Social media gives your business the opportunity to virtually connect with people both near and far. There are various social media accounts that can help you share and connect with different demographics within your community, but one of the most beloved social media platforms is Instagram. Roughly two billion people use Instagram all over the world. Most of those two billion people are millennials, but younger and older generations also use Instagram, which means you can use this app to reach almost anyone. The more people you reach, the better chance you have of improving sales at your business, including for seemingly seasonal products such as ice cream. Keep reading to learn how to use Instagram to reach people and increase ice cream sales.
Stay Authentic
You created your business to provide something specific such as ice cream—or food in general. You thought no one else was doing this, or that you could do it better. That means your business is special, and you need to lend those special qualities to your Instagram as well as your brick-and-mortar store. People should look at your Instagram business page and learn who you are, just as they would if they walked into your store and asked.
If you’re not sure how to translate physical authenticity to virtual authenticity, ask yourself some questions, including the following:
- Why did you open your business in this location?
- How are you connected with the local community?
- Is there a professional or personal history that helped make your business what it is?
- What history and experiences do your employees bring to your business?
- What do you and your employees love about the business?
- What is the goal of every customer interaction?
Answer some or all these questions in your description and across the posts that you make. Once people know who you are and connect with you, they’ll want to spend money at your store.
Create a Unique Aesthetic
Digital authenticity isn’t the only quality that helps sell ice cream. Virtual aesthetics can also affect how prospective customers view you and your products, including the ice cream you’re trying to sell. If you want to increase sales and attract followers on an app that focuses on pictures and videos, then you have to create unique, aesthetically-pleasing content.
Aesthetics focuses on beauty and artistic taste, so you need to consider what aesthetic your physical store has and how that can translate to your digital presence. Pay attention to the aesthetics of your products as well, such as the satisfaction of the perfect curve of an ice cream scoop or the joy of watching rainbow sprinkles fall.
You also need to look at trending posts and videos and the aesthetics of your top competitors. While you shouldn’t directly copy anyone, you should learn what aesthetics attract customers. Combine those attractive aesthetics with the aesthetic qualities of your physical business and products, and you can create something unique that will bring in customers who are hungry for your ice cream.
Focus on Quality
Part of creating an aesthetically pleasing social media page is focusing on the quality of each post. Some social media influencers insist that more is always better. The more posts you make, the more you’ll appear in someone’s feed, and the more chances you might connect with someone.
However, constant posts that don’t make sense or contribute to your desired aesthetic will only confuse and annoy potential customers. No one wants to buy ice cream from the annoying salesperson who pressures them. Instead, create a schedule for your social media posts that keeps you active on social media with quality posts that you’ve crafted to contribute to your business and the follower’s page. People will see these high-quality posts and assume that every part of your business is high-quality, including your ice cream.
Include Your Consumers
Instagram isn’t just a digital billboard you want users to look at, like, and forget; rather, it’s an interactive app, like all social media platforms. If you want to get the most out of this app for your business and truly improve your ice cream sales, you need to interact with others on social media. Ask questions in the description of your post to promote responses and discussions in your comments, such as what people think of your new ice cream flavor or who is coming to an in-person event. Then jump into the comments section too! Respond to direct messages and send your own direct messages when appropriate. If a customer posts about their experience at your store, share it on your page and give them a shout-out. Including your consumers in this way makes them feel appreciated. Appreciated customers are return customers, which means you’ll keep selling your ice cream.
Learn the Algorithm
Making quality, aesthetically pleasing posts and interacting with customers sounds fun to many business owners. Unfortunately, Instagram isn’t all fun and games, even for businesses selling something as fun as ice cream. There’s an algorithm that helps determine the visibility and popularity of certain accounts and posts. Instagram tends to change the algorithm at random, and while these changes are supposed to help users have a more enjoyable experience, it means that your business is constantly on a learning curve to keep your page and posts visible. Take the time to learn the algorithm as it is now and as it changes. Otherwise, your page and posts may slip away from your followers’ and customers’ fingertips, hurting your ice cream sales.
Consider Paid Ads
Paid ads seem to undermine our first point about authenticity. However, they’re also a great way to participate in and potentially beat the pesky algorithm that so many businesses struggle with. If you want your business to thrive and you want to increase ice cream sales, you should consider using paid ads along with the other advice we’ve described above. Paid ads can increase visibility and help you focus on sales for a specific product, such as promoting a seasonal ice cream flavor. As long as you don’t overwhelm your followers with ads and you continue to have an authentic, aesthetically pleasing, high-quality online presence that includes your consumers, paid ads will only help your business and your ice cream sales, not hurt them.
Increasing ice cream sales is an excellent defined goal for 2023. Using Instagram to create those sales requires you to think about your product, business, and digital presence as a whole. If you need a new commercial soft serve machine to create the best product for your increased Instagram sales or other equipment so your business can achieve your goals this year, DSL can help. Our products and services are high-quality, so you can trust us to help you get your job done right.
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