Growing your Etsy shop with Etsy + Instagram

Etsy is a tool that makes it easy for budding creative entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground, that’s why it has become a must-have for shoppers who want to find crafts of all kinds. As you see, by starting your business on Etsy, you get instant access to the 81.9 million people that have purchased on the platform. 

However, you know that it’s important to market your business and you’re not reliant on the platform alone for success. Then, have you ever thought about social media platforms? They are low-cost avenues for brands to find new fans and, in fact, Instagram is the ideal one for Etsy business owners thanks to its visual nature.

Get started with Etsy + Instagram

For instance, you can show off your products and engage with followers who could eventually turn into customers. Plus, 90% of Instagrammers follow a brand, and 54% have purchased after seeing a product or service on the platform. So, this visual platform is an obvious choice to add to any Etsy marketing plan.

Hence, we’re going to show you how to set up an Instagram profile and start introducing more people to your Etsy shop. It’s easy to get started even if you’re a beginner. Let’s begin! 

Link to your Etsy shop wherever you can

The first and most important tip is to earn your audience’s attention, and what better way than adding direct links everywhere you can. Direct your followers to your Etsy site in your:

• Instagram bio: Your bio is one of the few places on Instagram where you can have a hyperlink. Don’t miss this easy way to get traffic to your Etsy domain.
• Instagram Stories: Unlike regular Instagram posts, you can add links to your Instagram Stories. Take advantage of that feature and add a link whenever appropriate.
• Captions: You can’t add a clickable link to your captions, but you can remind your followers through a short text like “Link in bio”.
• Watermark: Consider adding a watermark to your image with your shop URL. While it’s not clickable, it’ll remind social media users that you have an Etsy store.

Don’t sell products, connect on a lifestyle

The main purpose of users who have social networks is to connect with others, keep up with trends, or get inspiration to buy or create. Thus, it’s important you take the time to create content that can bring you closer to your target audience.

A great idea is to set up your products in situations where your clients can use them, like a beautiful thick knitted blanket incorporated into an interior design shot to inspire your audience.

Engage with your audience through Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are very popular, what’s more, according to some reports, they have an average reach rate of 9.12% for accounts with fewer than 10,000 followers and 5.22% for accounts with up to 100,000. 

Generally, they are a little bit more casual than regular posts, so they can feel more authentic. They also have features that easily engage the audience, such as polls, dynamic filters, stickers, and links to create content.

Use hashtags to reach more people

Hashtags are a powerful tool that allow you to be more visible to anyone who is looking for the tags you use. While you can use up to 30, posts with 20 hashtags have a higher average reach according to experts.

Therefore, choose some tags relevant to your brand and analize the post volume of any hashtag you’re considering. Remember that a hashtag with millions of posts will be too hard to stand out, but people likely won’t be searching for a hashtag with just a few hundred posts.

Connect your Etsy site to Instagram

Link your Etsy shop to your Instagram business account, so you can tag products in your posts. Then it’s clearer in those contextual lifestyle shots which products are yours. And most importantly, it can help increase your Etsy sales.