How to Sell on Instagram

The popular app’s storytelling and shopping features are powerful tools for turning pictures of your products into profits.

Instagram became a social media sensation when it launched in 2010, but it wasn’t until several years later that the jewelry industry started taking notice and creating official brand pages on the photo-sharing platform. Now, Instagram is one of the most important marketing tools for products in all categories and price brackets, jewelry among them. It lets users not only cater to a global audience, but sell directly to clients.

“We launched Pomellato’s Instagram in 2015, and we have had continuous and strong organic growth, with 336,000 followers today and one of the highest engagement rates in our sector,” reports Stéphane Gerschel, the Italian jeweler’s global brand managing director. “It has not only been a sales driver, but also a vehicle for the brand’s expression — through events, endorsements, [and highlighting] our Italian heritage, with a focus on the craftsmanship and our creations.”
Of course, a successful Instagram presence involves a lot of trial and error, as well as constant research, creative minds, and a desire to learn and experiment.

‘More than just a photo gallery’
“When we started the jewelry account in 2016, Instagram had established itself as a marketing and sales tool, so we knew from the very first post that it would be more than just a photo gallery,” recalls Jeff Feero, managing partner at New York-based jeweler Alex Sepkus. “We knew that it had the potential of driving sales and introducing Alex’s work to new customers as well as his longtime collectors.”

Individual influencers can also become assets to their employers by sharing knowledge of their field via the app. One example is Caroline Ervin, jewelry specialist and associate vice president at Christie’s.

“I was around so much beautiful material that I wanted to share with the world,” explains Ervin, whose personal Instagram account complements the auction house’s official one. “My page began with a mix of jewelry and personal posts, but has evolved into almost exclusively jewelry and general auctioneering posts.”

It wasn’t until she hit 5,000 followers and people began inquiring about consigning or buying pieces that the importance of the platform became clear to Ervin. Her insightful posts have since translated to successful sales at Christie’s auctions.

Making it pay
A post, a story, a shoppable tag or a collaboration — any of these Instagram tools could be the thing that leads to an important sale. In addition to getting product images out there, stories let you turn those images into a branding narrative, while tags let people easily click through to buy jewelry they see in your posts. As such, it’s essential to have a clear strategy and invest time, money and teamwork in creating quality content. Brands ideally need one to three days of photo shoots per month and a few hours of content planning and posting each day to maintain a consistent presence.

Alex Sepkus has opted for an in-house photographer/social guru. Feero’s strategy is to showcase Sepkus’s distinct, intricate jewelry through quality photography and authentic online engagement. And it’s paying off: He’s found that the return on investment is double that of traditional print ads, “as it is a more personal, direct connection.”

Pomellato has a dedicated digital marketing team. The brand’s consistent jewelry content and genuine tone on Instagram have contributed to its successful social media record, as has its eagerness to explore every feature on the platform. “Instagram allows us to show the different facets of our brand’s personality, so we try to show who we are and what we stand for, and do not shy away from the causes that we support, like women’s rights and sustainability,” says Gerschel. “Honesty and authenticity count.”

The business side
Insta Shop, the app’s latest sales feature, has been a boon for many businesses. It lets them create their own shops on the platform, listing items there and then routing payments through their Facebook pages. Since Instagram hasn’t rolled out all its shop features in every country, however, it recommends that brands link to their own e-commerce sites to keep sales running smoothly in the meantime.

“Instagram allows us to showcase a comprehensive view of Pomellato and its collections, and our mobile-friendly e-commerce site helps our clients with quick access to the jewels, providing a remote selling experience,” explains Gerschel.

Alex Sepkus, for its part, has “sold pieces from Instagram posts, but not from using Instagram’s sales tools,” according to Feero. “The posts that lead to sales most often are the more unique, one-of-a-kind and collector pieces.”

PRO TIPS FOR YOUR PAGE

• Build an overall strategy.
• Plan your content in advance.
• Focus on quality, not quantity.
• Set your pace and maintain consistency in posting.
• Explore all features: posts, stories, reels, IGTV, Shop.
• Experiment with all kinds of posts: images, slideshows and videos.
• Fresh content always attracts viewers.
• A creative and experimental team is an asset.
• Set aside a monthly budget of both money and time.
• Collaborate and cross- promote with like-minded users.
• Build a personality for your brand.
• Storytelling is key.
• Invest in a good photographer. Well-photographed images yield better results.
• Bring in the human element by talking about the brand’s management/lead designers.
• Share behind-the-scenes looks at the design and manufacturing process.
• Treat the page like a window to the brand, not a product catalogue.
• Link Insta Shop to your own e-commerce website.
• Targeted ads help showcase your products to a select audience.
• Engage with users through comments and direct messages. Engagement leads to trust, and trust leads to sales.

Main image: Nudo, Ritratto, Iconica collections by Pomellato shown in The Sea & The Lake campaign. Photo: Lorenzo Bringheli.