and purchase your products.

Instagram email and influencer marketing
Instagram email and influencer marketing

That said, influencer marketing is not about securing any and all influencers. Instead, it’s about pinpointing your ideal customer base. Identify the right influencers for your brand.

You might be asking yourself, “How do I know which influencers are the right ones?” While there’s no definitive guide in choosing the best influencer for your brand, here are a couple of things you need to remember:

  • Following
    In order to attract more potential customers, the influencer must have a significant following.
  • Interests
    When identifying potential influencers, make sure their interests are aligned with your brand. If you run an athletic e-commerce store, contact active influencers who are likely to use your products.
  • Authenticity
    Influencer marketing is effective because influencers are perceived as authentic. Followers view influencers as friends, which means followers trust what they say. So, find influencers who take time to communicate directly with fans. These types of influencers can convince their followers more easily, which is very helpful for your brand.

4. Run promotional contests

Running a promotional contest on your Instagram page is one of the best things you can do to drive revenue. After all, who doesn’t like the feeling of winning a contest?

The mechanics of your contest, as well as the product you give away, are all entirely up to you. Feel free to explore opportunities you think will be effective for your brand, and don’t be afraid to get as creative as you want.

Here’s an idea for a contest or giveaway that you can run.

Step 1:
Decide on the product you’re going to give away.

Step 2:
Post the official announcement of the giveaway, including a high-quality picture of the product and the mechanics of the contest.

Step 3:
Detail all the promo mechanics, which can be as follows:

  • To officially join the contest, followers must like the post.
  • Followers must comment and tag someone they know (must be a non-follower).
  • The non-follower must then follow your Instagram profile.
  • Winners will be in pairs, which is the follower, and the non-follower they tagged on the comments section
    (The number of winners is your sole discretion. The same goes for the method of deciding the winners, which can be at random, based on the number of the comment, etc.)

Step 4:
Announce the winners after the contest period ends and send them their free products in the mail.

To maximize the reach of your contest, supplement the Instagram announcement with an email announcement. This way, subscribers who may not be active on Instagram also get a chance to join.

When you run contests like this, you give something away for free, but you’re getting two much better things in return. You create brand awareness, and you develop better relationships with your followers by engaging with them in a fun, exciting way. Both of these things are significant drivers of revenue in the long run.

Wrap up

These are four ways to use Instagram and email marketing to drive your profits. Try these tactics today and see your revenue skyrocket. Don’t be afraid to start small and do things according to your time and budget. You can always ramp up your efforts once you see results.

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Author

Kaitlin Westbrook is a content writer for Campaign Monitor. She covers business, email marketing, and creative content.

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