14 May Luxury Brands Look To Establish Ecommerce Sales Over Instagram
Instagram has quickly become one of the most influential marketing platforms for certain luxury brands over the past couple of years. We are well into 2015 and the trend clearly isn’t going away. Instead, it has left a lot of brands stumbling to crack the Instagram code and actually transform it into a viable revenue stream.
As it stands now, there are actually a few solutions on the market which can provide a rather simple and elegant sales solution. I’d also like to talk a little bit about influencer marketing and its role in modern Ecommerce and overall marketing strategy.
Instagram won’t be a viable selling platform for certain types of products within the luxury lifestyle industry, although the watch, jewelry and fashion sectors are all starting to see a lot of growth with affluent millennials over Instagram.
Selling Right From Instagram
We’ve recently implemented Spreesy for a couple of clients and really couldn’t be more pleased with how this platform works. One of the main problems we’ve seen with marketing over Instagram is getting the customer onto the website from a profile. From there, they have to endure a checkout process and by that point you’ve perhaps lost a customer. Spreesy steps in and allows users on Instagram to just drop their email address in the photo comments so that they’ll automatically receive a “buy now” link in their email inbox.
It’s so simple, and at the same time opens up massive amounts of Ecommerce potential to so many brands. On the other end of the spectrum there is SpotitBuyIt, which also makes shopping much easier on Instagram. It’s a well-done platform that keeps the look and feel of Instagram throughout the sales process. However, Spreesy’s ability to just drop an email in the comments to quickly purchase will most likely convert much better.
Some brands are even experimenting with direct sales by letting customers see the price and claim them to start the buying process. Consumers are now at the point where they’ll happily shell out hundreds of dollars for a new pair of pumps or a new bangle over Instagram.
Established stores can also showcase more lifestyle shots to promote their products, instead of the usual ecommerce photo. The end user is seeing the real deal luxury product, behind the scenes, and that’s going to instill trust with the shopper.
You need to make it as easy as possible for your customers, and remind them that this item is for sale and they can come get it on your website. If you’re already doing this, then why are you not already signed up to Spreesy?
Importance Of Influencers
The most effective way to drive Ecommerce sales over Instagram also heavily depends on influencers within your vertical. While bloggers still have the dominant hold over influencer marketing platforms, Instagram is a rising star set to take the stage in 2015.
Anish Bhatt aka @WatchAnish is perhaps one of the most recognizable names within the luxury influencer crowd, and for good reason. Him and his diverse team provide users with unparalleled content and style, and his loyal following of over a million social followers are paying close attention.
Consider that the initial costs for Instagram’s advertising platform were set around a rumoured $200,000 price point. This is obviously out of the reach of just about every small- and medium-sized luxury brand, thus why we’ve seen a rise in influencer marketing platforms.
While I can’t predict the future, I expect influencer ad budgets to explode throughout 2015 and well into the near future. I think luxury brands should be overjoyed about this marketing route, as it allows you to more easily target an audience that is listening and genuinely wants your product.
It’s a wild time to be in marketing!
