Customer reviews can make a big impact on your Instagram marketing strategy. After all, research from BrightLocal shows that 91% of consumers read customer reviews as a part of their purchasing decision.
Where does Instagram fit into this purchasing process?
83% of Instagram’s one billion monthly users say they are there for product discovery purposes.
In other words, they want to know about your product, and they want to know what their friends, colleagues and peers are saying about it before they make a final decision.
You need to find ways to incorporate customer reviews and testimonials into your Instagram marketing campaign, so here are a few ways you can do that:
Set up a Separate Instagram Account. Fitting a wide variety of customer review formats into the look and feel of your Instagram strategy can be challenging, so think about setting up a separate account just for reviews. Include the link on your profile page, and make sure you call it something that includes the word “reviews” or “testimonials” so it’s clear what they’re going to find. You can also cross-promote between the two accounts to get more visibility on the platform.
Utilize Instagram Stories. Another way to avoid clogging your feed with reviews or ending up with a mishmash of formats and styles is to publish a collection of reviews within an Instagram Story. The 24-hour lifespan gives an element of urgency to viewing the Story and you can include a swipeable link that takes viewers to a next step in the purchasing process.
Grant Stories a Longer Life With a Highlights Album. To get the most out of your Stories, pull the best ones to create a Highlights album. Choose a descriptive but short title for your album, so that it’s easily readable on a mobile device.
Use Video Testimonials on IGTV. Video is a growing format for content marketing, and customer testimonials are a great way to engage your audience to learn more about your brand or products. Keep in mind that there are some upload requirements: MP4 format, 30 frames per second, minimum resolution of 720 pixels and a minimum of a minute long.
Instagram marketing only gets better when you find ways to incorporate customer reviews and testimonials. Still struggling to get comfortable with Instagram? At SJC Marketing we can help you make the most of your Instagram marketing strategy.